'Cuse Set for Finals Racing at NCAA Championship

Saturday, June 1

Bethel, OH

8 am

Syracuse University

NCAA Championship - Semifinals

Photo by: Tracey Edson

'Cuse Set for Finals Racing at NCAA Championship

6/1/2024 3:06:00 PM | Women's Rowing

Three Orange boats will race for the last time in the 2024 season on finals day at the NCAA Championships at East Fork/Lake Harsha in Bethel, Ohio. In semifinal racing the eighth-seeded varsity eight and the 17th-seeded varsity four both advanced to the petite final with sixth-place semifinal results. The Orange ninth-seeded second varsity eight will race in the C final after a second-place performance in the semifinals. All finals races are set for Sunday, June 2 starting at 8 am. The entire national championship regatta will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

The varsity eight covered the course in 6:25.250 in the semifinal race. Stanford finished first (6:14.840) followed by Princeton (6:17.191), Brown (6:18.740), California (6:20.264) and Penn (6:24.464). The Orange will race California, Michigan, Yale, Pennsylvania and Ohio State in the petite final at 9:20 am. Coxswain Caileigh Grimes, stroke Emmie Frederico, Ellie-Kate Hutchinson, Alena Criss, Zoe Acosta, Kamile Kralikaite, India Aikens, Aphrodite Gioulekas and bow Olivia Bachert make up the varsity eight.

In the second Syracuse race of the morning, the second varsity eight placed second in a time of 6:39.872, behind first-place Rutgers (6:34.986). Boston University took third (6:50.900) followed by Southern Methodist (6:56.578) and Jacksonville (7:07.766). Syracuse will race in the C final at 8:24 am against Indiana, Rutgers, Duke, Gonzaga and Boston University. Coxswain April Serrano guided the boat that includes stroke Elizabeth Vogt, Kaitlyn Dennis, Alice McNeill, Lena Radke, Aicha Abdelaziz, Charlotte Ebel, Grace Loveridge and Mae Sweeney.

The Orange varsity four finished its semifinal race in 7:31.523 to advance to the B final. Stanford won the race in 7:08.746, while Princeton was second (7:10.962) and Tennessee (7:11.841), Michigan (7:16.113) and Brown (7:21.875). Syracuse will race Michigan, California, Brown, Rutgers and Pennsylvania in the petite final on Sunday at 8:48 am. The Orange varsity four lineup included coxswain Chloe Van de Meulebroecke, stroke Sarah Haney, Lauren Coop, Minaya Bishop and bow Haley Uliasz.

The 10th-ranked Orange are racing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Championship and their seventh in the last eight national championship regattas (2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; no championship was held in 2020 due to COVID-19). The Orange are one of three ACC schools, along with Virginia and Duke, in the 22-team field at the 2024 NCAA Championship. Head coach Luke McGee has guided the team to the NCAA Championship regatta in each of the last three seasons. The Orange finished 10th in 2021, 17th in 2022 and 13th last season.

Syracuse won the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference championship for the first time in program history on May 18. The 10th-ranked Orange scored 90 points, which tied with 16th-ranked Virginia and won the league title by virtue of winning the varsity eight race. It is the second consecutive ACC title for the varsity eight, which won ACC Crew of the Year for the second consecutive year. The second varsity eight also won gold, marking the second ACC title for a Syracuse 2V8.

During the 2024 season, Syracuse raced against 10 teams ranked in the top 20 and 10 teams that will compete at the NCAA Championship.

Watch the racing: Finals
Follow the live results

NCAA Championship Finals Schedule
June 2, 2024
8:24 am – Second Varsity 8 (C final)
Lane 1 – Gonzaga
Lane 2 – Syracuse
Lane 3 – Indiana
Lane 4 – Rutgers
Lane 5 – Duke
Lane 6 -- Boston University

8:48 am – Varsity 4 (Petite Final)
Lane 1 – Syracuse
Lane 2 – Rutgers
Lane 3 – Michigan
Lane 4 – California
Lane 5 – Brown
Lane 6 – Pennsylvania

9:20 am – Varsity 8 (Petite Final)
Lane 1 – Syracuse
Lane 2 – Yale
Lane 3 – California
Lane 4 – Michigan
Lane 5 – Pennsylvania
Lane 6 – Ohio State

NCAA Championship Semifinals Results
June 1, 2024
Varsity 8 (A/B semifinal)
1. Stanford (6:14.840)
2. Princeton (6:17.191)
3. Brown (6:18.740)
4. California (6:20.264)
5. Penn (6:24.464).
6. Syracuse (6:25.250)

Second Varsity 8 C/D semifinal)
2. Syracuse (6:39.872)
1, Rutgers (6:34.986)
3. Boston University (6:50.900)
4. Southern Methodist (6:56.578)
5. Jacksonville (7:07.766).

Varsity 4 (A/B semifinal)
1. Stanford (7:08.746)
2. Princeton (7:10.962)
3. Tennessee (7:11.841)
4. Michigan (7:16.113)
5. Brown (7:21.875).
6. Syracuse (7:31.523)

Varsity 8
Coxswain Caileigh Grimes
Stroke Emmie Frederico
7 Ellie-Kate Hutchinson
6 Alena Criss
5 Zoe Acosta
4 Kamile Kralikaite
3 India Aikens
2 Aphrodite Gioulekas
Bow Olivia Bachert

Second Varsity 8
Coxswain April Serrano
Stroke Elizabeth Vogt
7 Kaitlyn Dennis
6 Alice McNeill
5 Lena Radke
4 Aicha Abdelaziz
3 Charlotte Ebel
2 Grace Loveridge
Bow Mae Sweeney

Varsity 4
Coxswain Chloe Van de Meulebroecke
Stroke Sarah Haney
3   Lauren Coop
2 Minaya Bishop
Bow Haley Uliasz

Spares
Maddy Gisby
Lea Dahn
Isabella DeSantis

SYRACUSE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1997          Varsity 8 at-large invitation (did not place)
2000           Varsity 8 at-large invitation (9th place finish)
2001           Varsity 8 at-large invitation (6th place finish)
2002           Team at-large invitation (12th place overall)
2005           Varsity 8 invited (16th place)
2016           Team at-large invitation (13th place overall)
2017           Team at-large invitation (13th place overall
2018           Team at-large invitation (16th place overall)
2020          No Championship due to COVID-19
2021           Team at-large invitation (10th place overall – best team finish in program history)
2022           Team at-large invitation (17th place overall)
2023           Team at-large invitation (13th place overall)
2024          ACC Champion (automatic qualifier)

The NCAA Rowing champion is determined by total points with points assigned based on the finish in each race. The first-place finisher in the First Varsity Eight will receive 66 points with each subsequent finisher collecting three fewer points – 63 for second, 60 for third, etc. The Second Varsity Eight winner will earn 44 points with each successive finisher collecting two fewer points - 42 points for second, 40 points for third, etc. and the Fours winner will receive 22 points, with the runner-up earning 21 points, third receiving 20 points, etc. Ties will be broken based on the teams' result in the First Eight.

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