The Stanford women’s rowing team earned an automatic bid by winning the school’s first Pac-12 Rowing Championship on Sunday and today found out the other 21 schools who will be joining them in Indianapolis, Ind.
Stanford was one of 11 automatic qualifiers for winning the conference. There were 11 at-large bids up for grabs. Of those 11 at-large bids, five went to Pac-12 schools as Cal, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State join the Cardinals.
Other 2014 Stanford opponents to make the NCAA Championships are Louisville (AAC), Ohio State (Big Ten), San Diego (WCC), Virginia (ACC), Brown (Ivy League), Michigan (Pac-12) and Notre Dame (ACC).
All three Stanford boats received top five seeds after they all won gold at the Pac-12 Championships in Sunday.
The varsity eight is the No. 2 seed behind Ohio State. Stanford’s first race will be against No. 7 Virginia, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 18 Oklahoma. The Cardinal lost to UVA in a dual at the Pac-12 Challenge and defeated Notre Dame at the Lake Natoma Invitational during the regular season.
The second varsity eight will also be the No. 2 seed with Brown earning the top seed and Ohio State at No. 3. Joining the 2V8 in the first race will be No. 7 Princeton, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 15 Louisville and No. 18 Oklahoma. The Cardinal picked up wins over Notre Dame (Lake Natoma) and Louisville (Pac-12 Challenge) this season.
The varsity four had one of its best seasons in school history and earned the No. 4 seed. Brown, Virginia and Ohio State are the top three. The other five boats in the heat will be No. 5 Washington, No. 12 Washington State, No. 13 Indiana, No. 20 Boston University and UMass.
The NCAA Championships will take place at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis May 30-June 1.
In other rowing news:
The Stanford women’s lightweight rowing team will have its chance at its fifth straight IRA National Championship as it was announced as one of the nine lightweight varsity eights in the field on Tuesday.
The Cardinal top eight has won five straight races heading into IRA Nationals, including a victory at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on Saturday.
Joining Stanford in the varsity eight will be Boston University, Bucknell, Georgetown, MIT, Princeton, Harvard-Radcliffe, Tulsa and Wisconsin.
Stanford will also field a varsity four. The four made its spring debut at the PCRC last weekend, placing second overall in the open field. Other schools with a four competing at IRA’s will be Boston University, Fordham, MIT, Princeton, Harvard-Radcliffe and Wisconsin.
The lightweight events will start on Saturday, May 31 in West Windsor, N.J. The finals will take place on June 1.
The Stanford men’s rowing team also learned on Tuesday that the varsity eight and second varsity eight were among the list of accepted crews for the 2014 IRA Championships.
The varsity eight is coming off a bronze medal performance at the Pac-12 Championships last weekend and will be among the 24 schools in the field. They are joined by fellow Pac-12 schools Oregon State, Cal and Washington.
The second varsity eight also made the field after finishing fourth on Sunday at Lake Natoma. They will also be among the 24 schools that include the four total Pac-12 programs.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics