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SAN FRANCISCO – The 2019 Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Rowing Championships takes place Sunday, May 19 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Tickets are $10 (cash) at entry at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. A broadcast of the championships will air on a tape delayed basis in two 30-minute shows on Pac-12 Networks on Wednesday, May 22 starting with the men’s championship at 7 p.m. PT and the women’s championship at 7:30 p.m. PT. Last year, Washington won both the men's and women's Pac-12 titles, sweeping for the second-straight year.

TEAM GREEN AT THE PAC-12 ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Pac-12’s Rowing Championship at Lake Natoma will feature several Pac-12 Team Green programs to support the Conference’s sustainability initiative.  The Welcome Tent at the event will feature water kiosks for fans to fill their water bottles in hopes to limit the use of plastic water bottles. Recycling bins will be available throughout the footprint, and Team Green will collect bottles and cans between the races. Heat sheets will be shared on the Pac-12 website and available for digital distribution to avoid the use of excessive paper. For more information about the Pac-12’s sustainability initiative, please visit pac-12.com/teamgreen.

WOMEN’S ROWING
Pac-12 women’s rowing is one of the most successful Conferences in the country and has been since the beginning of collegiate rowing. Conference teams have won the last three NCAA Championships, giving the Conference a total of nine NCAA titles, the most of any conference. Since the NCAA began hosting women’s rowing championship in 1997, Pac-12 schools have finished first or second in 18 of 22 years, including three years with the top-two finishers. 

2018 NCAA Champion California looks to claim its first Pac-12 title since 2016. Similar to the men, California and Washington claim the most Pac-12 rowing titles of any other program, with the Huskies owning 16 and Golden Bears claiming 12 league titles since 1987. UCLA owns two titles (1990, 91) and USC (2007) and Stanford (2014) have won one each. Washington aims to win its third-straight Pac-12 Championship.

CALIFORNIA claimed two of the last three NCAA Team Championships, but is looking to win its first Conference title since 2016. Cal currently ranks second in the CRCA/USRowing coaches poll behind an undefeated season from the varsity eight. They have head-to-head victories over Pac-12 rivals Washington and Stanford this season. Cal’s 2018 CRCA Division I National Coach of the Year Al Acosta is back at the helm in his fifth season, as well as three CRCA Pocock All-Americans from last season, Dana Moffat, Juliane Faralisch and Charlotte Wesselmann. Moffat won gold with the U.S. this past summer at the World Championships while her varsity eight teammate Sydney Payne won silver in the Canadian eight at the World Championships.

OREGON STATE has been one of the most improved programs this season, as the Beavers’ varsity eight boat landed a spot in the CRCA/USRowing poll for the first time since April 8, 2015. The Beavers currently rank at No. 19 in the nation in head coach Kate Maxim’s second season. Returning All-American senior Alina Hagstrom, who has raced in the V8 stroke seat all season, tries to guide OSU to its first NCAA Championships berth since 2009. Hagstrom, along with freshman Zoe Adamson, raced at the U23 World Championships in Poznan, Poland last July. Hagstrom won gold in the women’s pair for Team USA, while Adamson earned a bronze medal in women’s quadruple scull for Great Britain.

STANFORD lands at No. 3 in the most recent CRCA/USRowing poll after another impressive season. Stanford, two-time NCAA Champions, won its first Pac-12 title in 2014. The Cardinal recently defeated rival Cal at the Big Row, winning four of six races. Stanford is familiar with Lake Natoma, competing against top competition against No. 2 Cal, No. 7 Brown and Notre Dame at the Lake Natoma Invitational in April. The Cardinal’s second varsity eight and varsity four earned gold, while its varsity eight and third varsity eight boats earned silver.

UCLA heads into the Conference Championships with its most veteran team in the last several years, with 12 seniors on the rosters. The Bruins advanced each of its crews to the “Grand Final” races at the San Diego Crew Classic on April 6-7. UCLA’s varsity eight and second varsity eight boats each recorded fifth-place finishes. Head coach Amy Fuller Kearney, who has been at the head of the women’s rowing program for 18 years, tries to guide the Bruins back to an NCAA Championship appearance. They last reached NCAAs in 2014 and earned a berth for three-straight years from 2012-14.

USC ranks No. 13 in the latest CRCA/USRowing poll and heads into the Pac-12 Championships off of strong performances in its last three events. The varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four boats all placed first at the Lake Natoma Invitational on April 14. The Trojans won the B Final at the Longhorn Invitational on April 27 and defeated crosstown rival UCLA for the 18th-straight time on May 11. USC’s V8 boat is led by 2018 CRCA All-American and All-Pac-12 recipient Radka Novotnikova. USC won its first and most recent Pac-12 Championship in 2007.

