INDIANAPOLIS – Fifteenth-ranked Washington State University rowing has been selected by the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Committee to compete at the 2018 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships held May 25-27 at Nathan Benderson Park at Sarasota, Fla., and hosted by UCF, the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
WSU will make its 12th overall NCAA Championships team appearance, its sixth-straight and its eighth in nine years, after finishing fifth at the Pac-12 Championships, May 13 at Lake Natoma near Sacramento, Calif. This season marks the first time the NCAA Rowing Championships will be held at Nathan Benderson Park, and the second-straight year they will be held on the East Coast. Last season the NCAA Championships were held at West Windsor, N.J., at Mercer Lake.
With a change made prior to the 2013 season, the team championships are composed of 22 teams. Eleven conferences were awarded automatic qualification and the remaining 11 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the championship field. Washington represents the Pac-12 as the league's automatic qualifier, while four other teams, California, Stanford, USC and Washington State were chosen from the conference as at-large selections. Just four conferences had multiple teams receive bids, as the Pac-12 tied for the most bids with five. The Big Ten also had five, (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin), the Ivy League three (Brown, Princeton, and Yale) and the ACC two (Virginia and Syracuse).
Washington State is seeded 15th in the varsity eight, 15th in the second varsity eight and 12th in the varsity four.
The Cougars have reached the NCAA Championships as a team 11 prior times and once as a varsity eight boat. Its best finish came in 2006 as WSU placed fourth, led by a fourth-place finish from the varsity eight. WSU finished 14th as a team last year, 12th as at team in 2016, and matched its second-best finish the prior year, placing eighth at the 2015 NCAA Championships. The Cougars were 14th in both 2014 and 2013, 12th in 2011, 13th in 2010, eighth in 2008, fourth in 2006, ninth in 2004 and 12th in 2003. The varsity eight placed 13th in 2002. The Cougars' best individual boat finish came in 2004 when the second varsity eight took third.
Teams qualifying for the championships as automatic qualifiers or as an at-large are required to field two boats of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers. For the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four teams, all 22 boats will be seeded into four heats.
For championship information and results, go to the NCAA Web site at www.ncaa.com.
