Courtesy: Stanford Athletics

05/17/2016

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford earned its eighth consecutive bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships when selections were announced on Tuesday.

The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships will take place at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center in Gold River, California Friday – Sunday, May 27-29. The Pac-12 Conference and Sacramento State Aquatics Center will serve as co-hosts for the national regatta. The event will begin with heat racing on Friday, followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the Grand Finals on Sunday.    

The Cardinal, coming off a second-place team finish in the Pac-12 Championships this past weekend, is one of 22 teams overall and one of 11 at-large bids in the 2016 field. This will is the 11th all-time appearance and eighth straight year Stanford has earned a bid to the NCAA Championships.

After finishing second by the narrowest of margins to top-seeded California in the Pac-12 Championships this past Sunday, Stanford's varsity eight has earned the No. 2 seed in the event. Stanford will be in the event's second heat at 9:12 a.m. PT on Friday, racing against Michigan, Yale, Gonzaga and Northeastern. 

The second varsity eight, which finished third in the Pac-12 Championships, will be the No. 8 seed in the event at the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal will be in the event's first heat at 10 a.m. PT against Brown, Wisconsin, Syracuse and USC. 

The varsity four, which also placed third in the Pac-12 Championships, will be the No. 9 seed in the event at the NCAA Championships. Stanford will be in the event's first heat on Friday at 10:36 a.m. PT against California, Wisconsin, Indiana and Gonzaga.

Stanford, ranked sixth in the latest CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, is one of five Pac-12 teams in the 2016 field. The Cardinal is joined by fellow conference crews California, Washington, Washington State and USC. 

The Cardinal placed sixth as a team in the 2015 NCAA Championships, which were also held at the Lake Natoma course. The varsity eight finished fifth, the second varsity eight placed seventh, and the varsity four finished ninth in each boat's respective Grand Final at last season's NCAA Championships.

Stanford captured the NCAA team title in 2009.

All races in the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships will be live streamed through the NCAA at here.