Fifth-Ranked Michigan Chosen for NCAA Championships
5/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
The Wolverines are looking for their first national title after finishing second at the 2001 NCAA Championships. The squad did bring home an individual title last season as the second varsity eight became the first Michigan boat to win an NCAA title when the crew won its event by open water with an NCAA-record time of 6:43.34. The first varsity eight and varsity four finished third and second, respectively, in their events.
Michigan enters this year's national championships riding the momentum of its fifth-consecutive Central Region championship. The Wolverines won the second varsity eight and varsity four races and finished 18 points ahead of No. 3 Ohio State, the team which defeated U-M at the Big Ten Conference Championships.
The NCAA Rowing Championships have a new look this season. The format for this season creates three separate national championships -- Division I, Division II and Division III -- which take place on the same course over the same dates. For the Division I championships, the field expands to 12 teams which will compete in the first varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four events and earn points toward a team title. Four institutions not represented in the team competition will bring first varsity eight boats and compete in that event but will not score points toward the team championship. The expansion results in a first varsity eight event with 16 participants and second varsity eight and varsity four events with 12 participants.
The 11 other teams invited to the 2002 NCAA Championships are Brown, California, Harvard, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Washington and Yale. The first varsity eight boats of Cornell, Notre Dame, Southern California and Washington State also received bids to the championships.
Notable selections include Washington and Brown, the only two team champions in the five-year history of the NCAA Championships. The UW Huskies are the defending national champion and have been No. 1-ranked team for the majority of the season.
Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Ohio State are also in the field. This is the third trip to the national championships for both the Spartans (1999-2000) and the Buckeyes (2000-01). This is the fourth consecutive year in which three Big Ten teams have been selected to the NCAA Championships, a reflection of the strength of the programs in the conference.
Indiana University and the United States Rowing Association (USRowing) are the co-hosts for the championships. For ticket information, call the Indiana University ticket office at 866-IUSPORTS (866-487-7678) or visit www.iuhoosiers.com/ncaa/rowing/ on the Internet.
Additional information is available on the NCAA's official championships web site at www.ncaachampionhips.com.
Contact: Jason Gerdom (734) 763-4423
