After a quiet weekend, the regular season has drawn to a close. There is a little movement in the coaches’ polls to cover, but this weekend marks the beginning of the conference Championships with the American Athletic Conference having its championship in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and the Dad Vail Championship on the Cooper River.
Coaches’ Poll
In the women’s ranking the only change of note comes as Brown regain their slot at number six following domination at the Women’s Eastern Sprints, pushing Yale down to seventh. The only other change is at 14 and 15 where Indiana rise at the expense of Duke. As neither crew raced this weekend, one can only assume this is the pollsters’ reaction to Duke Head Coach Megan Cooke-Carcagno announcing that she would be stepping down at the end of the season.
On the men’s side there has been similarly little. Boston University rise to twelfth in profit from Stanford‘s underwhelming showing against California on home water.
Columbia profit from their close loss to Navy as they rise to 17 and Holy Cross’ underwhelming performances in Ithaca see them fall to 22.
Week Eight Preview
Dad Vail Regatta
Operating since 1934, Dad Vails is one of the most historic races on the calendar. In 2024 it will again relocate to the Cooper River in South New Jersey, 15 minutes away from its home on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. For the women’s events it operates largely as a final tune-up race but for many men’s programs it is the final opportunity to show that they deserve an invite to the National Championships.
This year, it will likely be #16 Drexel and #18 La Salle at the front chasing the Richard O’Brien Trophy and the automatic selection that comes with it. The two have raced three times so far this spring and while La Salle has two victories to their name, Drexel won their most recent showdown so will fancy themselves to level the series this weekend.
Further back will be #23 Temple and Saint Joseph’s who will be trying to bolster their credentials to earn an at-large bid should any of the higher ranked crews falter.
National Invitational Rowing Championships
On Sunday, another automatic bid will be allocated in Worcester, Massachusetts at the NIRC. This event is populated by many of the smaller schools that row within New England, and while the event is likely to be won by a Division Three School like Wesleyan or Trinity, MIT would be able to earn a bid to the IRAs just by finishing ahead of Hobart and Marist.
American Athletic Conference
In its final year of sponsoring rowing, the American has never been more open. Historically, SMU have dominated the event but since the departure of Kim Cupini in the summer, the program has been a shadow of its former self. This has opened the door for some other programs to book their trip to Bethel, Ohio for the National Championships with Tulsa and Sacramento State among those who may be able to profit. This will be the first bid for NCAAs awarded, so all eyes in the women’s rowing world will be on Oak Ridge, Tennessee this weekend.
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