SARASOTA, Florida – For the 20^th consecutive season, the Cal women's rowing team is headed to the NCAA Championships, focused on another successful showing against the top crews in the nation. The 22^nd edition of the NCAA regatta will be held May 25-27 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, the site of the 2017 World Rowing Championships. Racing begins with Friday morning's heats and concludes Sunday morning with the grand finals.

The Golden Bears have raced at the NCAA Championships every year since 1999 and are looking to take home the program's fourth NCAA team title and second in the last three years.

All racing at the NCAA Rowing Championships will be streamed live at NCAA.com. Live results will also be available online, while fans can follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWRowing) and Instagram (@CalWRowing) for updates throughout the weekend.

After wrapping up final exams and graduation earlier in the month, the Bears have arrived in Florida and are ready for the racing to begin.

"The boats have been coming along nicely and we're excited to see the team at full force when racing starts on Friday," said head coach Al Acosta. "We're thankful for the opportunity we had to train at UCF for the last few days, and now that we're at the championship course, are looking forward to having a few easy rows at this amazing facility to get ready. We had to make some tough selection decisions before heading out to Florida, but we're confident we have the right people in the right spots."

The 2018 NCAA Championships feature 22 teams and begin Friday morning with four heats for each of the three boats – the varsity eight, second varsity eight, and varsity four. The top two finishers from each heat will advance directly to Saturday's A/B Semifinals, while the remaining spots will be determined Friday afternoon in the repechage. The top three boats from each of the A/B semifinals advance to Sunday's grand final with the chance to race for a national title.

Cal earned the second overall seed in both the varsity four and second varsity eight at this year's championships, and the three-seed in the varsity eight. The Golden Bears begin their racing slate on Friday morning at 9:24 a.m. ET/6:24 a.m. PT with the varsity eight racing in the third heat against crews from Northeastern, Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, and Jacksonville. The second varsity eight races in the second heat at 10 a.m. ET/ 7 a.m. PT against Gonzaga, Wisconsin, Stanford, and Washington State. Cal's final heat of the day pits the Bears' varsity four against crews from UCF, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Syracuse at 10:48 a.m. ET/7:48 a.m. PT.

The full schedule of racing for the weekend, as well as other event information, can be found at the NCAA Championship Central site.

Cal has a long history of success at the NCAA Championships, finishing in the top three in the team standings each of the last ten seasons. The Golden Bears took second overall at the 2017 NCAA Rowing Championships held at Mercer Lake, winning silver in both the second varsity eight and varsity four races, and bronze in the varsity eight. At the 2016 NCAA Championships at Lake Natoma, the Bears captured their first team NCAA championship since 2006, winning the second varsity eight and varsity four titles, while taking second in the varsity eight. Cal finished the 2016 NCAA Championships with 129 points, edging Ohio State by three points for the team crown.

The second-ranked crew in the country entering this year's championships, the Bears are looking to build on their success at this event and bounce back from the Pac-12 Championships, where Cal took second overall to top-ranked Washington.

"We are expecting some tough competition this weekend," said senior Julia Vander Hoeven, "There are going to be a lot of teams there that we haven't raced yet this season, so that's always exciting. I think we have a really positive mindset going into the weekend. Training in Florida has been going well and we can't wait for racing to begin."

For updates and information throughout NCAAs and the entire season, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWRowing), Instagram (@CalWRowing), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWRowing).


Cal Schedule - Friday, May 25  (All Times PT)
Heats
6:24 a.m. -  I Eights Heat 3 (Cal vs Northeastern, Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Jacksonville)
7:00 a.m. – II Eights Heat 2 (Gonzaga, Wisconsin, Stanford, Washington State)
7:48 a.m. – Fours Heat 2 (UCF, Wisconsin, Michigan, Syracuse)

Repechage
1:12 p.m. – I Eights Repechage 1
1:24 p.m. – I Eights Repechage 2
1:36 p.m. – II Eights Repechage 1
1:48 p.m. – II Eights Repechage 2
2:00 p.m. – Fours Repechage 1
2:12 p.m. – Fours Repechage 2

Women's NCAA Division I Team Rankings – USRowing/CRCA Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Washington (24)
2. California (1)
3. Ohio State
4. Texas
5. Stanford
6. Michigan
7. Virginia
8. Yale
9. Princeton
10. Iowa
11. Wisconsin
12. Brown
13. USC
14. Indiana
15. Syracuse
16. Pennsylvania
17. Washington State
18. Harvard
19. Duke
20. Minnesota