May 25, 2005

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The University of Virginia women's rowing team begins competition on Friday (May 27) in the ninth NCAA Women's Rowing Championships at Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif. The competition is scheduled to continue through Sunday (May 29).

Virginia is one of 12 teams selected to compete in the championships. The other team selections include Brown, California, Harvard, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Southern California, Washington, Wisconsin and Yale. Virginia joins Brown, Princeton and Washington as the only schools to receive team invitations to each of the nine NCAA Women's Rowing Championships.

As a team selection, Virginia has three crews competing in the NCAA Championships. The 12 schools competing for the team title have one crew in each of the contested races - the first varsity eight, the second varsity eight and the varsity four.

Four additional schools received at-large invitations to participate in the first varsity eight competition. Those schools include Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee and UCLA. The four schools receiving at-large invitations in the first varsity eight can win that competition, but without an entry in all three races are ineligible for the team title.

UVa's varsity eight is ranked seventh in the nation in the final Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/USRowing NCAA Division I Varsity Eight Coaches Poll of the 2005 season. California is ranked first in the poll followed by Yale, Ohio State, Princeton, Brown, Tennessee, Virginia, Stanford, Harvard and Southern California.

Virginia's varsity four crew won the NCAA Championship in that event and the Cavaliers finished tied for sixth as a team at last year's NCAA Championships. UVa crews finished seventh in the second varsity eight and ninth in the first varsity eight. Brown won the team championship last year with Yale finishing second and Michigan third.

Virginia has finished in the top seven in the team competition at each of the eight previous NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. The Cavaliers finished fourth in 1997, third in 1998, second in 1999, third in 2000, seventh in 2001, fourth in 2002, sixth in 2003 and tied for sixth in 2004.

UVa has not competed since winning the overall championship and the South Region Championship at the South/Central Regionals on May 15 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Cavaliers won championships in both the second varsity eight and the varsity four competitions. Virginia's second varsity eight and varsity four boats are undefeated this spring. UVa crews also finished second in the novice eight, third in the varsity eight and the second novice eight, and fourth in the open four.

The Cavaliers won their sixth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Championship on April 23 in Clemson, S.C. UVa won three of the four races at the ACC regatta.

The women's rowing team is in its 10th season as an intercollegiate sport at Virginia.