Syracuse Earns Trip to NCAA Championships

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second straight season, the Syracuse women's rowing team has earned an at-large invitation to the NCAA Championships, as announced on Tuesday night. The 2017 NCAA Championships will be held on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. from May 26-28.

"You set it as a goal at the beginning of the year," head coach Justin Moore said. "We didn't want last year to just be a fluke. We wanted to become a perennial NCAA competitor and perennial top-10 team. Qualifying back to back years is one of the steps to making that happen. We were really happy when we saw our name called."

.@RowOrange is bound for the #NCAARowing Championships for the second straight season! ??????? #OrangeNation pic.twitter.com/EJkRhxS6TR
— Syracuse Athletics (@Cuse) May 16, 2017

It marks only the third time Syracuse has qualified for the national championship regatta as a team. The first varsity eight crew earned bids during the 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2005 campaigns.

The second varsity eight boat notched the team's top seeding heading into the NCAA Championships, earning the 10th overall seed. The first varsity eight and first varsity four crews were named the 14th and 15th seeds, respectively.

Last year, the Orange placed 13th overall at the 2016 NCAA Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif., fueled by a 12th-place showing from the first varsity eight boat. Seniors Shannon McCann, Saydee McQuay, and Harriet Taylor, junior Ashley Johnson, and sophomores Rachael Caldwell and Arianna Lee all rowed in the top Syracuse crew.

The program has enjoyed one of its most successful years under Moore. In the most recent USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Poll, the Orange rank No. 13 nationally, their highest regular-season appearance since April 2, 2003. The first varsity eight boat notched Atlantic Coast Conference Crew of the Week honors three times, while the second varsity eight boat won the conference title on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C. on May 14.