No. 4 Virginia Begins NCAA Rowing Championships Friday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — No. 4 Virginia will compete in the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championships Friday-Sunday (May 28-30) at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., with University of Central Florida and Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Association, serving as hosts.

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 fourth, will be in action in the fourth heat at 9:36 a.m. UVA’s third-seeded Second Varsity Eight is in the third heat at 10:12 a.m., while the fourth-seeded Varsity Four is in the fourth heat at 11:12 a.m.

The semifinals begin Saturday (May 29) at 8:12 a.m. with the V8, followed by the 2V8 and the V4, while the finals will take place on Sunday (May 30). Division I Grand (places 1-6) and Petite finals (places 7-12) begin at 9:24 a.m. with the final race of the weekend being the Varsity Eight Grand Final at 10:48 a.m.

The Cavaliers, who are making their 23rd NCAA championship appearance, earned the Atlantic Coast Conference’s automatic NCAA bid after claiming their 11th consecutive league championship on May 15. UVA’s Varsity Eight of coxswain Colette Glass (Tampa, Fla.), Sonja Schlosser (Deggendorf, Germany), Abbie Bird (Ascot, England), Leia Till (Potomac, Md.), Sophia Kershner (Palmyra, Va.), Katy Flynn (Churchville, N.Y.), Cate Porter (Hopewell, N.J.), Alli Terblanche (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Kate Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash.) was named ACC Crew of the Year.

Virginia’s Kevin Sauer was named ACC Coach of the Year, while Grace Comerford (Wyndmoor, Pa.), Glass, Kershner and Flynn were named to the All-ACC Rowing first team. Tessa Otting (Evanston, Ill.) was a second-team selection.

In addition to Virginia, SMU (American), Gonzaga (West Coast), Marist (MAAC), Michigan (Big Ten), Navy (Patriot), Northeastern (Colonial), Rhode Island (A-10), Texas (Big 12) and Washington (Pac-12) all earned its conferences’ automatic spots.

The 12 schools that earned at-large selections were Alabama, Brown, California, Duke, Ohio State, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Washington State and Wisconsin.

Virginia placed 10th at the 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships with 77 points. UVA’s Second Varsity Eight placed sixth, while the Varsity Eight placed 12th and the Varsity Four placed 13th. The 2020 NCAA Rowing Championships were canceled due to the pandemic.

In their 22 NCAA Championship appearances in the last 24 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.

Projected Virginia Lineups

 Varsity Eight: Coxswain Colette Glass, Stroke: Sonja Schlosser, 7: Abbie Bird, 6: Leia Till, 5: Sophia Kershner, 4: Katy Flynn, 3. Cate Porter, 2: Alli Terblanche, Bow: Kate Kelly

 Second Varsity Eight: Coxswain Janet Conklin, Stroke: Tessa Otting, 7: Tahne Badenhorst, 6: Jamey Bulloch, 5: Nicola Lawless, 4: Bianka Smeulders, 3: Grace Comerford, 2: Hailey Barnett, Bow: Carrie Warner

 Varsity Four: Coxswain ViVi Van Ingen, Stroke: Casey Martin, 3: Maggie Taylor, 2: Lily Jarrett, Bow: Larkin Brown