#4 Tennessee Earns 11th NCAA Championship Appearance in Program History
May 20, 2025 | Rowing
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Fresh off a runner-up finish at the SEC Championship, the fourth-ranked Tennessee rowing team has earned an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Championships, securing a top-8 seed in all three NCAA Championship boats for the second straight year, the NCAA announced Tuesday evening.
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The 2025 edition of the Championship is set to take place May 30 through June 1 at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, New Jersey. The event will be hosted by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and The Ivy League. All days of competition will be live streamed on NCAA.com.
Having posted another impressive campaign under second-year head coach Kim Cupini, the Lady Vols earned three top-eight seeds, as Tennessee was tabbed the No. 3 overall seed in the First Eight, the No. 3 seed in the Second Eight and the No. 8 seed in the Four.
It marks the program's 11th NCAA Championship appearance all-time—the seventh team appearance, as four appearances were at-large boats—and the third in the last five years after not qualifying for the event from 2011-19 (no championship in 2020 due to COVID-19).
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The team championship is comprised of 22 teams. Nine conferences were granted automatic qualifying bids, while 13 other teams filled out the championship field by way of at-large selections. Each team will field its first and second varsity eight boats, as well as its first varsity four. For the I Eights, II Eights and Fours, all 22 boats will be seeded into four heats.
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Tennessee has been ranked inside the top six in all 10 CRCA national polls this season, including eight weeks in the top-five and six top-four placements.
Tennessee's first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four combine for a remarkable 66-9 record this season.
The Lady Vol 1V8 crew has posted a 23-2 record this season and earned silver at the inaugural SEC Championship in Oak Ridge earlier this month. Tennessee's 2V8 has logged a 22-3 record to this point in the year and won gold in the second varsity eight race at the SEC Championship. An impressive 21-4 record has been recorded by UT's 1V4 crew, which recorded a second-place finish at the SEC Championship.
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Tennessee's program-best finish at the NCAA Championships came last season, when it placed third nationally in Bethel, Ohio.
Automatic Qualifiers:
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The 2025 edition of the Championship is set to take place May 30 through June 1 at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, New Jersey. The event will be hosted by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and The Ivy League. All days of competition will be live streamed on NCAA.com.
Having posted another impressive campaign under second-year head coach Kim Cupini, the Lady Vols earned three top-eight seeds, as Tennessee was tabbed the No. 3 overall seed in the First Eight, the No. 3 seed in the Second Eight and the No. 8 seed in the Four.
It marks the program's 11th NCAA Championship appearance all-time—the seventh team appearance, as four appearances were at-large boats—and the third in the last five years after not qualifying for the event from 2011-19 (no championship in 2020 due to COVID-19).
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The team championship is comprised of 22 teams. Nine conferences were granted automatic qualifying bids, while 13 other teams filled out the championship field by way of at-large selections. Each team will field its first and second varsity eight boats, as well as its first varsity four. For the I Eights, II Eights and Fours, all 22 boats will be seeded into four heats.
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Tennessee has been ranked inside the top six in all 10 CRCA national polls this season, including eight weeks in the top-five and six top-four placements.
Tennessee's first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four combine for a remarkable 66-9 record this season.
The Lady Vol 1V8 crew has posted a 23-2 record this season and earned silver at the inaugural SEC Championship in Oak Ridge earlier this month. Tennessee's 2V8 has logged a 22-3 record to this point in the year and won gold in the second varsity eight race at the SEC Championship. An impressive 21-4 record has been recorded by UT's 1V4 crew, which recorded a second-place finish at the SEC Championship.
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Tennessee's program-best finish at the NCAA Championships came last season, when it placed third nationally in Bethel, Ohio.
Automatic Qualifiers:
- Rhode Island
- Stanford
- UCF
- Washington
- Northeastern
- Yale
- Fairfield
- Boston University
- Oregon State
- Brown
- California
- Dartmouth
- Harvard
- Indiana
- Michigan
- University of Pennsylvania
- Princeton
- Rutgers
- Syracuse
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
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