No. 3 UVA Begins NCAA Championships Friday

May 25, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va – No. 3 Virginia will compete in the 2016 NCAA Rowing Championships Friday-Sunday (May 27-29) on Lake Natoma at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center in Gold River, Calif.

Live results and video streaming links will be available through VirginiaSports.com. Action is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET on Friday.

Each division (Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four) has four heats in the morning on Friday, with the top two from each heat moving on to Saturday’s semifinals. The remaining boats will race in a repechage to determine the final four semifinalists in each division.

Virginia’s Varsity Eight, which is seeded fifth, will be in action in the fourth heat at 12:36 p.m. UVA’s fifth-seeded Second Varsity Eight is in the fourth heat at 1:24 p.m., while the third-seeded Varsity Four is in the third heat at 2 p.m.

The semifinals begin Saturday at 11:12 a.m. with the V8, followed by the 2V8 and the V4, while the finals will take place on Sunday. Division I grand and petite finals (places 1-12) begin at 12:24 p.m. with the final race of the weekend being the Varsity Eight grand final at 1 p.m.

The Cavaliers, who are making their 19th NCAA championship appearance, earned the Atlantic Coast Conference’s automatic NCAA bid after claiming its seventh consecutive league championship on May 14. The Cavaliers’ Varsity Eight was named ACC Crew of the Year, while Heidi Long (Buckinghamshire, England) earned freshman of the year honors. Sam Casto (Dallas, Pa.), Jennifer Reid (Stafford, Pa.), Tessa Dikkers (Pelham, N.Y.) and Colette Lucas-Conwell (Palo Alto, Calif.) were named to the All-ACC Rowing first team and Mackenzi Sherman (Los Alamitos, Calif.) was a second-team selection.

In addition to Virginia, California (Pac-12), Central Florida (American), Gonzaga (West Coast), Jacksonville (MAAC), Navy (Patriot), Northeastern (Colonial), Ohio State (Big Ten), Princeton (Ivy), Rhode Island (A-10) and Texas (Big 12) all earned their conferences’ automatic spots.

The 11 schools that earned at-large selections were Brown, Duke, Indiana, Michigan, Stanford, Syracuse, USC, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale.

Virginia’s Varsity Four captured the national title in 2015 as the Cavaliers placed fifth overall with 104 points, the ninth-consecutive season the Cavaliers finished in the top six at the national regatta. The Cavaliers finished third overall in the Varsity Eight, while the Second Varsity Eight finished 12th.

In their 18 NCAA Championship appearances in the last 19 years, the Cavaliers have finished in the top four 10 times (1997-2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009-10, 2012) and have been runners-up three times (1999, 2005, 2007).

UVA has captured NCAA team championships in 2010 and 2012. The Varsity Eight boat won the NCAA title in 2012, while the Second Varsity Eight won championships in 1998, 1999 and 2005. The Varsity Four claimed national championships in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2015.