WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
Fifteenth-ranked Washington State University women's rowing will make its 12th overall, fifth-straight and seventh NCAA Championships appearance in eight years as it heads to Mercer Lake at West Windsor, N.J., May 26-28 for the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships...the Ivy League and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will serve as hosts for the event...Division I racing begins at 6 a.m. PT/9 a.m. ET, Friday with the varsity eight heats...please see page two of today's notes for the complete schedule.
THE FIELD:
WSU will compete against 21 other NCAA Division I teams, including three other Pac-12 squads...WSU's varsity eight has defeated seven of the 21 other varsity eights that will compete for the national championship: Wisconsin, Virginia, Syracuse, Indiana, UCF, Gonzaga and Navy...as a team, the Cougars have also competed against five other NCAA participants; Texas, Ohio State, Washington, California and Stanford, as all five of them are ranked in the top-10 in the nation...this season marks the fifth with an expanded field of 22 teams...eleven teams earned automatic bids, while the other 11 (including Washington State) were at-large selections...the Cougars' varsity eight is seeded 10th, the second varsity eight 16th and the varsity four 12th.
EXPERIENCE AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Cougars' NCAA roster features 15 student-athletes with experience at the NCAA Championships, including nine with experience at last two championships...six of the nine members of the varsity eight crew represented WSU last season at the 2016 NCAA Championships, and seven of the nine competed at the 2015 championships...redshirt seniors Ieva Adomaviciute and Nicole Hare didn't compete with WSU last season, as they were training for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but both are competing in their fourth NCAA Championships, as Hare is competing in the varsity eight boat for the fourth time (2013, 2014, 2015), while Adomaviciute is competing in the varsity eight boat for the third time (2013, 2015) after competing in the varsity four in 2014...fellow seniors Mihaela-Teodora Berindei and Isabella Watt are competing in their fourth-straight NCAA Championships...Berindei has rowed in the varsity eight at each of the three previous championships (2014, 2015, 2016), while Watt is rowing in the varsity eight for the first time at NCAAs after competing with the second varsity eight each of the last three seasons (2014, 2015, 2016)...junior coxswain Jenna Mangiagli (second varsity eight, 2015 & 2016) and her classmates Emily Morrow (second varsity eight, 2015 & 2016) and Lucie Weissova (varsity eight, 2015 & 2016) are each making their third appearance at the national championships, while sophomore Paige Danielson is making her second after rowing in the varsity four in 2016...five of the nine members of the second varsity eight crew have experience at the NCAA Championships, including two with two years of experience in redshirt senior Chloe Rogers (second varsity eight, 2014 & 2016) and Jessi Howe (second varsity eight, 2015 & 2016)...the rest with NCAA experience includes junior coxswain Ellie Burg (varsity four, 2016), junior Emily Thomson (varsity eight, 2016) and senior Lori VerMurlen (second varsity eight, 2016)...junior Kennedy of the second varsity eight and Brittany Brooks of the varsity four traveled to last year's NCAA Championships as spares.
2017 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The then-14th ranked Cougars notched their third-straight top-four finish as they placed fourth at the 2017 Pac-12 Rowing Championships, May 14, at Lake Natoma...the Cougars finished with 23.5 points, 7.5 points ahead of then-No. 15 USC...the varsity eight crew finished ahead of its seeding, placing fourth while tying its best finish since 2008...the second varsity eight matched its seed, placing fourth in its race...No. 1 Washington snapped No. 2 California's two-year winning-streak, capturing the Pac-12 title by sweeping all four events to finish with 45.5 points, for its first title since 2003...the second-ranked Golden Bears placed second in every event for 39 points, followed by No. 8 Stanford in third with 31.5 points.
PREVIOUSLY AT THE NCAAS:
The Cougars are making their 11th trip as a team to the NCAA Championships, their fifth-straight and seventh in eight years...they have reached the NCAA Championships as a team 10 prior times and once as a varsity eight boat...WSU's best finish came in 2006 as it placed fourth, led by a fourth-place finish from the varsity eight...that marked the last time WSU competed in the NCAA Championships at Mercer Lake...last season the Cougars placed 12th as a team...WSU matched its second-best finish in 2015, 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.
COACHING STAFF:
Jane LaRiviere is in her 15th year as head coach of the WSU women's rowing program...as a team, the Cougars have raced in 10 NCAA Championships under LaRiviere...she is joined by associate head coach Josh Adam, assistant/novice coach Karl Huhta and assistant coach Liz England...Adam is in his seventh year after coaching his prior two years at Indiana...Huhta is in his third year with the Cougars and second as the novice coach...England is entering her first season, after rowing for LaRiviere from 2010-12...graduate assistant Brandon Campbell is in his second season.
PAC-12 HIGHLY RANKED:
WSU is currently ranked 15th in the nation in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Division I Poll presented by Pocock Racing Shells...Washington State's No. 15 ranking keeps it in the nation's top-15 for a 28th-consecutive week dating back to March 25, 2015...overall, WSU is ranked in the top-20 for the 96th-consecutive week, dating back to June 11, 2008...five Pac-12 women's rowing teams are ranked in the top-20 poll: Washington-first, California-second, Stanford-eighth, WSU-15th, USC-17th, while UCLA is receiving votes...Washington received 24 first-place votes, while California garnered 1.
