NCAA Feature Story: Back on Top

The Texas Longhorns returned to the top of the podium at the 2024 NCAA national championship in early June on Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio, to claim the Division I title. Western Washington took home its ninth Division II crown, and Tufts won its first Division III national title.

After adverse weather caused a change in the finals schedule Sunday morning, Texas claimed its third national championship in four years by winning the varsity eight and varsity four events, in addition to bringing home silver in the second varsity eight.

The Longhorn women were ranked first in the Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll for much of the season, so their win was hardly a shock, but overcoming defending champion Stanford and a red-hot Tennessee was no easy feat.

Racing was tight throughout the regatta, as Texas (130 points) came away with the team win by merely three points over the Cardinal (127). The top of the team standings was rounded out by Tennessee (118), Princeton (112), Washington (106), Brown (99), Michigan (90), Yale (88), California (84), and Penn (77).

After winning their first two championships in 2021 and 2022, the Longhorns fell to fourth place last year. Coach Dave O’Neill learned from the experience, and the development that ensued spurred the team to victory this year.

“We would not have had this year without last year, and this team was fully committed and focused from day one,” said O’Neill. “We went back to some things we had done in previous years in terms of training and that instilled some real confidence in themselves and their teammates.”

Texas was clearly on a mission all year, beginning the season with a win at the San Diego Crew Classic and a sweep of all races at Michigan. Texas then cemented its title aspirations with a win over then No.-1 ranked Stanford at the Longhorn Invite.

The crew rounded out the season with a ninth-consecutive sweep of the Big 12 Championship.

“The athletes definitely felt prepared for anything on race day, and they certainly needed it with such intense racing,” O’Neill said, as he reflected on another dominating season. “I’m proud to be part of it, and it was wonderful to witness.”

Following closely on the Longhorns heels, defending 2023 NCAA champion Stanford finished second in the overall-points standings this year and raced to victory in the second varsity eight event, finishing second in the varsity eight and third in the varsity four.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the Cardinal have finished top two at the national championship. The squad also won its third-straight Pac-12 championship, which is sure to be the last as the university joins the ACC next academic year and the Pac-12 rowing championship dissolves.

No.-3 ranked Tennessee lived up to that rank and finished third in the points standings, the best-ever finish for the Lady Vols, who the past two season didn’t even qualify for NCAAs.

New head coach Kim Cupini and her squad finished third in both the first and second varsity eights, while capturing fifth place in the varsity four.

“This year’s performance and podium finish were epic for the team and staff, especially in this first year with all the changes and challenges that come with building a different program,” Cupini effused.

“There’s no doubt that Tennessee rowing will continue to race for the top in the years to come. I was truly honored to coach these women this year and work alongside some awesome staff. This season was just the beginning, and we are all excited to continue building this new precedent for Tennessee rowing.”

Before the DI championships wrapped up, the Division II and III national champions were named on Saturday. In the DII field, Western Washington earned its ninth national championship, winning the varsity eight event and finishing fifth in the varsity four.

The Vikings led the eight wire to wire, finishing over a boat length ahead of Mercyhurst, which was ranked just sixth in the last Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll before the championship. Defending champions Cal Poly Humboldt finished fourth overall, runners-up in the varsity four and fourth-place finishers in the varsity eight.

This was the tightest, most competitive field in the history of the DII NCAA championship, as the top four teams were separated by a mere four points: Western Washington (22 points), Mercyhurst (21), Central Oklahoma (20), and Cal Poly Humboldt (19).

Tufts earned its first-ever NCAA DIII championship after a strong performance in the varsity eight, which the Jumbos led from the 500-meter mark to the finish, coming in over three seconds ahead of Wesleyan, which also finished second in the points standings.

Williams, which defeated Tufts in the heats on Friday, finished third. The Tufts second varsity eight finished second behind the Ephs, who finished third in the points standings.

Tufts was led by first-time head coach Lily Siddall, who began with the Jumbos in 2019 and was promoted to interim head coach last summer. Since then, Tufts has had an outstanding year, winning the collegiate eight at the Head of the Charles, the points trophy at both the New England Rowing Championships and the National Invitational Rowing Championships, and the program’s first-ever New England Small College Athletic Conference title.

“It’s been a great year for Tufts rowing due to the hard work of the whole team,” Siddall said. “We are lucky to have five eights of really strong, motivated, smart athletes. I’m also very lucky to work with other great coaches. The success we had this year was built on the foundation that so many Tufts rowers have set before us.”

Causes for celebration came throughout the field, not just for those on the podium. In addition to the top three finishers, both Princeton and Washington advanced all three crews to the grand finals. Indiana finished 15th, its best finish since 2019, after placing second as a team at the Big Ten Championship, the team’s best-ever result.

For the first time in program history, West Coast Conference champions Gonzaga advanced all crews to the C finals, and Jacksonville’s varsity eight finished 21st, the best-ever finish for not only the Dolphins but also for any Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team.

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