Orange Earn At-Large Bid to NCAA Rowing Championships
5/20/2025 5:23:00 PM | Women's Rowing
For the fifth consecutive season, the Syracuse University women's rowing team will compete at the NCAA Rowing Championship, as the Orange received an at-large bid Tuesday. The 22-team field will compete from May 30-June 1 on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.
The Syracuse varsity eight is the 17th seed, while the second varsity eight is seeded 12th and the varsity four is seeded third. The Orange are one of four ACC schools to make the NCAA Rowing Championship, along with Stanford, California and Virginia. The championship will begin on May 30 with heats. Semifinals will be contested on May 31 with finals set for June 1.Â
This season, the Orange competed against 10 teams currently ranked in the top 20, four of which are in the ACC. Syracuse has rowed against eight teams this season that made the NCAA Championship field.
The Orange varsity eight will face Brown, Stanford, Michigan and Harvard in the first heat of the championship. Syracuse's second varsity eight will compete against Boston, Texas, Yale, Dartmouth and Rhode Island in the fourth heat. The Orange varsity four heat will include Boston, California, Rutgers, UCF and Fairfield.Â
Syracuse is coming off a third-place finish at the ACC Championship last weekend. The Orange scored 104 points, with the varsity four taking home silver in its grand final and the second varsity eight earning bronze. Junior Ellie-Kate Hutchinson received All-ACC First Team accolades, while graduate student Aphrodite Gioulekas and senior Zoe Acosta earned All-ACC Second Team honors. Senior coxswain Caileigh Grimes also secured a spot on the All-ACC Third Team.
This will be Syracuse's 12th NCAA Championship appearance and its fifth in a row, extending the program's best ever streak. The Orange have now earned a spot in eight of the last nine NCAA Championships.
Last season, the Orange placed 11th at the NCAA Championship as the ACC automatic qualifier, marking the program's second-best finish at the event. Syracuse's varsity eight took eighth, with the varsity four finishing 12th and second varsity eight finishing 13th.
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.
The NCAA Rowing Championship will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
SYRACUSE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1997 Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 at-large invitation (did not place)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 at-large invitation (9th place finish)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 at-large invitation (6th place finish)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (12th place overall)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 invited (16th place)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (13th place overall)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (13th place overall
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (16th place overall)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â No Championship due to COVID-19
2021      Team at-large invitation (10th place overall – best team finish in program history)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (17th place overall)
2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (13th place overall)
2024Â Â Â Â Automatic qualifier - ACC Champion (11th place overall)
2025Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation
For more on the Syracuse women's rowing team, follow @CuseWRowing on social media.
The Syracuse varsity eight is the 17th seed, while the second varsity eight is seeded 12th and the varsity four is seeded third. The Orange are one of four ACC schools to make the NCAA Rowing Championship, along with Stanford, California and Virginia. The championship will begin on May 30 with heats. Semifinals will be contested on May 31 with finals set for June 1.Â
This season, the Orange competed against 10 teams currently ranked in the top 20, four of which are in the ACC. Syracuse has rowed against eight teams this season that made the NCAA Championship field.
The Orange varsity eight will face Brown, Stanford, Michigan and Harvard in the first heat of the championship. Syracuse's second varsity eight will compete against Boston, Texas, Yale, Dartmouth and Rhode Island in the fourth heat. The Orange varsity four heat will include Boston, California, Rutgers, UCF and Fairfield.Â
Syracuse is coming off a third-place finish at the ACC Championship last weekend. The Orange scored 104 points, with the varsity four taking home silver in its grand final and the second varsity eight earning bronze. Junior Ellie-Kate Hutchinson received All-ACC First Team accolades, while graduate student Aphrodite Gioulekas and senior Zoe Acosta earned All-ACC Second Team honors. Senior coxswain Caileigh Grimes also secured a spot on the All-ACC Third Team.
This will be Syracuse's 12th NCAA Championship appearance and its fifth in a row, extending the program's best ever streak. The Orange have now earned a spot in eight of the last nine NCAA Championships.
Last season, the Orange placed 11th at the NCAA Championship as the ACC automatic qualifier, marking the program's second-best finish at the event. Syracuse's varsity eight took eighth, with the varsity four finishing 12th and second varsity eight finishing 13th.
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.
The NCAA Rowing Championship will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
SYRACUSE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1997 Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 at-large invitation (did not place)
2000Â Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 at-large invitation (9th place finish)
2001Â Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 at-large invitation (6th place finish)
2002Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (12th place overall)
2005Â Â Â Â Â Â Varsity 8 invited (16th place)
2016Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (13th place overall)
2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (13th place overall
2018Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (16th place overall)
2020 Â Â Â Â Â No Championship due to COVID-19
2021      Team at-large invitation (10th place overall – best team finish in program history)
2022Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (17th place overall)
2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation (13th place overall)
2024Â Â Â Â Automatic qualifier - ACC Champion (11th place overall)
2025Â Â Â Â Â Â Team at-large invitation
For more on the Syracuse women's rowing team, follow @CuseWRowing on social media.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
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