May 1, 2002

Notre Dame, Ind. – After finishing second at the BIG EAST Rowing Challenge, the Notre Dame rowing team fell three spots to 13th nationally in the latest US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll. It was the first time in three weeks that Notre Dame has appeared outside of the top 10. Two weeks ago, the Irish achieved the highest ranking in the five-year history of the program at ninth, marking the first time Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Washington continues to hold the top spot with 21 first-place votes and 496 points. Brown is second with the four remaining first-place votes and 479 points, while Michigan held steady in third with 432 points. Princeton stayed in fourth with 412 points, while Ohio State is fifth with 393 points. Yale, Cal, Harvard, USC and Syracuse round out the top 10.

Notre Dame has its biggest weekend of the year when it travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., May 18-19 for the 2002 Central Regions. All teams in the Central and South Region will participate in the weekend’s regatta.

Team (1st-Place Votes)              Points    Previous Rank1.  University of Washington (21)       496     12.  Brown University (4)            479     23.  University of Michigan          432     34.  Princeton University            412     55.  The Ohio State University           393     46.  Yale University             377     67.  University of California at Berkeley    312     88.  Harvard University              301     99.  USC                     300     1510. Syracuse University             249     1311. Stanford University             244     712. University of Virginia          232     1113. University Notre Dame           195     1014. Michigan State University           185     1215. Northwestern University         162     1616. Oregon State University         134     1717. Washington State University         102     1418. Cornell University                87        1819. Boston University                 78        2020. Duke University               40        19
Others receiving votes: Columbia University 17, University of Texas 13, Clemson University 5, University of Minnesota 2, Boston College 1, Dartmouth College 1, University of Iowa 1.