CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference rowing season concludes with a league-record four ACC teams set to compete at the NCAA Rowing Championships, held May 30–June 1 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey.
California, Stanford, Syracuse and Virginia will compete for the national championship beginning on Friday, May 30 with the prelims. Each day of racing will be broadcast live on NCAA.com, and live results for each race can be found on RegattaTiming.com.
The team championship at the NCAA Championships is composed of 22 teams. Nine conferences were awarded automatic qualifications, and the remaining 13 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the championship field. Teams qualifying for the championship are required to field two boats of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers. For Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four, all 22 boats will be seeded into four heats.
Following the program’s first-ever ACC Championship, Stanford received the No. 1 seed in all three events. The Cardinal became the first team to sweep all five events of the ACC Championship since Virginia in 2021. Following the championship, Stanford swept the conference’s yearly awards, as its Varsity Eight was named ACC Crew of the Year. In addition, V8 rower Sarah Marriott was voted the ACC Newcomer of the Year, while Derek Byrnes was named ACC Coach of the Year. The Cardinal makes their 16th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships, winning the national title in 2009 and 2023.
Virginia, the ACC Championship runner-up for the second straight year, enters the NCAA Championship as the No. 12 seed in the Varsity Eight, the No. 10 seed in the Second Varsity Eight and the No. 17 seed in the Varsity Four. The Cavaliers return to the NCAA Championships for the 27th time in the last 29 years, having finished in the top four 11 times and won national championships in 2010 and 2012.
Syracuse took home third place at the ACC Championship and earned its 12th appearance all-time at the NCAA Championships. The Orange are seeded 17th in the Varsity Eight, 12th in the Second Varsity Eight, and third in the Varsity Four. Syracuse’s best overall NCAA finish came in 2001, when it placed sixth.
California received an at-large bid after finishing fourth at the ACC Championship and will make its 25th consecutive NCAA appearance. The Golden Bears will be the No. 14 seed in the Varsity Eight, the No. 16 seed in the Second Varsity Eight and the No. 11 seed in the Varsity Four. Since 2005, California has won four national championships (2005, 2006, 2016 and 2018).
The NCAA team champion is determined by total points earned across all three boat categories. The First Varsity Eight winner earns 66 points, with each subsequent boat earning three fewer (63 for second, 60 for third, etc.). The Second Varsity Eight winner receives 44 points, decreasing by two per position. The Varsity Four winner earns 22 points, with each following team earning one point fewer. In the event of a tie, the higher placing First Varsity Eight breaks the tie.