The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
No. 4 Rowing Preview: NCAA Championships
05.24.2017 | Rowing
Longhorns contend for team and individual national titles this weekend in New Jersey.
- NCAA Championships site
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- VIDEO: Texas commemorates Big 12 title (TexasSports.com)
- VIDEO: Texas wins Big 12 title (Big12Sports.com)
WHAT: No. 4 Texas heads to the NCAA Championships for a third consecutive year and for the fifth time in the program's 21-year history. The Longhorns earned the Big 12 Conference's NCAA automatic-qualifying bid for a third consecutive year at the Big 12 Championships (May 14).
Texas joins UCF, Gonzaga, Jacksonville, Massachusetts, Navy, Northeastern, Ohio State, Princeton, Virginia and Washington as automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. The at-large selections include Brown, California, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford, Syracuse, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale.
WHEN/WHERE
Friday-Sunday, May 26-28
Mercer Lake – West Windsor, New Jersey
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FORMAT
The 22 teams are divided into four heats of each race (eights, II eights and fours). The top-two crews in each day one heat advance to that event's A-B semifinals to be contested on Saturday. The remainder of the crews from the day one morning heats moves on to Friday afternoon's repêchage races (two seven-boat repêchages). The top-two crews from the two repêchage races advance to the A-B semifinals. The remainder move on to C-D semifinals contested on Saturday.
The top-three crews in Saturday's A-B semifinals advance to that event's grand final (championship final) on Sunday, while the remainder move on to Sunday's petite final (consolation final). The top-three crews from semifinals C-D advance to Sunday's C final, while the remainder advance to the D final.
The events are scored as follows:
|
Place |
I Eights |
II Eights |
Fours |
|
1 |
66 |
44 |
22 |
|
2 |
63 |
42 |
21 |
|
3 |
60 |
40 |
20 |
|
4 |
57 |
38 |
19 |
|
5 |
54 |
36 |
18 |
|
6 |
51 |
34 |
17 |
|
7 |
48 |
32 |
16 |
|
8 |
45 |
30 |
15 |
|
9 |
42 |
28 |
14 |
|
10 |
39 |
26 |
13 |
|
11 |
36 |
24 |
12 |
|
12 |
33 |
22 |
11 |
|
13 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
|
14 |
27 |
18 |
9 |
|
15 |
24 |
16 |
8 |
|
16 |
21 |
14 |
7 |
|
17 |
18 |
12 |
6 |
|
18 |
15 |
10 |
5 |
|
19 |
12 |
8 |
4 |
|
20 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
|
21 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
22 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
SEEDINGS
|
I Eights |
II Eights |
Fours |
|
1. Washington |
1. Washington |
1. Washington |
|
2. California |
2. California |
2. California |
|
3. TEXAS |
3. Brown |
3. Michigan |
|
4. Princeton |
4. Michigan |
4. Ohio State |
|
5. Ohio State |
5. TEXAS |
5. Yale |
|
6. Stanford |
6. Princeton |
6. Wisconsin |
|
7. Michigan |
7. Ohio State |
7. Brown |
|
8. Brown |
8. Yale |
8. Virginia |
|
9. Yale |
9. Wisconsin |
9. TEXAS |
|
10. Washington State |
10. Syracuse |
10. Princeton |
|
11. Indiana |
11. Virginia |
11. Stanford |
|
12. Virginia |
12. Stanford |
12. Washington State |
|
13. Notre Dame |
13. Iowa |
13. Gonzaga |
|
14. Syracuse |
14. Notre Dame |
14. Indiana |
|
15. Iowa |
15. Indiana |
15. Syracuse |
|
16. Wisconsin |
16. Washington State |
16. Iowa |
|
17. UCF |
17. Gonzaga |
17. Notre Dame |
|
18. Gonzaga |
18. Northeastern |
18. UCF |
|
19. Northeastern |
19. Navy |
19. Navy |
|
20. Navy |
20. Massachusetts |
20. Northeastern |
|
21. Massachusetts |
21. UCF |
21. Massachusetts |
|
22. Jacksonville |
22. Jacksonville |
22. Jacksonville |
TEXAS LANE ASSIGNMENTS (Friday morning races, all times EASTERN)
Complete Day 1 Lane Assignments
9:24 a.m. – I Eights, heat 3
- TEXAS
- Stanford
- Indiana
- Syracuse
- Northeastern
- Jacksonville
10:24 a.m. – II Eights, heat 4
- Michigan
- TEXAS
- Stanford
- Iowa
- Massachusetts
- UCF
10:36 a.m. – Fours, heat 1
- Washington
- Virginia
- TEXAS
- Iowa
- Notre Dame
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
UT took eighth place at the 2016 NCAA Championships with 98 points. Texas won the eights petite final for seventh place overall, placed fifth overall in the II eights grand final and ninth place overall in the fours with its third-place finish in the petite final.
Texas announced its presence at the 2015 NCAA Championships at Lake Natoma and finished seventh overall in the 22-team regatta with 99 points. It marked the top finish by a Big 12 Conference rowing member at the NCAA Championships.
The Longhorns placed fourth in the eights grand final, second in the second eights petite final and fifth in the fours petite final at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Texas sent its varsity eight boats to compete at the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Championship regattas but had not been invited to compete at the Championships as a team until the Longhorns' breakthrough season in 2015. The UT varsity eight placed sixth in its petite final (6:28.65) at the 2003 NCAA Championship but did not reach a final at the 2004 NCAA Championships.
This week's regatta marks the 21st NCAA Division I Rowing Championship. Brown ranks No. 1 all-time with its seven national titles while Washington, California and Ohio State hold three apiece
Virginia holds two NCAA team crowns, and Harvard and Stanford have claimed one title apiece.
