11th-ranked Tiger rowing team well-positioned for new-format NCAAs

With an eye toward earning a spot in the new-format NCAA rowing championships, the Tiger rowing team held a home intrasquad regatta last week in preparation for its regular-season finale against Louisville and Notre Dame at Oak Ridge, TN.

A scheduled dual competition against Alabama was cancelled after the Crimson Tide was unable to make the trip to Clemson in the aftermath of the tornado that devastated the Tuscaloosa area.

The intrasquad regatta marked the final home races for First Varsity 8+ crew members Liz Robb and Grace Wolff, as well 10 other members of the team.

After racing against Louisville and Notre Dame on May 15, the Tigers will await word from the NCAA selection committee on a possible bid to the 2011 championship regatta, which will be held at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, CA, and hosted by Washington State. Bids will be announced on May 17.

Starting this year, the NCAA has eliminated its regional qualification, Varsity 8-oriented championship format in favor of a 16-team, full-squad competition.

This year’s field will be comprised of automatic qualifiers from seven conferences – the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Ten, Ivy League, Pac 10 and Colonial Athletic Association – with nine at-large entries.

Clemson is competing for one of the nine at-large spots after finishing second to defending NCAA champion Virginia in the ACC championships two weeks ago at Lake Hartwell.

In the wake of its runner-up finish to the Cavaliers, Clemson climbed to a No. 11 ranking in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association coaches’ poll, matching the highest ranking ever for the Tiger program.

The CRCA’s current rankings take into account whole-team strength, whereas prior to 2010, only each team’s First Varsity 8+ crew was ranked.

Princeton holds the No. 1 spot by a narrow margin over Stanford. California is third, followed by Southern California, Virginia, Brown, Washington, Michigan State, Yale, Ohio State and Clemson.

Rounding the top 20 are Washington State, Harvard, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan, Cornell, UCLA, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

Last fall, Clemson was selected as the host institution for the 2013 NCAA championships, which will be held at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, GA at the site of the 1996 Olympic rowing competition.

The 2012 championship will be held at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, NJ, and will be hosted by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association.