As the sporting world emerges from the global pandemic, so too does the collegiate rowing scene in The United States of America. Compared with sports such as Basketball or (American) Football, Rowing doesn’t draw the same number of crowds so many of the events have been able to go ahead under COVID restrictions. The first thing to note about college rowing is that there are separate championships for the Men and the Women. This preview will take a deep dive on the Women’s National Championship event, The NCAAs. 22 colleges have been selected to travel to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida to compete for a national title 28-30 May. In 2019, Washington claimed its fifth rowing national title at the NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championships at Indianapolis Rowing Center in Indianapolis.
The team championship is composed of 22 teams. Ten conference winners were awarded automatic qualification and the remaining 12 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the championship field. Teams qualifying for the championship are required to field two eights and a coxed four. For the Varsity Eights, Second Varsity Eights and Varsity Fours, all 22 boats will be seeded into four heats.
The 10 automatic qualifiers and their respective conferences are as follows:
Navy – Patriot League
Gonzaga – West Coast Conference
Marist – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Michigan – Big 10
Northeastern – Colonial Athletic Conference
Rhode Island – Atlantic 10
SMU – American Athletic Conference
Texas – Big 12
Virginia – Atlantic Coast Conference
Washington – Pac-12
The 12 at-large selections are as follows:
Alabama
Brown
California
Duke
Ohio State
Princeton
Rutgers
Stanford
Syracuse
Tennessee
Washington State
Wisconsin
Below will be previews for all 22 programmes in the order that their Varsity Eights have been seeded:
1 Texas Longhorns – Head Coach: Dave O’Neill
The Longhorns are in prime position to pick up a National Championship at this year’s event in Florida. They swept all four events at the Big 12 Finals demolishing all of their competition putting lengths into the likes of Alabama and Tennessee. Two years ago the Varsity Eight finished less than 0.7s behind winners, Washington and subsequently placed second overall in the team competition. With their sixth consecutive conference title, the Longhorns look primed to make the step up and crown themselves National Champions in the Varsity Eight. Their depth will be tested for the team event, as Washington are famed for the depth they bring in all boats.
2 Washington Huskies – Head Coach: Yasmin Farooq
The reigning champions will travel from the Pacific Northwest to the Sunshine State as they look to win back to back championships since the first two years of the championship history. The Huskies took apart their bitter rivals, Cal on two occassions this season. The first was on home water at the Montlake Cut where Washington’s Women never lost a race to the Golden Bears. A couple of weeks later Washington’s depth was on display once more as they won their fourth straighty PAC-12 title, sweeping all races except the Varsity Four, w=in which they were beaten into second place by Stanford. There is no doubt Washington will be on the podium. The question is Gold or Silver.
3 Stanford Cardinals – Head Coach: Derek Byrnes
Despite being an at large selection, the Cardinals are looking hot after they gave Washington quite the contest on Lake Natoma at the PAC-12s. With victory in the Varsity Four and their Varsity Eight less than three seconds behind the reigning champions, Stanford finished second overall in the team competition and will be heading to the National Championship for the 15th time in programme history. While the Cardinals deserve the number three spot due to their performances against Washington they’ll be hard pushed if they want to get themselves onto the podium in Sarasota. That being said, they should get themselves off to a strong start in the Varsity Eight heats. Their closest competition will likely come from the six seed, Rutgers, the rising force from the Big-10. Stanford’s will be delighted with a medal in the Varsity Eight but anything less than gold in the Varsity Four will be a disappointment for the Cardinals.
4 Virginia Cavaliers – Head Coach: Kevin Sauer
Virginia won all five grand finals to claim its 11th consecutive ACC Rowing championship on Lake Hartwell at Clemson. There is no doubt that Virginia is the gold medal standard in the ACC.The Cavaliers have won 20 of the 21 ACC championship regattas and 82 of the 90 championship races. Despite all this success, the result that cannot be ignored was their duel against Texas prior to the ACC. Texas won all four races against Virginia on the Cavaliers’ home water on May 2nd. As such, to get back on top and beat Texas having lost all their races by clear water will be a monumental challenge for Kevin Sauer who oversaw Virginia’s Championship success in 2010 and 2012.
5 Michigan Wolverines – Head Coach: Mark Rothstein
Many in the UK might be familiar with the Wolverines from Amazon’s documentary “All or Nothing: The Michigan Wolverines”. Michigan’s Maize and Blue are some of the most recognisable colours in college history. Michigan is one of the best examples of the influence of Title IX. Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. This means that universities must provide equal funding to their men’s and women’s sports. Universities such as Michigan pump a huge amount of funding into their Football and Basketball programmes. Programmes such as Women’s Rowing are able to be turned into world class facilities because of the requirement for an equal distribution of funding. Make no doubt, Michigan’s programme is fierce. They’ve just won their second consecutive Big-10 Championship and the two time national runners up accumulated 191 points, the second highest team total in Big-10 meet history. As they took apart the likes of Ohio State, Michigan won the top two Eight events and the top 3 Four categories.
