As abruptly as things happen for Becca Lindquist, she should logically excel as a track sprinter, aerial skier or in any other sport where speed and timing mesh.

One day a few years ago, a friend told Lindquist, a former swimmer at St. Francis High School, she should try something new – rowing. The next thing Lindquist knew, she was on the UC Davis varsity eights boat.

Two seasons passed. But suddenly again, several programs at UC Davis, including women's rowing, were dropped last year because of budget cutbacks.

Lindquist, like her teammates, was without a sport.

"I remember talking to a friend and saying I wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't going to transfer," said Lindquist, of Gold River. "The only place I said I'd go was Cal."

The day after the Aggies' program stopped, Lindquist checked her email. A Cal coach had contacted her, saying there was a place for her on the Bears' perennially nationally ranked program.

"I called the coach that day and said, 'I'm on,' " Lindquist said, offering another example of her quick good fortune. "From my mouth to God's ear."

With three teammates, Lindquist, 20, a junior, will row for the varsity four national title today in the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships at Lake Natoma.

The Bears had the top qualifying time Friday and advanced with the best time again Saturday – 7 minutes, 21.5 seconds, a 1.5-second win over USC in the first semifinal on the 2,000-meter course.

"She (Lindquist) isn't the biggest rower, but she's got a big heart, and she's a fighter," said Cal coach Dave O'Neill. "To come to our team was a good transition for her. Internally, it's so competitive.

"She might have been one of the best when she was at UC Davis. But in order for her to be the best Becca Lindquist, then our team was the place to be. She's stepped up to a whole other level."

Collegiate rowers strive to compete on varsity eights boats, the fastest, most prestigious division. Lindquist has competed on Cal's second varsity eights boat but is now the third seat on the varsity fours.

The second and third seats on the boats are the power positions. Cal's four-rower boat mix has changed, but it's top-seeded and undefeated this season.

"The heat was strong, but we definitely had a lot more," Lindquist said. "Today, we got the job done, but we're looking for tomorrow to have our best race. It wasn't our best today.

"The technique was a little bit off. We fell off the attack; we just have to remember to attack all the time. Tomorrow will be for the entire 2,000 meters."

The UC Davis rowing program had its tenure several years ago as Division II national champions. But vying for a position on the Cal crew was eye-opening.

Weight-training sessions, for example, were more specific and intense. Boat challenges and physiological testing rule.

"She (Lindquist) doesn't have the most impressive rowing body, but she keeps proving herself," O'Neill said. "She could move up to the varsity eight boat, yes – if she works hard over the summer and gets fitter and stronger."

Despite her keen sense of timing, Lindquist's latest sporting advancement wasn't without its share of reality checks.

"The mindset is completely different," she said. "Every rower goes to every practice with the idea that 'I'm going to get a little better today.'

"I'm definitely more fit and more muscular. Right away, I lost 12 pounds. I gained it back, but I'm definitely more lean."

Cal, USC and Stanford are the only schools among 16 Division I participants to advance varsity, second varsity and varsity four boats to the finals. As such, the three universities will vie for the team title today. It would be Cal's first women's rowing team win since 2006.

The Division II varsity fours at 9 a.m. is the first of five grand finals among 12 events scheduled today. The regatta will conclude with the Division I varsity eights grand final, scheduled at 12:05 p.m.

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