Rowing Report: NCAA Championships

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THIS WEEK
The No. 8 University of Iowa women’s rowing team competes at the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships this weekend at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. The three-day competition begins Friday at 8 a.m. (CT). The semifinals are Saturday at 7:12 a.m. and the finals begin Sunday at 7:12 a.m.  The Division I NCAA awards ceremony begins Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
34533NCAA HISTORY
The Hawkeyes are making their third NCAA appearance in school history. Iowa first advanced to nationals in 2001, placing ninth overall. In 2017, the Hawkeyes ended a 16-year postseason drought, earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships and placing 15th overall.

 
RACE STRUCTURE
Friday’s opening round consists of the I Eight, II Eight, and I Four heats, and the I Eight, II Eight, and I Four repechages. Iowa is seeded No. 7 in the I Eight, No. 8 in the II Eight, and No. 14 in the I Four.  
    Depending on their results in those races, the Hawkeyes will move on to either repechage races later Friday and/or semifinal races on Saturday, May 27. Finals are Sunday, May 28.
    Iowa’s I Eight crew opens in Heat 2 (lane 4) against Navy, USC, Stanford, and Washington State at 8:12 a.m. (CT). 
    The II Eight is in Heat 1 (lane 4) against Northeastern, USC, Washington, and Syracuse at 8:48 a.m. 
    The I Four crew faces Navy, Indiana, Ohio State, Yale, and Jacksonville in Heat 3 (lane 5) beginning at 10 a.m. 
    The semifinals for all boat classes are Saturday. The Grand final, Petite final, C final, and D final Sunday. An explanation of race progressions can be found below.

RACE PROGRESSIONS
 FORMAT  Four heats, two repechages, two semifinal A-B and two semifinals C-D.
 HEATS  Top two crews advance to A-B semifinals, the remainder advance to the repechages.
 REPECHAGES  Two seven-boat repechages. Top two crews advance to A-B semifinals, remainder to C-D semifinals.
 ADVANCEMENT  Top three crews from semifinals A-B advance to Grand Final, remainder to Petite Final.
 Top three crews from semifinals C-D advance to C Final, remainder advance to D Final.

 

FOLLOW ALONG
The NCAA Championships are streamed live at ncaa.com/liveschedule. Links to live streaming and live results will be posted on the rowing schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. A member of the Iowa rowing staff will offer interactive Twitter content live at the NCAA Championships via @iowarowing. This feature gives Hawkeye fans the opportunity to stay up to date on the latest news and scores during the regattas.
 
IV8 NCAA HISTORY
Ashley Duda, Izzy Dolba, Kaelynn Heiberg, and Eve Stewart return from last year’s 2017 NCAA I Varsity Eight boat.
    Hannah Greenlee and Contessa Harold raced in Iowa’s II Varsity Eight last season, and Katie Person and Logan Jones (coxswain) raced in the I Varsity Four. Eve Stewart is making her NCAA Championships debut.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING
Crews are awarded points for their final finish in each of the three boats (I Eights, II Eights and Fours). In the Fours, the first-place finisher (in the Grand Final) receives 22 points, with each place below that receiving one fewer point (21 points for second, 20 for third on down to 1 point for 22nd place). In the II Eights, the points are doubled (44 points for first place, 42 for second, down to 2 points for 22nd place). In the I Eights, the points are tripled (66 points for first, 63 for second on down to 3 for 22nd place).
        The team with the most points is named NCAA Champion. If there is a tie, the tied teams’ result in the I Eights serves as the tiebreaker.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
The University of Iowa women’s rowing team is ranked No. 8 in the May 9 USRowing/CRCA Coaches’ Poll. The Hawkeyes debuted at No. 17 in the USRowing/CRCA Coaches’ Poll on March 28 and steadily climbed to No. 11 in the April 4 and April 11 polls, which matched the highest ranking in program history. That record was broken April 18, when Iowa climbed to No. 7 following five straight wins by the I Varsity Eight over No. 12 USC (April 1), No. 18 Michigan State and No. 6 Michigan (April 7), and No. 4 Princeton, and No. 6 Yale (April 14).
 
ONE STEP AT A TIME
Iowa set a school record with 111 points and matched its best finish in program history with a fourth-place finish at the 2018 Big Ten Championships on May 13.
    The Hawkeyes have improved one spot in the conference standings in each of Andrew Carter’s five years at the Big Ten Championships. In his first season as Iowa’s head coach, Carter and the Hawkeyes placed seventh with 39 points. In 2015, Iowa moved up one spot to sixth with 79 points. In 2016, the Hawkeyes placed fifth with 95 points, and in 2017, the team set a then-school record with 106 points, tying for fourth place.
    The Hawkeyes’ 2017 Big Ten Conference Championships performance led to the second NCAA Championships berth in school history. Iowa’s only other NCAA Rowing appearance was in 2001.
 
HAROLD NAMED BIG TEN CO-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Sophomore Contessa Harold was named Big Ten Conference Co-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced May 17.
    Harold is the first Hawkeye in program history to earn the conference honor. She shares the award with Michigan’s Kendall Brewer. Harold earned first team All-Big Ten honors following Iowa’s record-breaking performance at the 2018 Big Ten Championships, and she is leading the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Championships for the second straight year.
 
RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE
The Hawkeyes scored a school-record 111 points to place fourth at the 2018 Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis on May 13. The fourth-place finish matched the program’s best finish in school history.
    Sophomore Contessa Harold was named to the All-Big Ten first team, and senior Kaelynn Heiberg and sophomore Hunter Koenigsfeld were named to the second team. Baillie McCunn was Iowa’s sportsmanship award winner.
 
B1G BOAT OF THE WEEK
The I Varsity Eight boat earned consecutive Big Ten Boat of the Week honors following four straight wins against Michigan, Michigan State, Princeton, and Yale. Iowa swept No. 18 Michigan State and No. 6 Michigan on April 7, and swept No. 4 Princeton and No. 6 Yale on April 14. All four boats were nationally ranked.
    It marked the first time in program history that Iowa has earned back-to-back conference honors, and is the 10th and 11th honor overall honor.
    Iowa’s I Varsity Eight boat is comprised of Ashley Duda, Izzy Dolba, Kaelynn Heiberg, Hannah Greenlee, Hunter Koenigsfeld, Contessa Harold, Katie Pearson, Eve Stewart, and Logan Jones (coxswain). 

 

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