2018 NCAA Rowing Championship Field Announced
May 15, 2018
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 7 Virginia is one of 22 schools that will compete at the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships, the NCAA announced Tuesday (May 15). The national regatta will be held May 25-27 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., with the University of Central Florida serving as host.
UVA earned the Atlantic Coast Conference’s automatic bid after claiming its ninth consecutive league championship on May 13. The Cavaliers swept all five events at the ACC Championship, including the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, Third Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four.
UVA’s Varsity Four of coxswain Maria Zeris (Moorestown, N.J.), Lizzie Trull (Wellesley, Mass.), Star Davidson (Canterbury, New Zealand), Toni Wiersma (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Mary Beth Greer (Wilton, Conn.) was named ACC Crew of the Year, while Kevin Sauer was named ACC Coach of the Year for the 12th time.
Heidi Long (Buckinghamshire, England), Jane Hudson (Sandy, Utah), Ellie Stewart (London, England) and Izzi Weiss (Chicago, Ill.) were named to the All-ACC Rowing first team. Morgan Rosts (Jordan, Ontario) was a second-team selection.
In addition to Virginia, Washington (Pac-12), Central Florida (American), Gonzaga (West Coast), Jacksonville (MAAC), Princeton (Ivy), Navy (Patriot), Northeastern (Colonial), Ohio State (Big Ten), Rhode Island (A-10) and Texas (Big 12) all earned its conferences’ automatic spots.
The 11 schools that earned at-large selections were Brown, California, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Southern California, Stanford, Syracuse, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale.
The Cavaliers are seeded No. 11 in the Varsity Eight, No. 3 in the Second Varsity Eight and No. 4 in the Varsity Four.
Virginia placed 11th at last year’s national championship with 74 points. UVA’s Varsity Four and Varsity Eight each placed 10th overall, while the Second Varsity Eight placed 12th.
In their 20 NCAA Championship appearances in the last 21 years, the Cavaliers have finished in the top four 11 times (1997-2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009-10, 2012, 2016) and have been runners-up three times (1999, 2005, 2007).
UVA 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.