The 2024 NCAA National Championship provided its fair share of record-setting finishes. Despite adverse weather on Sunday that forced a change in schedule, DI racing concluded eventfully with the Texas Longhorns claiming their third national championship after winning the varsity eight and varsity four events, while bringing home the silver in the second varsity eight. Dave O’Neill said to Texas Athletics, “I could not be more proud of this team. They did something very special today, and it all started with our first team meeting back in August. I give them a lot of credit for buying in, doing the work and making each other better every step of the way.”
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Stanford finished second in the overall points standings and took home the national championship in the second varsity eight event. This is the fourth year in a row that the Cardinal finished top-two at the NCAA championship. The squad also won their third straight PAC-12 Championship, which is sure to be their last one as the university joins the ACC starting with the 2024-2025 year and the PAC-12 rowing championship dissolves.
#3 ranked Tennessee lived up to that polling and finished third in the points standing, the best-ever finish for the Volunteers who didn’t even qualify for NCAAs for the past two seasons. New head coach Kim Cupini and her squad, featured in Rowing News earlier this spring, finished third in both the varsity and second varsity eight events while capturing fifth place in the varsity four. Coach Cupini told utsports.com, “From the very beginning, [this team and coaching staff] believed in themselves, each other, their goals and the process. I’m so proud of how every one of them handled the changes and committed to what it took to reach the podium at the NCAA’s.”
Of course, victories came throughout the field, not just for those on the podium. For the first time in program history, Gonzaga advanced all three crews to the C Finals. Jacksonville’s varsity eight finished 21st, the best-ever finish for not only the Dolphins but for any MAAC team.
Before the DI championships wrapped up, the Division II and III national champions were named on Saturday. In the DII field, Western Washington earned their ninth national championship, winning the varsity eight event and finishing fifth in the varsity four. The Vikings led the eight wire-to-wire, finishing over three seconds ahead of Mercyhurst. In the tightest field in the history of the DII NCAA Championship, the top four teams were separated by merely four points: Western Washington (22 points), Mercyhurst (21), Central Oklahoma (20), and Humboldt (19).
Tufts earned their first-ever NCAA DIII championship after a strong performance in the varsity eight, which the Jumbos lead from the 500m mark to the finish, coming in over three seconds ahead of Wesleyan, who also finished second in the points standings. Williams, who defeated Tufts in the heats on Friday, finished third. The Tufts second varsity eight finished second behind the Ephs, who finished third in the points standings.
