Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Rowing to Face Four NCAA Championship Teams in 2008
11/16/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Nov. 16, 2007
2008 Schedule | Fall 2007 Training
LEWISBURG, Pa. - With four of the 12 teams that competed at the 2007 NCAA Championships dotting its schedule, the Bucknell women's rowing team will face one of the most difficult slates in program history this coming spring when its 2008 campaign gets underway. The Bison, who have won two consecutive Patriot League titles and claimed the IRA Lightweight National Championship last year, have lined up an impressive list of opponents.
Bucknell will waste no time getting into the challenging portion of its schedule, facing NCAA runner-up Virginia on March 21 in Charlottesville, Va. On April 12, the Bison will take on Ohio State, USC and Tennessee, which all finished in the top-10 at last spring's NCAA Championships, as well as Michigan, which claimed third in the championship eight at the 2007 Head of the Charles, finishing behind only the United State and British National Teams. The Bison will face that unprecedented lineup of opponents at the Griggs Reservoir in Columbus, Ohio.
Also highlighting the Bucknell schedule is a postseason trip to the Henley Women's Regatta. Held on the Thames River in Henley-On-Thames, England, the famous regatta runs June 20-22. The Bison last competed in the regatta in 2004.
Bucknell's spring season will open with a spring training trip to Elberton, Ga. While there, the Bison will compete against George Mason.
In addition to road races with the likes of Dayton, Georgetown and North Carolina, and a trip to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Murphy Cup, Bucknell will also host a pair of competitions this spring. On April 5 Bucknell will welcome Buffalo to the Susquehanna River, while Delaware, RIT and West Virginia will travel to Shamokin Dam, Pa., on April 19.
The busy championship portion of the schedule kicks off with the Patriot League Championships April 27. Bucknell has won the event each of the last two years. For the first time in its four-year history, the event will be held on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.
During May, the Bison will race at the ECAC Championship and make a return to the Dad Vail Regatta after a one-year hiatus. Additionally, the lightweights are slated to compete at the Eastern Sprints as they gear up for the IRA National Championships, an event they won last year to claim the first national title in Bucknell history.
The NCAA Championships will take place May 30-June 1 in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Bucknell has never qualified for NCAAs, but with the upgraded schedule, the Bison could be among the teams vying for one of the 12 slots.
The Bison will next be in action Feb. 10 when they host the Erg Armageddon in Davis Gym. The annual event is held each February to help the squad prepare for the spring campaign, which follows just one month later.
