Women’s rowing: 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships

The defending national champion No. 3 Cal women’s rowing team will be looking to repeat as the nation’s best in the NCAA Rowing Championships, its 21st consecutive appearance at the regatta. On the heels of a Pac-12 championship, the varsity eight boat earned the first seed for this weekend’s tournament. The second varsity eight and varsity four boats earned the fourth and ninth seeds, respectively.

After finishing third overall as a team at the Pac-12 Championships two weeks ago, the Bears have their work cut out for them. Cal finished behind rivals Washington and Stanford to seal its unfortunate fate, losing to the top two teams by 1 point.

The Bears have ranked in the top three in the country for the past 11 seasons, with numerous battles against the competition that lies ahead this weekend. No other rower will know her opponents better than senior Dana Moffat, who was voted Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

Moffat, along with All-Pac-12 selections Sydney Payne, Charlotte Wesselmann and Juliane Faralisch, lead the undefeated varsity eight boat into Indiana with an opportunity to repeat as NCAA champions for the first time in school history.

Cal begins its title defense at 6 a.m. Friday, with the varsity eight boat racing in the first heat against Indiana, Yale, Ohio State and Duke. The second varsity eight and varsity four boats will race in the remaining heats at 7:24 and 7:36 a.m., respectively.

Men’s rowing: 2019 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta

The 17-time champion Cal men’s rowing team is hoping to return to its former glory this weekend on Lake Natoma in the IRA National Championship Regatta.

Seeded third, the first varsity eight boat will rely on its experience, with three of its rowers having already won the tournament in 2016. A different three — seniors Joachim Sutton, Maarten Hurkmans and Jack Gosden-Kaye — earned All-Pac-12 honors this week. Hurkmans was also named the 2019 Pac-12 Men’s Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year earlier in the month.

The first varsity eight boat, however, came in second behind archrival Washington in the Pac-12 Championships, as did the team overall two weeks ago. The same result transpired earlier in the season, with Washington retaining the infamous Schoch Cup over the Bears back in April.

Cal will begin the tournament with its first varsity eight boat, which takes off on Friday at 8:40 a.m., and the second varsity and third varsity boats will take off in the two subsequent hours. In both tournaments, the semifinals will take place on Saturday, with the final slated for Sunday.