U-M Earns Seventh Straight NCAA Championships Bid
5/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's rowing team has received a bid to compete in the 2004 NCAA Championships. The Wolverines will be appearing in their seventh consecutive national championship in the program's eight-year history. This year's events will take place Friday through Sunday, May 28-30, on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif.
The NCAA Championships are divided up among Division I, Division II and Division III institutions. In Division I, 12 teams are awarded team bids, which include a first varsity eight, a second varsity eight and a first varsity four. The three boats from each school can win individual national titles while attempting to earn points for the team title. Additionally, four at-large first varsity eight boats are invited to the regatta. These four crews only compete in the first varsity eight races and do not garner points for the team championship.
This year's collection of teams includes No. 8 Brown, No. 1 California, No. 4 Harvard, Michigan, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 2 Princeton, No. 7 Virginia, No. 9 Washington, No. 12 Washington State, No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 6 Yale. The four schools that will only send first varsity eight boats are No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 15 Southern California, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 18 Texas.
Michigan will be seeking its first team national title. In 2001, the second varsity eight won an individual boat national title when U-M posted a program-high second-place overall finish. Last year the first varsity eight posted a boat-best runner-up finish en route to a fourth-place team standing. Michigan's other national finishes include fifth place on three occasions (1998, 1999, 2000) and eighth place once (2002).
The Maize and Blue is coming off a Big Ten Conference title (May 1), its fourth in five years, and a third-place showing at the Lexus Central/South Region Sprints (May 15-16).
For the first time, the Big Ten will be sending four teams to the NCAA Championships. For the past five years some combination of Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State has been assembled to send three teams. With U-M, MSU, OSU and UW all heading to the national championships this year the Big Ten will tie the tradition-rich Ivy League (Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale) for having the most teams represented.
Harvard is the defending national champion from 2003; however, prior to that Brown and Washington combined to earn every team national championship in the six preceding years that the NCAA had sponsored women's rowing. In 2002, Brown won the team national title and Washington earned first-place honors in the first varsity eight competition.
The championships will be held May 28-30 at CSUS Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., with Cal State-Sacramento serving as host. For ticket information, call the CSUS ticket office at (916) 278-2222.
Championships Sites: NCAA | CSUS
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
