Cavaliers place fifth at NCAA Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia finished fifth at the NCAA Rowing Championships Sunday at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. The fifth-place finish marked UVA’s 17th top-5 finish in 23 NCAA championship appearances.

Virginia’s Varsity Four rowed to a fourth-place finish, while the Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Eight finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

“I would be lying if I said we weren’t disappointed not being on the podium,” head coach Kevin Sauer said. “But, this team accomplished a lot this year (our 17th top-5 NCAA finish and 20th ACC Championship) so I am grateful for the resilience, attitude and hard work of this team. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Texas’ win in the Varsity Eight grand final earned them the NCAA team title, breaking a three-way tie in total points (126) with Stanford and Washington. The Cardinal placed second, while the Huskies placed third. Michigan (108), Virginia (106), Ohio State (104), Rutgers (96), Brown (88), California (83) and Syracuse (69) completed the top-10.

UVA’s Varsity Four placed fourth behind Washington (7:02.172), Stanford (7:03.258) and Texas (7:07.186) with a time of 7:09.112. Ohio State finished fifth and Michigan placed sixth.

The Cavaliers’ Second Varsity Eight finished fifth behind Washington (6:23.232), Stanford (6:24.482), Texas (6:29.088) and Ohio State (6:32.086) with a time of 6:33.288. Michigan finished sixth.

UVA’s Varsity Eight finished sixth in the grand final, which was delayed nearly two hours due to inclement weather. Texas won the event at 6:17.387, while Stanford (6:18.891), Washington (6:21.715), Michigan (6:23.437), Rutgers (6:27.635) and the Cavaliers (6:30.113)