Small but certainly mighty, the Varsity Four event at the NCAA Rowing Championships is perhaps the most exciting purley because it is by far the least predictable. Due to the nature of speed order, the four is often swayed by personnel movements in the eights, therefore the boats which see the most speed are often those who can overcome these changes best and remain internal.
Stanford University
Ranked first on all collegiate polls is the Stanford Cardinals who have had a resurgent season after narrowly missing out on team victory at last year’s NCAA championship. More specifically for the Cardinal four, they have already bested their third place finish in this event last year with a commanding victory over Texas at the Longhorn Invitational by six seconds in a time of 7:34.0. They were equally dominant at the ACC Conference championships where they claimed gold six seconds ahead of the pack. This boat is undefeated and with a relatively unchanging line-up I expect them to come out on top this weekend.
University of Washington
Making their 28st consecutive NCAA appearance is the Washington Huskies, who have delivered a strong season thus far. Their Varsity four is unbeaten, having bested notable rivals Cal Berkley by 12 seconds in a time of 7:19.0. Washington also succeeded in sweeping both the Big Ten Invitational in April and more significantly, the Big Ten Conference Championships in Indianapolis, proving their speed against fellow NCAA A-finalists. I expect Washington to be quick this weekend and would back them for a medal.
University of Texas
The Texas University Longhorns will be looking to make it three in a row for the Varsity Four event, coming off of an open water win in last year’s NCAA final. They have seen a strong season so far, most recently winning the SEC Rowing Championship in a time of 7:07.1 over ten seconds ahead of Tennessee in second place. This particular boat only saw losses to Washington and Stanford earlier in the season, I have no doubt they have found momentum and will search for revenge this weekend.
Yale University
The Yale Bulldogs have been the undisputed East Coast champion this year, boasting successive and decisive victories against local opponents. The team swept Rutgers, Syracuse, Dartmouth, Princeton and Harvard-Radcliffe in dual racing. The Varsity four collected a gold medal at the Ivy Championships, five seconds ahead of Brown in an almighty tailwind pushing them under seven minutes in a time of 6:52.8. Depth-wise, the Ivy League is by far the fastest conference overall and I would not be surprised to see Yale with a medal this weekend.
Other Mentions
Princeton claimed second in the Varsity four at the 2024 NCAA championship, and I would not be surprised if they upset the field in a similar fashion this year, only seeing losses to the teams above in tight margins they have the capacity to overturn expectations. Equally Brown, Rutgers, Tennessee and the University of Virginia are all in good standing to make the A-Final, from which point, it is all to play for.
Prediction
I do expect Stanford and Washington to claim a west coast ‘one-two’, but from which point it will be between Yale and Texas to decide who is going home from New Jersey empty handed.
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