May 19, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame rowing team made program history on Tuesday by securing its fourth straight bid to the NCAA Championship. An at-large selection into the national championship regatta returns Notre Dame to the Sacramento State Aquatics Center in Gold River, California for the second time this season.
Head coach Martin Stone’s Fighting Irish squad was one of 22 Division I teams that were selected on Tuesday by the NCAA for the 2015 NCAA Division I Rowing Championship, as the 2014-15 Notre Dame team received its second straight at-large berth into the NCAA Championship field.
It is the first time that Notre Dame will have members of a senior class graduate as four-time NCAA competitors thanks to the program’s fourth straight championship selection. Seniors Ailish Sheehan, Anna Kottkamp and Rose Doerfler are expected to become the first four-year NCAA Championship rowers in program history, with Sheehan racing as a member of Notre Dame’s first varsity eight each season. The Irish are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Championship as a full team after receiving their eighth NCAA regatta bid overall.
Teams that qualify for the NCAA Championship regatta field two boats of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers. Notre Dame was ranked 14th overall in the first varsity eight, 15th in the second varsity eight and 14th in the first varsity four after championship seeds were determined on Tuesday.
The Irish tied a program-best finish since the regatta adopted its current team format by placing ninth as host of the 2014 NCAA Championship at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. Notre Dame also finished 13th in 2013 and 15th in 2012 during its current qualification streak.
In its two other appearances in the NCAA team competition, Notre Dame finished ninth in 2006 and 12th in 2007. The Irish also competed in the 2002 and 2004 NCAA Championship regattas after Notre Dame’s varsity eight boats earned at-large bids, finishing 16th and 11th, respectively, in those two years.
Notre Dame was one of two ACC teams to garner a bid to the 22-team NCAA field for the second straight season. Virginia, which won the ACC crown for a sixth consecutive year, is again representing the conference as the ACC’s automatic qualifier.
For the third straight national championship regatta, a total of 22 teams will vie for the NCAA title. In 2013, the field was increased from the traditional 16-team lineup that had been part of the NCAA Championship format for several years.
The Irish will look to replicate their regular season success at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center, as Notre Dame claimed first place in Group B (37 points) at the Lake Natoma Invitational on April 11-12. Notre Dame has raced in the Lake Natoma Invitational in five of the past six seasons.
2015 NCAA Division I Rowing Championship
May 29-May 31, 2015
Sacramento State Aquatics Center
Gold River, Calif.
Automatic Qualifiers:
Brown (The Ivy League)
California (Pac-12 Conference)
UCF (American Athletic Conference)
Gonzaga (West Coast Conference)
Jacksonville (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
Massachusetts (Atlantic 10 Conference)
Navy (Patriot League)
Northeastern (Colonial Athletic Conference)
Ohio State (Big Ten Conference)
Texas (Big 12 Conference)
Virginia (Atlantic Coast Conference)
At-Large Selections:
Harvard
Indiana
Michigan
Notre Dame
Princeton
Southern California
Stanford
Washington
Washington State
Wisconsin
Yale
Boat Seeding:
I Eights
1. California
2. Ohio State
3. Stanford
4. Brown
5. Washington
6. Virginia
7. Michigan
8. Yale
9. Princeton
10. Indiana
11. Washington State
12. Texas
13. Harvard
14. Notre Dame
15. Wisconsin
16. Southern California
17. Gonzaga
18. Central Florida
19. Northeastern
20. Massachusetts
21. Navy
22. Jacksonville
II Eights
1. Washington
2. Virginia
3. Brown
4. California
5. Michigan
6. Ohio State
7. Washington State
8. Harvard
9. Stanford
10. Texas
11. Wisconsin
12. Yale
13. Southern California
14. Princeton
15. Notre Dame
16. Indiana
17. Gonzaga
18. Central Florida
19. Northeastern
20. Massachusetts
21. Navy
22. Jacksonville
Fours
1. Washington
2. Brown
3. Virginia
4. Ohio State
5. Washington State
6. Yale
7. California
8. Michigan
9. Princeton
10. Texas
11. Southern California
12. Wisconsin
13. Stanford
14. Notre Dame
15. Harvard
16. Indiana
17. Gonzaga
18. Massachusetts
19. Navy
20. Northeastern
21. Jacksonville
22. Central Florida
–ND–