6 Rutgers Scarlet Knights – Head Coach: Justin Price
As mentioned earlier, Rutgers are a rising star in the Big-10. Hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey they placed second to Michigan in the Varsity Eight a couple of weeks ago ,by just 1.4s. For the first time in programme history they are headed back to back to the National Championship regatta. They’re going to be going head to head against Stanford in the third heat of the Varsity Eight but after winning their first ever Big-10 Varsity Eight medal, Rutgers certainly have a chance of sneaking into the Varsity Eight Grand Final.
7 Ohio State Buckeyes – Head Coach: Kate Sweeney
If the Big-10 Champs were raced any other day then we could have been looking at different outcomes in the 1st and 2nd Varsity Eights. Michigan, Rutgers and Ohio State were nip and tuck in all these races with less than 4 seconds separating all three colleges in both events. However, it was Ohio State who came out 3rd in the Varsity Eight and as such they line up in the same heat as Washington in Sarasota. The Buckeyes are the only college to win three national titles in a row but to add another one this year is unlikely as they’re simply racing to make the final at the moment.
8 California Golden Bears – Head Coach: Al Acosta
Cal will have been disappointed with their season so far. A poor showing at the Windemere Cup and again at the PAC-12s shows the Golden Bears are a far cry from their 2018 form which saw them win the Varsity Eight at the National Championship. If Cal want to even make the final then they’ll have to push burry the likes of Princeton in the heat and push the seemingly untouchable Texas all the way to the line.
9 Princeton Tigers – Head Coach: Lori Dauphiny
Princeton have found their way to the postseason despite having no Ivy League racing this season. Their appearance at the National Championship ties Virginia for the 3rd most all time appearances. The one accomplishment they haven’t ticked off? To win it all. Despite no official racing, there are some indicators as to how quick the Tigers are. win’s against Drexel in the Eights and small boat golds at the Dad Vail Regatta are promising but their results against Rutgers was not. The Scarlet Knights beat the Tigers in all three National Championship boats. As such Princeton are on the outside looking in for a place in the Varsity Eight Grand Final.
10 Southern Methodist Mustangs – Head Coach: Kim Cupini
This year was SMU’s first ever AAC title. In the process, they scored 144 points sweeping all three races. It’s the quite the time to be a Mustang and they should be optimistic of a secod place finish behind Washington in their heat. Despite losses to Texas earlier on in the season, it can be argued they are rolling at similar speeds to the Virginia Cavaliers. As such, watch out for SMU as a dark horse for the Grand Final.
11 Alabama Crimson Tide – Head Coach: Glenn Putyrae
Is the 11th seed too high for Alabama’s Varsity Eight? Perhaps. SMU put roughly six seconds into their Varsity at the Texas invitational. That being said, Bama will head to Sarasota with a squad that medalled in all four events at the Big-12 Championships in Austin, Texas.
12 Duke Blue Devils – Head Coach: Megan Cooke Carcagno
Duke is another programme that is going back to back to the National Championships for the first time in its history. The Blue Devils were runners up at the ACC Championship in five different events, with the Varsity Eight less than five seconds behind the winners, Virginia. They’ve had a solid season opening with their fifth consecutive Carolina Cup. They’re only off race in the Varsity Eight will have been at the Virginia Invite where they were beaten in a duel by the Tennessee Volunteers.
13 Washington State Cougars – Head Coach: Jane LaRiviere
This is the 14th time the Cougars will contest the post season. After failing to qualify back in 2019, Washington State will be looking to restart a new run of appearances. All 13 NCAA Championship team appearances for the WSU rowing program have come under current Head Coach, Jane LaRiviere. The Cougars head to the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championship fresh-off a fifth-place finish at the 2021 Pac-12 Rowing Championship. WSU’s varsity four boat finished third at the Pac-12 Rowing Championship, while the first varsity eight and second varsity eight boats came in fifth in their respective races.
14 Syracuse Orange – Head Coach: Luke McGee
The Orange women’s rowing team is ranked ninth nationally heading into the 2021 NCAA Championship. Syracuse has been in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) top 10 in four of the past five weeks. The Orange moved up to the ninth spot from the 11th position after its third-place finish at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship on May 14th and 15th. Syracuse will be aiming to first of all get into the Petite Final of the Varsity Eight and from there see how many seeds they can knock off in the process.
