PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers rowing is ranked No. 4 in the nation in this week's College Rowing Coaches Association poll, marking the best national ranking in program history. The Scarlet Knights, whose previous best ranking was No. 10 earlier this season, are the top ranked program in the Big Ten Conference.
"We talk about improvement constantly and it is great to see everyone's hard work leading to improvements throughout the entire program," said head coach
Justin Price. "We want to be a team that understands what it takes to accomplish long-term goals. We are looking forward to what is ahead and what is possible if we keep working hard."
The Scarlet Knights' meteoric rise from last week's No. 11 ranking comes on the heels of an exceptional weekend at the Big Ten Invitational, where 11 out of the 16 teams competing were nationally ranked. Rutgers won 12 races out of its 21 flights against the stacked field.
The Big Ten Invitational was a championship-style event to prepare teams for May's major regattas at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Rutgers not only showed its depth with victories by the First and Second Novice 8 boats racing up a class against Third and Fourth Varsity 8 competition, but also excelled in the three NCAA Championship events – the Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8, and Varsity 4.
In those three events, the Scarlet Knights swept No. 7 Alabama, No. 12 Indiana, and No. 18 Washington State, while taking two out of three against No. 6 Michigan and No. 20 Syracuse.
RU added race wins by the Second Varsity 4, Third Varsity 4,
The Rutgers First Varsity 8 crew was named the Big Ten Boat of the Week after defeating No. 6 Michigan, which was the program's first-ever victory against a Wolverine boat. The boat's only loss of the weekend – and the season – came by a fraction of a second to now-No. 3 Virginia.
The Scarlet Knights are set to host Syracuse, now ranked No. 8, on Sunday, May 2 on Mercer Lake, the last tune-up before the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis on May 16.
Division I Rankings
| Team Rank |
|
Total Votes |
Prior Ranking |
| |
|
|
|
| 1 |
University of Washington (18) |
492 |
1 |
| 2 |
University of Texas (7) |
482 |
2 |
| 3 |
University of Virginia |
433 |
4 |
| 4 |
Rutgers University |
388 |
11 |
| 5 |
University of California, Berkeley |
384 |
5 |
| 6 |
University of Michigan |
380 |
6 |
| 7 |
Ohio State University |
348 |
3 |
| 8 |
Syracuse University |
267 |
20 |
| 9 |
Indiana University |
256 |
12 |
| 10 |
University of Alabama |
255 |
7 |
| 11 |
University of Tennessee |
231 |
9 |
| 12 |
Stanford University |
221 |
8 |
| 13 |
Duke University |
217 |
10 |
| 14 |
Southern Methodist University |
160 |
13 |
| 15 |
Washington State University |
138 |
18t |
| 16 |
University of Minnesota |
123 |
17 |
| 17 |
University of California, Los Angeles |
112 |
14 |
| 18t |
University of Iowa |
88 |
16 |
| 18t |
University of Wisconsin |
78 |
15 |
| 20 |
University of Southern California |
73 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon State University (64), University of Notre Dame (39), U.S. Naval Academy (7), University of Central Florida (3), University of Tulsa (3), University of San Diego (3), Clemson University (3), University of Louisville (1), Gonzaga University (1).