Fifteenth-ranked Washington State University women's rowing will make its 12th overall, fifth-straight and seventh NCAA Championships appearance in eight years as it heads to Mercer Lake at West Windsor, N.J., May 26-28 for the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships...the Ivy League and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will serve as hosts for the event...Division I racing begins at 6 a.m. PT/9 a.m. ET, Friday with the varsity eight heats...please see page two of today's notes for the complete schedule.
THE FIELD:
WSU will compete against 21 other NCAA Division I teams, including three other Pac-12 squads...WSU's varsity eight has defeated seven of the 21 other varsity eights that will compete for the national championship: Wisconsin, Virginia, Syracuse, Indiana, UCF, Gonzaga and Navy...as a team, the Cougars have also competed against five other NCAA participants; Texas, Ohio State, Washington, California and Stanford, as all five of them are ranked in the top-10 in the nation...this season marks the fifth with an expanded field of 22 teams...eleven teams earned automatic bids, while the other 11 (including Washington State) were at-large selections...the Cougars' varsity eight is seeded 10th, the second varsity eight 16th and the varsity four 12th.
EXPERIENCE AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Cougars' NCAA roster features 15 student-athletes with experience at the NCAA Championships, including nine with experience at last two championships...six of the nine members of the varsity eight crew represented WSU last season at the 2016 NCAA Championships, and seven of the nine competed at the 2015 championships...redshirt seniors Ieva Adomaviciute and Nicole Hare didn't compete with WSU last season, as they were training for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but both are competing in their fourth NCAA Championships, as Hare is competing in the varsity eight boat for the fourth time (2013, 2014, 2015), while Adomaviciute is competing in the varsity eight boat for the third time (2013, 2015) after competing in the varsity four in 2014...fellow seniors Mihaela-Teodora Berindei and Isabella Watt are competing in their fourth-straight NCAA Championships...Berindei has rowed in the varsity eight at each of the three previous championships (2014, 2015, 2016), while Watt is rowing in the varsity eight for the first time at NCAAs after competing with the second varsity eight each of the last three seasons (2014, 2015, 2016)...junior coxswain Jenna Mangiagli (second varsity eight, 2015 & 2016) and her classmates Emily Morrow (second varsity eight, 2015 & 2016) and Lucie Weissova (varsity eight, 2015 & 2016) are each making their third appearance at the national championships, while sophomore Paige Danielson is making her second after rowing in the varsity four in 2016...five of the nine members of the second varsity eight crew have experience at the NCAA Championships, including two with two years of experience in redshirt senior Chloe Rogers (second varsity eight, 2014 & 2016) and Jessi Howe (second varsity eight, 2015 & 2016)...the rest with NCAA experience includes junior coxswain Ellie Burg (varsity four, 2016), junior Emily Thomson (varsity eight, 2016) and senior Lori VerMurlen (second varsity eight, 2016)...junior Kennedy of the second varsity eight and Brittany Brooks of the varsity four traveled to last year's NCAA Championships as spares.
2017 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The then-14th ranked Cougars notched their third-straight top-four finish as they placed fourth at the 2017 Pac-12 Rowing Championships, May 14, at Lake Natoma...the Cougars finished with 23.5 points, 7.5 points ahead of then-No. 15 USC...the varsity eight crew finished ahead of its seeding, placing fourth while tying its best finish since 2008...the second varsity eight matched its seed, placing fourth in its race...No. 1 Washington snapped No. 2 California's two-year winning-streak, capturing the Pac-12 title by sweeping all four events to finish with 45.5 points, for its first title since 2003...the second-ranked Golden Bears placed second in every event for 39 points, followed by No. 8 Stanford in third with 31.5 points.
PREVIOUSLY AT THE NCAAS:
The Cougars are making their 11th trip as a team to the NCAA Championships, their fifth-straight and seventh in eight years...they have reached the NCAA Championships as a team 10 prior times and once as a varsity eight boat...WSU's best finish came in 2006 as it placed fourth, led by a fourth-place finish from the varsity eight...that marked the last time WSU competed in the NCAA Championships at Mercer Lake...last season the Cougars placed 12th as a team...WSU matched its second-best finish in 2015, 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.
COACHING STAFF:
Jane LaRiviere is in her 15th year as head coach of the WSU women's rowing program...as a team, the Cougars have raced in 10 NCAA Championships under LaRiviere...she is joined by associate head coach Josh Adam, assistant/novice coach Karl Huhta and assistant coach Liz England...Adam is in his seventh year after coaching his prior two years at Indiana...Huhta is in his third year with the Cougars and second as the novice coach...England is entering her first season, after rowing for LaRiviere from 2010-12...graduate assistant Brandon Campbell is in his second season.
PAC-12 HIGHLY RANKED:
WSU is currently ranked 15th in the nation in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Division I Poll presented by Pocock Racing Shells...Washington State's No. 15 ranking keeps it in the nation's top-15 for a 28th-consecutive week dating back to March 25, 2015...overall, WSU is ranked in the top-20 for the 96th-consecutive week, dating back to June 11, 2008...five Pac-12 women's rowing teams are ranked in the top-20 poll: Washington-first, California-second, Stanford-eighth, WSU-15th, USC-17th, while UCLA is receiving votes...Washington received 24 first-place votes, while California garnered 1.