RowingRelated

Time to dance (Photo: RR) Because we had to. Below is our take on the front runners for the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships at Mercer Lake this weekend. Beware: Opinions to follow.

Longhorns launching in San Diego The Texas Longhorns rowing program has come a long way since longtime Cal women's head coach Dave O'Neill arrived in Austin. In 2015, not only did O'Neill lead Texas to its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, but also the Longhorns placed seventh overall. And, most recently, the Longhorns came within roughly one second of sweeping San Diego Crew Classic, winning the novice eight, second varsity eight, and varsity eight events, only to fall just short in the varsity four. Here, we catch up with Dave on his approach to coaching, changing team culture, and program development.

Golden Bears claim top honors at NCAAs The 2016 NCAA Rowing Championships in Sacramento, California, were the best kind of agonizing.

Crossing the finish line at Lake Natoma (Photo: B. Kitch) The 2016 NCAA Rowing Championships kick off tomorrow just outside Sacramento, California, and suffice it to say, we're amped about it.

The decisive moment—Cal crossing the finish line at Pac-12s, 2016 (Photo: B. Kitch) Over the past several years, the Pac-12 Rowing Championships have been a parade for the Washington Husky men's squad, while Cal have led the way on the women's side. This year, one of those trends continued—the other, not so much.

On the water in Los Angeles (Graphic: B. Kitch) This week's featured video comes to us from the (usually) sunny shores of Marina Del Rey, where RR joined the UCLA Bruins for a late-winter training session on the water.

Griggs Reservoir Boathouse (Photo: Madeline Davis) We're kicking off our second season of #BestRowingDrills with a look at making the transition from winter training to water time, thanks to Ohio State Women's Rowing.

Behind the Scenes at Briones (Photo: B. Kitch) This week's RR original Video Of The Week features Cal Women's Rowing, training through winter break on Briones Reservoir in Orinda, California.

The fall racing season is winding down in 2015, and we're drawing ever closer to winter training. So, what better time than now to reflect on the fall's best performances, and take a closer look at some of the top teams heading into the 'long, dark tea-time of the soul?' Here are the top men's and women's crews at the college level, according to our power rankings.

And they're off! (Photo: M. Davis) The 2015 NCAA Championships were arguably the most exciting to date, and featured a Division I finale that pitted the defending champs against an undefeated crew. Meanwhile, both Division II and Division III crowned new champions, while newcomers also made a lasting impression. Let's take a closer look.

Washington among leaders, East and West (Photo: B. Kitch) The varsity-level national championships are in full swing, from Gold River, California to West Windsor, New Jersey, and there have already been some very impressive results posted in the heats and reps. While we missed our chance at pre-race predictions, we do have a few thoughts on just how things might shake out this year (more on that below), and, as ever, we're excited for the finals on Sunday. Let's take a closer look.

Texas Rowing's Dave O'Neill on the cover of a recent issue of ROWING Magazine This week's double feature combines two separate dual meets. The first took place in Austin, Texas, where the Longhorns took on the University of San Diego , and the results were another feather in Dave O'Neill's already well-feathered cap (maybe cowboy hat now? Do you put feathers in those? He'll figure it out), as Texas swept the Toreros across the three NCAA events.

The 2015 rowing season is really heating up, and this weekend has been full of dual and championship racing, from Henley-on-Thames to the coast of California. Here, we take a look at some of the action on Carnegie Lake in New Jersey, where the Princeton Tigers faced off against Columbia and Navy on Saturday.

Pac-12s 2014 (Photo: B. Kitch) Spring racing season is upon us. Yes, the ice is melting (finally), and crews are back on the water in gearing up for another great year. Before we kick things off in earnest at Crew Classic, however, we'd be remiss if we didn't share our thoughts on just how this year's NCAA Rowing field stacks up. Here are the first official RowingRelated NCAA Rankings for 2015.

Washington leads the way in the men's varsity eight Last weekend marked the culmination of a year's worth of work—the showdown between the best of the best to determine the men's and women's national champions—and while there was some reshuffling of the ranks, familiar faces topped the podium once again in 2014. That said, there were some newly crowned champions this year, who greatly deserve recognition. We've had a few days to let it soak in, so now, without further ado, here's our take on the 2014 championship season.

