Alabama Rowing Finishes 13th at NCAA Rowing Championship
Alabama rowing placed 13th in its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Rowing Championship down in Sarasota, Fla.
The Crimson Tide totaled 55 points at the end of the three-day competition, tying both Wisconsin and Washington State.
“We’re super proud of this team and what they were able to accomplish this year, and we’re also really grateful to all of the time and effort that our graduate students and seniors gave us to help the program get to this point," Alabama coach Glenn Putyrae said." We know that getting here is something that a lot of teams before us have worked for, and to be the first team to be on this stage is super exciting for us."
All three Alabama boats competed in their respective finals on Sunday morning, with the I Eights participating in the petite final and the II Eights and Fours in their respective C finals.
The I Eights finished their petite final in 11th place with a time of 6:38.759. In each C final, the II Eights placed 17th with a time of 6:51.030 and the Fours placed 16th with a time of 7:32.765.
Despite not placing higher and the end of the championship, this year was a banner year for the program and a sign of great things to come. With it being the team's first appearance on a national stage, Alabama rowing has now put itself on the map as an up-and-coming program.
"To be competitive and show that we’re not just here but that we belonged here is really important for us as a program," Putyrae said. "I told the team there are two things we have to do now – be really thoughtful about what we have learned but also, more importantly, to have decisive action so we can take what we learned and make changes for the future.”
Here is the final compilation of information from the NCAA Rowing Championship, courtesy of Alabama athletics:
Sunday Results:
- I Eights – Petite final, 6:38.759, 11th
- II Eights – C final, 6:51.030, 17th
- Fours – C final, 7:32.765, 16th
Alabama Lineups:
- First Varsity 8+: Izzie Gonzales (Cox), Claudia Mecchia, Darcy Jennings, Gianna Rucki, Brittany Hill, Ella Kemna, Ella Maggio, Gabrielle Krieger, Rebekah Stewart
- Second Varsity 8+: Emma Shekenberg (Cox), Keilani Hamann, Makena Clark, Saskia Dammersmith, Michala Struble, Sydney Wenstrom, Samantha Gafford, Raegan Beightol, Jacqueline White
- Varsity 4+: Haley Alexander (Cox), Elizabeth Struble, Lauren Montgomery, Emily Strawbridge, McKenna Carroll
Scoring Cheat Sheet:
- Finals Heats
- Grand final – place 1-6 from semifinal race
- Petite final – place 7-12 from semifinal race
- C final – place 13-18 from semifinal race
- D final – place 19-22 from semifinal race
- Point Breakdown in Finals Heats
- I Eights – Three points per place (e.g., 1st place – 66 points, 2nd place – 63 points, 3rd place – 60, etc.)
- II Eights – Two points per place (e.g., 1st place – 44 points, 2nd place – 42 points, 3rd place – 40 points, etc.)
- Fours – One point per place (e.g., 1st place – 22 points, 2nd place – 21 points, 3rd place – 20 points, etc.)
- Tiebreakers in final team standings are decided by the I Eights finish
Final Team Standings:
1. Texas 126
2. Stanford 126
3. Washington 126
4. Michigan 108
5. Virginia 106
6. Ohio State 104
7. Rutgers 96
8. Brown 88
9. California 83
10. Syracuse 69
11. SMU 68
12. Princeton 67
13. Alabama 55
14. Wisconsin 55
15. Washington St 55
16. Duke 55
17. Tennessee 36
18. Navy 34
19. Northeastern 20
20. Gonzaga 19
21. Rhode Island 14
22. Marist 8
