Rowing Selected to Compete in Fourth-Consecutive NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
May 20, 2003
Columbus, OH – The No. 10 Ohio State rowing team will be a part of the 12-team field to compete at the 2003 NCAA Championships May 30-June 1 at Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Ind., the NCAA announced Tuesday. Indiana University and U.S. Rowing once again will serve as hosts for the event in its second-consecutive season at Eagle Creek Reservoir. The appearance will be the fourth consecutive for the Buckeyes.
“It was a harder road for us to get to this point this season,” Andy Teitelbaum, Ohio State head coach, said. “We just had to keep pushing and keep paying attention to the things that make us go faster. This selection is a big reward for a season of hard work.”
The selection comes following the Buckeyes’ performance over the weekend at the 2003 South/Central Regional Championships where the team won the first regional title in program history. Ohio State won just two boat championships at the regatta, but took gold or silver in five of the six competitions.
Joining Ohio State at the national championships will be conference foes No. 7 Michigan and No. 11 Michigan State. Also competing at the national regatta will be 2002 NCAA Team Champions Brown, tied for second in the latest U.S. Rowing/CRCA poll, and 2002 NCAA First Varsity 8 Champions No. 1 Washington. The remainder of the field includes No. 2 Cal, Harvard and Princeton, tied for fourth in the latest poll, No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 Yale, No. 12 Virginia and No. 13 Washington State. Each team rows in the first varsity 8, second varsity 8 and first varsity 4 competitions, battling for points towards the overall team championship.
Four at-large first 8’s, No. 8 Southern California, No. 17 Texas, No. 18 Boston University and No. 19 Tennessee will join the regatta for the first varsity 8 competition but cannot score points.
“We have to continue to get better between now and (the NCAA championships),” Teitelbaum said. “As good as it was to win the regional championship, it’s going to pale in comparison to how competitive the NCAA championships will be. We need to get better for one final push.” The Buckeyes finished fifth overall and fourth in the first varsity 8 competition at the 2002 championships. OSU’s best overall finish was in 2001, when it finished fourth.
