U-M Qualifies for 14th Consecutive NCAA Championship Appearance
5/17/2022 5:18:00 PM | Rowing
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan rowing program earned a bid to the 2022 NCAA Rowing Championships, the NCAA announced on Tuesday (May 17). The Wolverines were among 12 at-large teams named to the field during the announcement, which followed conference championship weekend across the country.
U-M will travel to Sarasota, Fla., for the three-day championship event beginning Friday (May 27) and concluding on Sunday (May 29). Nathan Benderson Park, the site of the 2018 and 2021 championship regattas in addition to the Big Ten Invitational earlier this spring (April 15-16) will play host for the event. This marks the third time overall that the event has been held in the state of Florida.
Additional Big Ten programs in the field include automatic qualifiers Ohio State and at-large entry Rutgers, meaning that three of the conference's eight teams will be represented on the national stage. In total, 10 programs earned automatic bids.
Competitions include the first varsity eight, the second varsity eight, and the first varsity four races. The three boats from each school will compete for individual national titles while earning points toward the overall team championship.
U-M enters the event as the No. 7 seed in the first varsity eight. The Wolverines will be the No. 8 seed in the second varsity eight and the No. 7 seed in the first varsity four. U-M is one of 22 teams represented overall.
The team will trek to Florida shortly, a full week ahead of the championship races, in order to acclimate to hotter temperatures and a championship-level course.
U-M has placed in the top five in 11 of its 21 NCAA appearances and placed in the top 10 a total of 18 times. Recent successes have seen U-M finishing on the podium in third place (2017, '19). The Wolverines have been top-five finishers in three of the last four seasons.
The Wolverines were the national runners-up in 2001 and 2012, their highest finish ever at the NCAA Regatta. In 2012, the Michigan 2V8 boat won a national championship, aiding the team's finish.