15 Wisconsin Badgers – Head Coach: Bebe Bryans
The Badgers’ will be making their 17th trip to the post season as they make the make the pilgrimage right from the North of America to Florida. Their best result came in 2010 with a 7th place finish in the team competition. This year, they were 4th at the Big-10 behind, Michigan, Rutgers and Ohio State. The Badgers’ invite made it 13 consecutive seasons they will compete in the NCAA championships, the longest active streak in Wisconsin athletics.
16 Tennessee Volunteers – Head Coach: Lisa Glenn
Tennessee will be making its ninth overall and fifth full-team appearance at the NCAA Championships. It will mark the Lady Vols’ first NCAA appearance since 2010 when the team finished 16th. All four boats made the podium at the Big-12 where the team came third overall.
17 Brown Bears – Head Coach: John Murphy
Brown will compete in the NCAA Championships for the 24th consecutive time and stands as one of three programs, along with Princeton and Washington, to take part in all 23 championships since the event’s inception in 1997. Under Head Coach, John Murphy, the Bears have won seven NCAA titles, with the most recent occurring in 2011. Brown are arguably one of the greatest unknowns going into this regatta. Similar to Princeton they have not had any Ivy League Racing. That being said, Brown swept 20 Northeastern and 21 Rhode Island and as such, Brown improved to 4-0 this season with victories over Boston University and Holy Cross too. We’ll know after Heat 1 as to what shape Brown are in. They face Princeton, Texas, Cal and Tennessee in Heat 1. Brown are my Cinderella pick to make the Grand Final. There, I said it.
18 Gonzaga Bulldogs – Head Coach: Andrew Derrick
Fresh from a sixth straight West Coast Conference Championship, The Zags should be feeling pretty good about themselves. They won the Varsity Eight as well as a first and second place finish in the Varsity Four. Andrew Derrick has also been crowned WCC coach of the year. The Gonzaga women’s rowing team had a strong showing in the annual Fawley Cup, hosted by Washington State at Wawawai Landing on the Snake River outside Pullman, Washington. The Zags opened the day with a strong race in the Varsity Eight, posting a 7:16.89. Washington State edged the Zags with a final time of 7:09.42 to claim the win. Gonzaga also trailed WSU by six seconds in the 2nd Varsity Eight.Gonzaga snagged its only victory of that day in the 3rd Varsity Eight, defeating WSU by nearly 17 seconds.
19 Navy Midshipmen – Head Coach: Joe Schlosberg
The Navy women’s rowing programme continued its string of dominance over the Patriot League with a clean sweep at the league’s 2021 Championship. Racing on the Cooper River amongst a field of seven league foes, the Varsity Eight went so well that the whole crew won Naval Academy Athletic Association athlete of the week. Most people will recognise the Navy promgramme from the King’s Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Navy made up the United States Armed Forces crew that won the King’s Cup in 2019.
20 Northeastern Huskies – Head Coach: Joe Wilhelm
Northeastern women’s rowing had an outstanding Colonial Athletic Conference Championship. They swept the seven-crew conference and secured the 2021 CAA Championship title for the seventh consecutive season. The Huskies tallied 42 points with the three first-place finishes, finishing ahead of Drexel’s 36 points and Delaware tying with Villanova for third with 23 points each on the day. Head Coach, Joe Wilhelm, earned 2021 Coach of the Year after collecting 10 of the last 12 championships in the CAA and tying the league record with consecutive wins.
21 Rhode Island Rams – Head Coach: Shelagh Donohoe
There was no doubt who the strongest team was as Rhode Island won its third straight Atlantic 10 Women’s Rowing Championship on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey. For the second straight championship, the Rams won all three flights of competition, scoring the maximum 54 team points to easily claim the eighth conference title in program history. With the title, Rhode Island automatically qualified for the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championship. Rhode Island was the top seed in all three flights, as the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four were all favourites to win. All three boats showed why they were seeded as such, using aggressive starts to establish early leads and never let up.
22 Marist Red Foxes – Head Coach: Tom Sanford
Marist comes to the National Championship with gold medals in all three events at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship. The Red Foxes successfully defended its title and scored 54 points. This is Marist’s 12th title in program history.
When it comes to racing, it doesn’t get better than next weekend. Nat Schools here in the UK, and the Collegiate Championships in the United States. What an epic few days we’re going to have
Predictions…
Here are my thoughts as to the Grand and Petite Finals of the Varsity Eights:
Grand Final
1 Texas 2 Washington 3 Stanford 4 Virginia 5 Michigan 6 Brown
Petite Final
1 Southern Methodist 2 California 3 Rutgers 4 Ohio State 5 Syracuse 6 Alabama
That’s all for now. If you’re hungry for more, check out any of our other pieces from The Catch, listen to the latest podcast episode, or flick through our race previews.
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