No. 7 UVA Begins NCAA Rowing Championships Friday
May 23, 2018
| 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships | |
| Date | May 25-27, 2018 |
| Location | Nathan Benderson Park | Sarasota, Fla. |
| Championship Info | NCAA Rowing Central | Schedule of Events | Live Results | Live Video |
| Team Information | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia will compete in the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships Friday-Sunday (May 25-27) at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.
Live results and video streaming links will be available through VirginiaSports.com and NCAA.com. NCAA Division I action is set to begin at 9 a.m. 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 11th, will be in action in the third heat at 8:58 a.m. UVA’s third-seeded Second Varsity Eight is in the third heat at 9:30 a.m., while the fourth-seeded Varsity Four is in the fourth heat at 10:10 a.m.
The semifinals begin Saturday (May 26) at 8:12 a.m. with the V8, followed by the 2V8 and the V4, while the finals will take place on Sunday (May 27). Division I Grand (places 1-6) and Petite finals (places 7-12) begin at 10 a.m. with the final race of the weekend being the Varsity Eight Grand Final at 11 a.m.
The Cavaliers, who are making their 21st NCAA championship appearance, earned the Atlantic Coast Conference’s automatic NCAA bid after claiming their ninth consecutive league championship on May 13. 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) each 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.
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.