The first few weeks of women’s collegiate rowing in the US have been thrilling to follow as teams reveal how their winter miles have – or haven’t – paid off. Racing across the board has been close between teams from the top-ranked to the middle of the pack, a promising signal for a season of exciting racing ahead.
#4 Princeton, #8 Brown
The #4 Princeton Women have once again defeated #8 Brown in their annual dual for the seventh straight time in a row. The 1v opened up perhaps less of a margin than they would have liked, just about a boat length (3.6 seconds). Princeton’s 2v was more than dominant, winning by a clear margin of 9.6 seconds. Brown’s only victory of the day in the Varsity coxed four prevented a Princeton sweep.
San Diego Crew Classic
To no surprise, it was #1 Texas that came away with a win on Sunday, but by less than a second of a margin over #3 University of Washington and six seconds over #6 Cal in a thrilling race. Texas also posted a win in the 2V, yet their dreams of a fourth-straight three-boat sweep ended in the varsity coxed four. In this race, the tides turned, and UW were able to take just a second to steal the win from Texas. Incredible racing across the board, yet those five women in the UW coxed four may just come home with the most bragging rights. It was, unfortunately, not a day to be a Bear, as Cal did not post a single upset over UW or Texas in the grand finals. Coming away from the Crew Classic, less than a second between the first and fifth-ranked crew in the CRCA Coaches’ Poll signals that some absolutely brilliant racing is in store.
#2 Stanford, # 7 Tennessee
In 2024, #7 Tennessee had the season of a lifetime, coming from being historically untracked and unranked to finishing with a bronze in the varsity at the NCAAs. Turning to 2025, all eyes will be on how they respond to this momentum and become the hunted rather than the hunter. For their first test, they dove straight into a baptism of fire, facing #2 Stanford, who opened a margin of over six seconds. Tennessee should be proud of this result, but they will have hoped to be on the better end of the outcome. Their trajectory over the rest of the season following this race will be the true test of the momentum they built in 2024.
Ivy-Big 10 Dust Up
In classic early spring Jersey weather two weekends ago, the Dust Up was yet another windy weekend. It was #5 Yale that came out the most victorious of the day, taking home wins over #14 Ohio State, #10 Rutgers, and #13 Michigan. #12 Penn additionally upset Michigan and #11 Syracuse by just over a second in their morning race.
Big 10 – ACC Dual
Following their weekend in New Jersey, Ohio State and Michigan met #9 Virginia on Ohio’s home water. In a thrilling session of races, Ohio State’s varsity came out victorious over Virginia by a mere two seconds, yet Virginia defeated Michigan in the second session.
Next up:
On the 5th of April, Yale, Cornell, and Syracuse will meet in Sarasota Spring, New York, where Yale will seek to defend the Cayuga Cup.
In DIII rowing, #1 Tufts will face #4 Trinity and #10 Coast Guard.
Tennessee will host the first-ever Rocky Top Invitational, to meet the likes of #15 Duke, UNC, and Clemson.
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