May 16, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. – History was made again for the Notre Dame rowing program as the Irish were one of 12 schools to receive a team berth in the 2006 NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championship. It marks the first-ever team berth for Notre Dame in the eight-year history of the program.
The ’06 Championship will be held May 26-28 at the Finn M. W. Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. Rutgers University and the Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA) will serve as hosts. The Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center is one of the premier rowing venues in the country and is the training site for the U.S. National Team.
In earning a team bid, the Irish varsity eight, currently ranked an all-time program best of 10th in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/US Rowing Poll, second varsity eight and varsity four will compete for the team championship. In addition to Notre Dame, Brown, California, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Stanford, Tennessee, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin and Yale also earned team berths. Four boats from Boston University, Minnesota, USC and UCLA earned at-large berths into the varsity eight race.
While this will mark Notre Dame’s first appearance in the NCAA field as a team, it will not mark the first time the Irish have competed in the event. In both 2002 and 2004, Notre Dame’s varsity eight boats received at-large berths with the varsity eight crew in ’04 finishing 11th
“This is just an unbelievable accomplishment for our program to be considered one of the top 12 teams in the country,” head coach Martin Stone said. “At the start of the season, this was our goal and the next step for our team and our entire program. It’s been a total team effort for us all season long and its great that our hard work, determination and commitment has paid off. I particularly want to recognize our seniors for the leadership that they have displayed. This year has truly been a total team effort for us and I couldn’t be more excited for our squad.”