CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-The Virginia rowing team has been tabbed No. 1 in the preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I poll presented by Pocock Racing Shells. The Cavaliers, who earned 15 first-place votes and a total of 461 points, compete in the Oak Ridge Invitational this weekend (March 17-18) in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

California was second with 438 points and five first-place nods, while Princeton (395), Brown (381, four first-place votes) and Stanford (373, one first-place vote) rounded out the top five.

Virginia opened its spring season with a successful scrimmage against Michigan State on March 10 in Marion, Va. In 2011, the Cavaliers placed sixth at the NCAA Championships. The Varsity Eight went undefeated in the fall, including the Head of the Charles, the Princeton Chase and the Rivanna Romp.

The Oak Ridge Invitational will feature 10 opponents for UVa, including No. 18 Tennessee, Buffalo, Alabama, Dayton, Duke, Jacksonville, Kansas, Louisville, Minnesota and Notre Dame. The schedule includes three sessions, two on Saturday and one on Sunday morning. The Cavaliers are slated to start seven boats in each session.

The majority of UVa's boats (Varsity Eight, Varsity Four, Second Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Four and Novice Eight) will race Tennessee in the morning session and Louisville in the afternoon on Saturday and Duke and Minnesota on Sunday morning. Other schools, including Buffalo, Jacksonville, Kansas and Notre Dame will race one or two boats against UVa over the course of the weekend. The Cavaliers will also have a third and fourth Varsity Eight competing during each session.

Next up, the Cavaliers head to Southern California for the San Diego Crew Classic on March 31-April 1.

USRowing/CRCA Division I Preseason Poll

#  Team (1st Place Votes)                 Points

1  University of Virginia (15)            461

2  University of California, Berkeley (5) 438

3  Princeton University                   395

4  Brown University (4)                   381

5  Stanford University (1)                373

6  University of Southern California      368

7  Yale University                        309

8  University of Washington               304

9  University of Michigan                 303

10 University of Wisconsin                296

11 Michigan State University              275

12 Harvard University                     264

13 Ohio State University                  246

14 Washington State University            182

15 Cornell University                     137

16 Clemson University                     121

17 Dartmouth College                       97

18 University of Tennessee                 79

19 University of Texas                     73

20 UCLA                                    61

 

Other Receiving Votes: University of Pennsylvania 31, University of Notre Dame 11, Syracuse University 10, University of Minnesota 8, Columbia University 7, University of Oklahoma 6, University of Rhode Island 5, Oregon State University 3, Indiana University 2, Northeastern University 2, University of Louisville 1, Duke University 1