SAN FRANCISCO – The 2017 Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Rowing Championships will take place Sunday, May 14 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Tickets are ten dollars (cash) at the door.  A broadcast of the championships will be tape delayed on Pac-12 Networks on Sunday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. MT.

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING PREVIEW

The Pac-12 Rowing Championships feature talented, tough competition on the men’s side. Four Pac-12 men’s crews enter the week ranked in the top-20 in the USRowing Collegiate Poll, including the top two spots as CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON sit at one and two, respectively. Also entering the polls include No. 10 STANFORD, as well as OREGON STATE who is 19th. Six squads will compete at this year’s Conference Championships as California attempts to defend its title.

California looks to defend their title after ending Washington’s six-year winning streak at the 2016 Pac-12 Championships. Cal is looking to win back-to-back conference titles for the first time since 2005 and 2006. The Bears’ varsity eight is going for its second consecutive Pac-12 title and is undefeated so far this year. The varsity eight has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the duration of the season and topped 2^nd-ranked Washington earlier this season at the Montlake Cut to win the Schoch Cup. Cal won the IRA team National Championship last season, the second team title in program history. The Bears took first in the Varsity Eight to claim the Varsity Challenge Cup for the 17^th time in program history and the first since 2010.

The Huskies look to take back their crown this year. The varsity eight set a Montlake 2,000 meter course record at the Windermere Cup earlier this season with a 5:27.48, beating a 20-year-old record set by Washington in the Cal Dual in 1997 (5:30.0). The varsity eight also won the Men’s Championship 8+ at the Head of the Charles, nearly 12 seconds ahead of second place California, with Harvard and Yale coming in third and fourth place, respectively. Two members of this year’s varsity eight lineup, Stuart Sim (Australia) and Ben Davison (United States), are back after taking a year off to pursue their Olympic dreams in Rio.

Stanford, currently ranked 10th in the nation, has consistently been ranked among the top 12 crews in the nation all season in the USRowing National Poll. Everyone from the varsity eight is back from last season’s crew that claimed the Chapman Trophy, recognizing the Most Improved Team at the 2016 IRA Championships. Placed third in the Varsity Eight Grand Final at the prestigious San Diego Crew Classic.

No. 19 Oregon State will look to win the Pac-12 Championship for the first time ever this Sunday. The Beavers’ Varsity 8 has recorded three dual wins in 2017 – vs. UC Santa Barbara (in Las Vegas), vs. Gonzaga and vs. Santa Clara (at the Stanford Invite). Finished second, within six seconds, of then-No. 1 California in a dual in late April.

COLORADO, OREGON, UCLA and WASHINGTON STATE club crews complete in the men’s field at the Pac-12 Championships.

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING PREVIEW

The women’s competition promises to be as competitive as ever, as six Pac-12 teams are ranked among the top 20 in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, including three in the top 8 and the top two spots. First-ranked WASHINGTON will look to stop second-ranked CALIFORNIA’s two-year winning streak, but plenty of other teams, including No. 8 STANFORD, will be fighting for the 2016 Pac-12 Rowing Championship on Sunday, May 14.

Washington, the national leader, comes into the Pac-12 Championships off its 11th-straight Windermere Cup victory. The varsity eight set a Montlake 2,000 meter course record at the Windermere Cup with a 6:07.03, beating a 30-year-old record set by the Soviet Union National Team in 1987 (6:11.73). The 1V8, 2V8 and V4 opened the season and set course records at Pac-12 Challenge at Stanford en route to sweeping #2 Ohio State, #3 Michigan and #7 Virginia. Varsity four went 6:58.5, the fastest a V4 has ever gone in NCAA competition, while beating Michigan at the Pac-12 Challenge.

No. 2 California won the 2016 Pac-12 Championship, topping second-place Stanford by 10 points. Cal took first in the Varsity Eight, JV Eight, and Varsity Four races at the 2016 Championships while finishing second to Washington in the Third Varsity Eight. Cal is looking to win its third consecutive Pac-12 Championship and ninth in the last 10 seasons. Cal won the NCAA Championship last season for the third time in program history and the first since 2006. The Bears won both the Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four, and took second in the Varsity Eight to snap Ohio State’s streak of three consecutive national titles.

The eighth-ranked Stanford Cardinal has been consistently ranked among the top 10 crews in the nation all season in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches National Poll, and is currently No. 8 in the nation. The Cardinal varsity eight is a young crew, with just one senior and two sophomores in the lineup. The varsity eight has won five races this season, with dual victories over No. 2 Ohio State, No. 7 Virginia and No. 20 UCLA.

The Cougars land at No. 14 in the latest rankings, finished fourth at the Clemson Invite in a field that included eight other ranked crews, three of them in the top-10. At the Clemson Invite, the WSU varsity eight finished third overall, behind only then-No.5 Texas and then-No. 4 Ohio State and ahead of six ranked teams, two of them which were ranked ahead of the No. 14 Cougars.

USC is currently ranked No. 15 in the country. USC’s Varsity Four took home the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup after winning the Grand Final at the 44th annual San Diego Crew Classic. USC’s V4 continued to find success as they defeated No. 9 Brown’s V4 in their dual race on the Seekonk River in Providence, R.I. The Trojans extended their undefeated winning streak to 16-0 all-time over the UCLA Bruins as they won their dual meet.

No. 20 UCLA looks for its first Pac-12 Championship since 1991. UCLA earned a first-place finish in the day two “B” final of the V8+ at the two-day Clemson Invitational. Most recently, UCLA’s 2V8+ defeated then-No. 13 USC in the annual crosstown dual meet. The Bruins are seeking their first team trip to the NCAA Championships since advancing three straight seasons in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Oregon State’s Varsity 8 defeated six crews at the Clemson Invitational last month. The Beavers entered the spring season with one coxswain with a total of two races worth of experience. OSU’s Varsity 8 crew includes three New Zealanders and an Australian and a novice that joined the program in the fall (Hannah Smith).

MEET SCHEDULE