INDIANAPOLIS – Thirteenth-ranked Washington State University rowing has been selected by the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Committee to compete at the 2016 NCAA Division I Rowing Championships held May 27-29 at Lake Natoma at Gold River, Calif., the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
WSU will make its 10th overall team appearance, its fourth-straight and its sixth in seven years, as it returns to the site of the Pac-12 Championships where the Cougars finished fourth as a team, May 15, notching its second-straight top-four finish. The Pac-12 Conference is hosting this year's NCAA Championships at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. WSU's senior class becomes the first in school history to compete at all four NCAA Championships, as four marks the most-consecutive NCAA Championship appearances for the Cougars.
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. California represents the Pac-12 as the league's automatic qualifier, while four other teams, USC, Stanford, Washington and Washington State were chosen from the conference as at-large selections. Just four conferences had multiple teams receive bids, as the Pac-12 led the way with five, the Big Ten had four (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin), the Ivy League three (Brown, Princeton, and Yale) and the ACC three (Virginia, Duke and Syracuse).
Washington State is seeded 13th in the varsity eight, 12th in the second varsity eight and 15th in the varsity four.
The Cougars have reached the NCAA Championships as a team nine 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 matched its second-best finish last 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.
As a team Washington State has competed at the NCAA Championships at Lake Natoma five other times. The first time came in 2004 as then second-year head coach Jane LaRiviere led the Cougars to a ninth-place finish. The team also competed at Lake Natoma in the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2015 NCAA Championships.
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.
2016 NCAA Rowing Championship Automatic Qualifying Teams
California, Pac-12
UCF, American Athletic Conference
Gonzaga, West Coast Conference
Jacksonville, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Navy, Patriot League
Northeastern, Colonial Athletic Association
Ohio State, Big Ten Conference
Princeton, Ivy League
Rhode Island, Atlantic 10 Conference
Texas, Big 12 Conference
Virginia, Atlantic Coast Conference
2016 NCAA Rowing Championship At-Large Selections
Brown
Duke
Indiana
Michigan
USC
Stanford
Syracuse
Washington
Washington State
Wisconsin
Yale