Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Rowing Once Again Picked First in Patriot League Preseason Poll
2/27/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Feb. 27, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's rowing program has won seven consecutive Patriot League titles and it is once again predicted to take home the first-place trophy this spring, the league office announced Wednesday when it released the Preseason Poll. The Bison were unanimously picked first in the poll. Bucknell garnered 50 points and all 10 possible first-place votes.
Navy, which has finished second each of the last seven years, earned the remaining two first-place votes and is picked to finish as the runner-up to Bucknell.
Coaches and sports information directors were not allowed to vote for their own team during the voting process.
The preseason poll nearly mirrors the final standings from last April's Patriot League Championship, which Bucknell won with 34 points and victories in the varsity four and varsity eight. MIT, in its fourth year in the league, is predicted to finish third, while Holy Cross is expected to place fourth. Colgate (5th) and Lehigh (6th) flip-flopped from their finishes at last year's championship.
This is the seventh consecutive year the Bison have been atop the Patriot League Preseason Poll.
Bucknell has had plenty of success at the Patriot League Championship in recent years as the varsity eight has been named Boat of the Year seven straight years and Stephen Kish has claimed Coach of the Year honors six times in the last seven years.
This year's Patriot League Championship will take place in Mid-May at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. This will be the fifth time in its nine-year history the Patriot League Championship will take place there. There is added incentive to win the Patriot League this year. The NCAA Rowing Championship bracket has expanded from 16 to 22 teams and the Patriot League champion now earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, set for May 31-June 2 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
Bucknell officially opens its 2013 season the weekend of March 23-24 on the Susquehanna River in Shamokin Dam, Pa.
2013 Patriot League Rowing Preseason Poll
1. Bucknell - 50 (10 first-place votes)
2. Navy - 41 (2)
3. MIT - 33
4. Holy Cross - 27
5. Colgate - 16
6. Lehigh - 13
