RALEIGH, N.C. (theACC.com) – California, Stanford, Syracuse and Virginia qualified boats for all five Grand Finals in the preliminaries of the 2026 ACC Rowing Championship, held Friday morning at Lake Wheeler.

The Cardinal posted the fastest times in four of the five events, headlined by the First Varsity Four setting an ACC Championship record, crossing the line at 6:52.470. The mark surpassed Stanford’s record time of 6:53.204 set at last year’s championship.

Also advancing to all five Grand Finals was California (1V4, 2V4, 3V8), which won three of its five heats, while Virginia (V8, 2V8) won two heats. The Virginia First Varsity Eight recorded the fastest time in the Varsity Eight, finishing at 6:04.100. Syracuse did not win any heats but finished in the top three in each of its heats to qualify for the Grand Finals.

The top three boats from each preliminary race qualify for the Grand Finals, while the other three boats will compete in the Petite Finals. The Petite Finals will be held prior to the Grand Final of each event, with racing set to begin at 8:05 a.m. ET on Saturday, May 16. The order of events includes the Third Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Four, Varsity Four, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Eight.

Saturday’s finals of the 2026 ACC Rowing Championship will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra from 8-10:30 a.m. ET. Admission is free.