SEASON NOTES
GIA DOONAN NAMED BIG 12 ROWER OF THE YEAR
Texas senior Gia Doonan and UT head coach Dave O'Neill took home two of the three Big 12 rowing postseason awards announced Monday (May 22). Doonan becomes the first league rower honored as a two-time Big 12 Conference Rower of the Year (2015 & '17), while O'Neill earned his third consecutive selection as the league's Coach of the Year.
Doonan, a first-team All-American the last two seasons, helped the Texas varsity eight boat win all six of its regattas heading into this weekend's NCAA Championships.
With Doonan aboard, Texas' V8+ has secured the No. 3 national seed among the 22 boats selected for the NCAA Championships. Doonan has excelled at the international level, as well. Last summer, she helped Team USA to a pair of gold medals at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
O'Neill collected his third straight selection as the Big 12 Coach of the Year after leading the Horns to a school-best No. 3 national ranking and their third consecutive Big 12 title.
TEXAS SWEEPS BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Texas won all five grand finals for a third consecutive year and captured its seventh conference team title (May 14) at the 2017 Big 12 Championships. The Longhorns won their third straight team title with 137 points and took first place in the NCAA automatic-qualifier standings with 48 points.
Texas opened the championship finals day with an open-water win from its third varsity eight, as the Longhorns crossed the 2,000-meter finish line first in 6:42.148. Oklahoma took an early lead in the second varsity four grand final, but Texas passed the Sooners in the second 500 meters on its way to victory at 7:11.717.
Alabama posed an early challenge to Texas in the varsity four grand final, but the Longhorns overtook the Crimson Tide about 500 meters into the race. UT won its third consecutive Big 12 varsity four grand final in 7:06.038 while Alabama took second at 7:13.496.
TEXAS CRACKS CRCA/USROWING TOP-FIVE
Three weeks after cracking the top-five of the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll for the first time, Texas reached new heights yet again. Fresh off of a tremendous all-around performance that yielded a team title at the Clemson Invite, the Longhorns moved up two spots to a school-best No. 3 the national poll released on April 25. Texas remained at No. 3 in the next two polls before dropping to No. 4 alongside Ohio State in the May 17 poll.
Texas climbed to a then program-best No. 5 in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll last month on the heels of its strong showing at the San Diego Crew Classic.
The Longhorns tied their then-school record of No. 6 in the previous poll before ascending to new heights to No. 5 nationally on April 5. Texas remained at No. 5 in the two ensuing national polls before moving up to No. 3 on April 25.
Texas entered the top-five after winning the varsity 8+ grand final for the first time ever at the San Diego Crew Classic (April 2). UT won the second varsity 8+ grand final for the second time in three seasons, and its four boat added a runner-up finish in San Diego. The Longhorns' novice 8+ recorded a win in its grand final, as well.
CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll (May 17)
1 Washington
2 California
3 Michigan
T4 TEXAS
T4 Ohio State
6 Brown
7 Princeton
8 Stanford
9 Yale
10 Virginia
11 Wisconsin
12 Syracuse
13 Iowa
14 Indiana
15 Washington State
16 Notre Dame
17 USC
18 Michigan State
19 Duke
20 Oklahoma
HORNS TAKE THREE OF FOUR AT VIRGINIA
Texas claimed three of the four races contested, including two of the three NCAA Championship-level races, in its dual at No. 11 Virginia (April 29) on the Rivanna Reservoir.
The Longhorns' varsity eight remained unbeaten in 2017 and posted an open-water win in 6 minutes, 25.13 seconds. Virginia followed in 6:36.40. UT and UVA contested second varsity eight crews in the next race, and while the race was much tighter, Texas prevailed once again in 6:42.56 while Virginia finished in 6:45.31. Texas boasts the only pair of varsity eight boats in the country to finish the regular season undefeated.
UT showed off its depth in the day's final race, the second varsity four. Texas took on a pair of 2V4 crews and defeated both of the Cavaliers' entries. UT was victorious in 7:32.11. UVA's "A" boat finished in 7:40.23 while its "B" boat finished in 7:49.41.
TEXAS WINS CLEMSON INVITE TEAM TITLE
Texas won three of its five "A" finals races and knocked off the three-time NCAA champion in the varsity eight final on its way to the team title at the Clemson Invitational (April 23).
UT claimed two of the three NCAA Championship-level finals contested and logged another win in the third varsity eight final. Texas won the team title with 130 points and knocked off the likes of top-12 foes Ohio State, Virginia and Wisconsin.
THREE FOR THREE
The Big 12 Conference announced last month the selection of Texas' varsity eight as the league's Big 12 Boat of the Week. It marked the third such selection for a Longhorns boat in as many weeks. UT became the first league member to win the honor three consecutive times in a season.
DOONAN, BOWYER WIN MEDALS AT WORLD U-23 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Texas senior Gia Doonan helped the United States win a pair of golds gold while UT sophomore Alice Bowyer paced Great Britain to a silver medal last August at the 2016 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
A two-time All-American at Texas, Doonan helped the U.S. lead from wire-to-wire in the women's 8+ final, as the Americans won gold and covered the two-kilometer course in 6 minutes, 36.90 seconds.
Bowyer, coming off of a strong freshman season on the Forty Acres, helped her native Great Britain to silver in the same race, as Team GB edged Russia for second at 6:44.06.
Doonan also helped the U.S. win gold on in the women's 4-, as the Americans took the victory at 6:27.280. The medals yielded by Doonan and Bowyer were the first medals ever secured by Texas rowers at a World Rowing U-23 Championship.
Players Mentioned