WASHINGTON has been ranked No. 1 in the CRCA/USRowing poll each of the last six weeks. The Huskies have continued its historically successful ways this season. They won the NCAA Championship in 2017 and placed second behind Pac-12 rival California last year. Five of the nine members of last year’s varsity eight remain on the team in 2019 and have dominated this season as well. Washington has varsity eight wins over No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 15 USC. Additionally, UW won the varsity four and the third varsity eight at the San Diego Crew Classic, and finished second in the varsity eight and second varsity eight. The Huskies are the only team to finish in the top three in all five events – and they finished in the top two in each. Teammates Calina Schanze and Tabea Schendekehl also competed internationally this year, traveling to their native Germany in March and winning the German National pairs trial.

WASHINGTON STATE head coach Jane LaRiviere, in her 17th season, looks to guide the Cougs to its first Conference Championship and seventh-straight NCAA Championship appearance. WSU ended the regular season on a solid note, claiming the Fawley Cup over Gonzaga for a third-straight year and 25th all-time on April 28. Washington State’s varsity eight boat is led by its only senior rower, the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and two-time NCAA Elite 90 Award winner, Paige Danielson.

The Pac-12 Championships are the last regatta before the NCAA Championships (women) and IRA Championships (men). The NCAA Women’s Rowing Selection Show will be broadcast on NCAA.com at 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday, May 21.

MEN’S ROWING
Pac-12 men’s rowing has won of the most decorated histories of any conference in the nation. The Pac-12 has won eight of the last 10 IRA Championships, and has 35 IRA national titles, the second most of any conference. Washington and California are also the only two programs in IRA history to win the title four-consecutive years. Pac-12 men’s rowing teams hold seven out of 10 IRA course records and have won the last 13-straight James Ten Eyck awards.

California and Washington have dominated the men’s Pac-12 Championships for the past 50 years, with either the Golden Bears or Huskies winning the event every year since 1971. In the last 10 years, Washington has claimed the Conference crown eight times including the last two, while the Bears won in 2016 and 2009.

CALIFORNIA, looking to capture its first Pac-12 title since 2016 after finishing runner-up to Washington each of the last two seasons, is currently ranked fourth in the nation in the IRA/USRowing coaches poll. It closed out the season with a sweep of rival Stanford at the Big Row. The Golden Bears are led by first-year head coach Scott Frandsen, who helped Cal’s varsity eight to three-consecutive IRA Championships and Pac-12 titles (2000-02). The Golden Bears current varsity eight squad features several seniors with extensive international experience, including Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Maarten Hurkmans. Hurkmans is a member of the Netherlands' senior national team and fellow seniors Ferdinand Querfeld (Austria) and Joachim Sutton (Denmark) also compete for their home country’s senior national teams.

OREGON STATE has been ranked in the national poll every week this season and lands at No. 17 in the most recent poll. OSU is seeking its seventh-straight trip to the IRA Championships. The Beavers have finished in the top-four at the Pac-12 Championships every year since 1993 and look to capture its first Conference title. Freshman Jacoby Wilson, a native of Oregon, has been a standout for the team this season, joining the program last fall and working his way onto the Beavers’ varsity eight boat.

STANFORD taps in at No. 13 in the national poll and heads into the Pac-12 Championships aiming to claim its first-ever league title. Stanford’s varsity eight boat has competed well in its last couple of competitions, taking first place at the Cardinal’s own annual Stanford Invitational on April 14. They also won two of its varsity eight races against Pac-12 rival Oregon State on April 7 at the Pac-12 Challenge. The varsity eight is led by junior  Brennan Wertz, who won gold at the 2018 Under 23 World Rowing Championships last July. Wertz is a two-time All-Pac-12 selection and earned Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year honors in 2017.

WASHINGTON has been ranked No. 2 in every national poll of the season. The Huskies are yet to lose a race in any boat this season and have compiled major victories (in all boats) over No. 4 California, No. 7 Northeastern, No. 8 Boston University, No. 13 Stanford and No. 17 Oregon State. Senior captain Ben Davison won the men’s single sculls in the fall at the Head of the Charles Regatta, beating a field of 30 of the world’s best scullers. Davison (USA M2x) and teammate Simon van Dorp (Netherlands M8+) also competed at the senior World Championships last summer. Washington has won the James Ten Eyck Trophy, honored to the team that accumulated the most points at the IRA National Championship, in 11 of the last 12 regattas. The Huskies look to complete the three-peat at the Pac-12 Championships and claim their 37th all-time.

Additionally, the UCLA and Washington State club crews compete in the men’s field at the Pac-12 Championships.

The Pac-12 Championships are the last regatta before the  IRAChampionships for the men. The IRA will announce their national championship fields, seedings and lane draws via an online selection show. The webcast is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21 at 4 p.m. PT.

2019 PAC-12 ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

Time (PT)             Event

9:00 a.m............. MV4: Grand Final 

9:15 am.............. WN8: Grand Final

9:30 am.............. MN8: Grand Final

9:45 am.............. W3V8: Grand Final

10:00 am............ M3V8: Grand Final

10:15 am............ WV4: Grand Final

10:30 am............ M2V8: Grand Final

10:45 am............ W2V8: Grand Final

11:00 am............ MV8: Grand Final

11:15 am............ WV8: Grand Final