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NCAA Championships: Virginia Rowing takes center stage this weekend from California to Georgia to Switzerland

ACC Digital Network

After a dominant 7th consecutive ACC Championship victory, the 3rd-ranked Virginia Women's Rowing team will trek to Gold River, California this weekend for the NCAA Championship at Lake Natoma.

Virginia will enter with a 5th-seeded Varsity 8+, a 5th-seeded Second Varsity 8+, and a 3rd-seeded Varsity 4+ in an attempt to take home their 3rd NCAA title against a field of familiar foes.

After conquering the rowing world with championships in 2010 and 2012, the Hoos have been supplanted by a new rowing power in the Ohio State Buckeyes, who have won the title in the following 3 years.

Meanwhile, the top-ranked Cal Bears have posted 2nd or 3rd-place finishes at NCAAs in each of the last 8 years. After spending most of the season as the top dogs, they'll be especially motivated to end their runner-up spell this year.

Brown, Princeton, and Stanford round out a field that Coach Kevin Sauer calls "the most competitive ever."

The Hoos have plenty of reasons to be optimistic, however, as the team is flying into Sacramento with veteran leadership and solid momentum. Senior Sam Casto and Juniors Erin Briggs and Georgia Ratcliff contribute U23 U.S. National Team experience to the surging Cavaliers, who easily took down #8 Texas before sweeping the ACC Championships in the past month. Expect these driven Hoos to compete at the top of the leaderboard this year.

Racing starts with Heats day on Friday, May 27th. The UVA Varsity 8+ will kick off Virginia's quest for the championship at 12:36pm, with the Second Varsity 8+ at 1:26pm and the Varsity 4+ at 2:00pm.

The top 2 boats from each heat, as well as the winner of the repechage on Friday night, compete in Semifinals on Saturday. Grand and Petite Finals will take place on Sunday. Live results can be found here and live video of the races can be found here.

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On the other side of the boathouse, the Virginia Men's Rowing team competes in the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) Championships this weekend at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, GA.

ACRA represents all club collegiate rowing teams in the U.S., and was established after these teams were barred from entry into the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships in 2008, as the IRA field was limited to Division I crews only.

To date, the Varsity 8+ ACRA title (largely considered the marker of an overall ACRA Championship) has only been won by 2 teams, Michigan and Virginia, with UVA's only 2 victories coming in 2011 and 2012. Like the Women's team, the Men's squad has watched a Big Ten school in Michigan dominate the club landscape for the past 3 years.

And just like the Women's team, this just might be the opportunity for the Virginia Men to break through.

After an underachieving 5th-place at the SIRA Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Coach Frank Biller completely reshuffled the Varsity 8+ lineup, providing an immediate speed boost just in time for the more competitive Dad Vail Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The crew took another 5th-place, but this time they finished behind the 17th, 19th, and 21st-ranked Division I crews in the nation, as well as only 2 seconds behind a 4th-place Michigan. Historically, Virginia has narrowed or reversed the margin with Michigan between Dad Vails and ACRAs, indicating that a 3rd ACRA Championship may be in the cards for the Hoos.

The other UVA crew to watch for is the Lightweight Men's 4+. These four men have finished behind 3 crews all season: 4th-ranked lightweight program Cornell, 10th-ranked Georgetown, and 2nd-ranked Columbia, all occurring at the Head of the Charles way back in October. Recently, they won the SIRA Regatta by 17 seconds and Dad Vails by 5 seconds, beating out 11th-ranked Delaware.

ACRA begins on Saturday, and Virginia will be competing with 11 total entries, beginning with Heats at 8:00am. Schedule can be found here and live video of the races will also be available here.

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If that isn't enough rowing for you, Virginia alum Matt Miller will be racing in the USA Men's 4- at World Cup II this weekend in Lucerne, Switzerland. After winning in the same boat at World Cup I last month, Miller, the current American record holder for the fastest 2000m piece on the ergometer, will look to continue his international success as he builds toward the USA Olympic Team for Rio this year. Information for Matt's event can be found here.

Go Hoos!

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