SAN FRANCISCO – The 2018 Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Rowing Championships will take place Sunday, May 13 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Tickets are $10 (cash) at entry. A broadcast of the championship events will be tape delayed into two 30-minute shows, debuting on Pac-12 Networks on Sunday, May 20 at 11 a.m. PT/12 p.m. MT. Last year, WASHINGTON won both the men's and women's Pac-12 titles, sweeping for the first time since 1997.

MEN’S ROWING
The Pac-12 Men’s Rowing Championship features top talent and tough competition. Four crews enter the week ranked in the top-20 in the USRowing Collegiate Poll, including the top two spots as WASHINGTON and CALIFORNIA sit at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Also in the polls are No. 8 STANFORD as well as OREGON STATE which is tied at 17th.

California ranks second in the nation and is in the hunt for its second conference title in the last three seasons and the 17th overall in program history. The Golden Bears opened the 2018 spring campaign with a sweep at the San Diego Crew Classic. Cal repeated its performance in the next regatta at the annual Stanford Invitational, collecting head-to-head wins over No. 10 Wisconsin, Oregon State, Santa Clara and Hobart. The team closed out the regular season with a win over Bay Area rival Stanford in the 85th annual Big Row at Redwood Shores. Last year, Cal won the freshman eight at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships and finished second overall.

Oregon State has consistently been ranked among the USRowing National top 25 crews all season. OSU claimed four wins in its season-opener versus Dartmouth and Santa Clara at the second annual Lake Las Vegas Invitational. During the season the Beavers sweep past Gonzaga and then took on Stanford in back-to-back weekends, where they earned the victory in the third varsity. Oregon State raced three ranked teams at the Stanford Invitational where the Beavers’ varsity 8 and junior varsity 8 crews each recorded wins over No. 18 Georgetown.

Stanford concluded the regular season with a dual win against No. 17 Oregon State. The Cardinal won two of its three races with its varsity eight boat claiming the Mac Babbit Trophy for the 14th straight year. While hosting the Stanford Invitational, its varsity eight boat outlasted No. 10 Wisconsin to highlight the first day before the Cardinal wrapped up the weekend with wins in the first and third varsity eight boats. Last season, the Cardinal placed fourth as a team in the conference championship, with the varsity eight taking third.

Defending Pac-12 and NCAA National Champion, Washington tops the national standings and looks to build upon its 35 conference titles. The Huskies varsity 8 has come in first in the last eight races. UW won the Erickson Cascade Cup for the 20th year in a row as their second varsity eight beat crews from the University of British Columbia, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA. Washington won four out of five races to regain the Schoch Cup at the 117th Cal Dual to upset then-No.1 California.   

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

WOMEN’S ROWING
The women’s competition promises to be as competitive as ever, as five Pac-12 teams are ranked among the top 15 in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll, including the top two spots and three in the top 5. No. 1 ranked WASHINGTON looks defend its league title and is joined by No. 2 CALIFORNIA, No. 5 STANFORD, No. 12 USC and No. 15 WASHINGTON STATE with UCLA and OREGON STATE also receiving votes.

California swept the Big Row against Stanford in its final regatta of the regular season at Redwood Shores. The Golden Bears bested the fifth-ranked Cardinal in all four events, including a thrilling victory by the varsity eight to keep the Lambert Cup. Cal’s varsity 8 boat helped closeout the annual dual against Washington to keep the Simpson Cup for the fifth consecutive year and 14th in the last 15 seasons. Cal started the season with sweeps at the San Diego Crew Classic and at the Pac-12 Challenge, where it won all 12 of their races at the two-day regatta, posting wins over No. 10 Stanford, No. 17 Iowa, No. 18 Michigan State, and Louisville.

Oregon State wrapped up the regular season with a fourth place finish at the Longhorn Invitational competing against eight teams and four ranked opponents. The varsity 8 boat directed by fifth-year senior Heather Thompson, raced past No. 18 Oklahoma to finish second. The Beavers’ varsity 8 won the B Final at the Clemson Invitational and was voted as the regatta’s “Breakout Boat”. OSU finished the regatta ninth out of 20 teams after recording wins at UCLA and against Gonzaga in March.

Stanford looks to improve upon its third-place finish form the 2017 Pac-12 Championships where it recorded 39 points. In a top-five matchup, the Cardinal won two-of-five races in the Big Row against then-No. 1 California. Stanford recorded a pair of second-place finishes at the Lake Natoma Invitational with the first and second varsity eight boats. The team won all three of its races against No. 18 Michigan State to conclude action at the annual Pac-12 Challenge.

UCLA posted a pair of first-place finishes against Oregon State as the two Pac-12 competitors met head-to-head in three races. At the Clemson invitation that featured 21 teams, the Bruins' varsity eight crew finished sixth in its morning heat before registering a fifth-place finish in the evening 'B' final race. UCLA's varsity eight and second varsity eight crews finished sixth in the Grand Finals to conclude the two-day San Diego Crew Classic.

USC defeated UCLA in the annual USC-UCLA dual to extend their undefeated winning streak to 17-0. The Trojan’s varsity eight placed third in the Women's Collegiate Varsity Grand Final of the San Diego Crew Classic. USC was led by senior Ida Gørtz Jacobsen, who was named the 2018 Pac-12 Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She helped USC place fifth as a team out of 21 crews at the Clemson Invitational in April and the Trojan’s varsity eight place second in the "A Final", finishing just behind No. 4 Ohio State.

Washington snapped No. 2 California's two-year winning streak last year to capture the program’s first Pac-12 title since 2003 by sweeping all four events. The Huskies totaled 45.5 points to edge out California in second place with 39 points. Washington's No. 1-ranked women's rowing team won four out of five races against Cal in the last dual race of the season. The defending NCAA champion Huskies won the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four – the same three events that are held at the national championship regatta in its toughest test of against No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Michigan on Lake Las Vegas.

Washington State has finished in the top-four at the Pac-12 Championship in each of the last three seasons with its best conference team finish in 2006, stroking to second place. No. 15 Washington State swept regional-rival Gonzaga in dual action for its second-straight Fawley Cup at Silver Lake and swept Oregon State in all four events, including the varsity eight, to capture its ninth-straight Winchell Cup. WSU’s third varsity eight helped the Cougars place sixth at the Clemson Invitational at Lake Hartwell

The Pac-12 Championships are the last regatta before the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Rowing Selection Show will be broadcast on NCAA.com at 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday, May 15. All events will be seven-lane races to determine the champion and each race is worth a different amount of points. 

MEET SCHEDULE