The trophy table at IRAs (Photo: B. Kitch) It's another championship weekend of racing at the collegiate level in the U.S., with the best of the best in NCAA Rowing gathered in Indianapolis, and the top varsity men's crews on the water at Lake Mercer. With national titles on the line, and incumbents with very strong squads once again, the challengers will have their hands full trying to wrest the titles from the holders' grasp. But, when the wakes settle, we may see new champions crowned in the east and (Mid)west. IRA Crews to Watch The heats are in the books , and this year's top IRA crews will be very familiar from 2013—the strongest men's heavyweight varsity eights are Washington, California, Harvard, Brown, Northeastern, Princeton, and Yale (the top seven at last year's championships). This time, however, we may see some reshuffling of the order. California has been threatening all season, and so far the Huskies have fought them off in impressive fash...

It's that time of year again! Yes, the ice is melting, and crews are back on the water in anticipation of what will undoubtedly be another great season of racing. In fact, we're just three weeks away from kicking things off in earnest on the west coast at the 41st San Diego Crew Classic ! But who will be the crews to watch when we're all lined up on the stake boats? Here are our thoughts on the matter. 1. Virginia  As usual, the Hoos will have some very impressive depth with former junior national team athletes likely to be sitting on the sidelines when the team competes at the NCAA Championships in late May. They will be led by British U23 silver medalist Fiona Schlesinger , German U23 bronze medalist Constanze Duell , former U.S. junior national teamers Elle Murray , Hemingway Benton , Chandler Lally , Lizzy Youngling and Brandy Herald . We also expect their freshmen and transfers to have a major impact on the team this spring, led by Kiwi U23 national team veteran,...

The 2013 NCAA Rowing Championships were a mighty struggle for all those involved, not least because of inclement weather in Indianapolis that saw crews foundering and schedules changing at times across the three-day event. Beforehand, we took a look at our preseason picks, factored in the regular season, and gave our opinions about just who'd come out on top in Windy Indy. Now, it's time to take a look back & see how our predictions performed. Another pic from the Champion's podium! @ ohiostate_wrow #GoBucks twitter.com/Brutus_Buckeye… — Brutus Buckeye (@Brutus_Buckeye) June 2, 2013 Division I In the varsity eight, we picked USC, Princeton, and Virginia to medal in Indianapolis. While our pick for silver, Princeton, did in fact take second, UVa fell to fourth overall, with the women of Troy rounding out the final in sixth (a bit of a surprise considering they had been undefeated throughout the regular season, and were Pac-12 champions). Instead, California took g...

The 2013 NCAA Championships are set to take over Eagle Creek Park, Indiana, and it just wouldn't be us if we didn't express an opinion or two regarding what we're expecting to see out there on the water. Here's our analysis going into the racing this weekend: Division I California was our preseason No. 1 , and California is our favorite to win the NCAA team championship. The Golden Bears' varsity four and second varsity eight have been very quick all year, and in our opinion Cal's varsity four may be the best in the country. The only question this weekend in Indianapolis will be, can the varsity eight get the job done? The Golden Bears will likely have a new lineup this weekend following a surprise third place finish at the Pac-12 Championships behind No. 1 USC and then No. 5 Washington—while we feel it's unlikely that Cal will win the varsity eight event, we're confident that they'll be enough in contention with the top crews to earn the Bears...

This week's (slightly delayed) video comes to us from the Ivy League Championship Regatta, where the Princeton Tigers won a dominant victory in the varsity eight to claim the automatic bid for the NCAA Championships, coming up later this month in Indianapolis. The Tigers cracked the podium in every event this year, claiming bronze in the second varsity eight behind Brown and Radcliffe , and bronze once again in the varsity four— Lori Dauphiny's squad is always competitive (they were our early season No. 4 overall in February), and may just have juice to be in contention for a national title at Eagle Creek Park. Heaps more to come tomorrow from championship weekend, on both coasts, taking a look at how our picks and predictions played out on the water. (In the meantime I've been writing a piece on Sprints for ROWING Magazine , as well as a men's lightweight preview for IRAs.) Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelat...