Tufts Rowing Wins First NCAA Division III National Championship

BETHEL, OHIO (June 1, 2024) – Behind a dominating performance from the first varsity eight, the Tufts University Women’s Rowing team won the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship on Saturday morning at Harsha Lake.

The NCAA Championship is awarded to the team with the highest point total from the first varsity and second varsity races at the NCAA regatta. Tufts won the first varsity race and was second in the second varsity competition. The Jumbos earned 54 points, ahead of Wesleyan University and Williams College who tied for second with 47 scores.

Tufts won the first varsity NCAA Championship today as well with a near-length victory. The Jumbos came across the finish line with a 6:51.162 time for the 2000 meters, over three seconds in front of second-place Wesleyan (6:54.334). Williams, who had edged Tufts in the heats yesterday, was third in the Grand Final with a 6:55.979 mark.

The Jumbos led at the 500-meter mark and pulled away from there. Within the second 500 meters they took that near-length lead and even expanded on it. At 1500 meters they led by five seconds and the only competition from then on was for second place.

The Jumbo first varsity champions are coxswain Hannah Jiang, Rose Tinkjian, Janna Moore, Shira Roberts, Emma Mahoney, Summer Maxwell, Samara Haynes, Karen Dooley and Emma Lyle.

The Jumbo second varsity was the national runner-up today in a 6:58.134 time. In what became a two-team race, Williams College was first in a 6:56.229 mark. The Jumbos led by a small margin for half the race, but the Ephs pulled ahead after 1000 meters. They finished with a half-length advantage on the Jumbos.

The Jumbo 2V8 team was coxswain Maddie Rosato, Margot Durfee, Reilly Uiterwyk, Amanda Downing, Hadley Keefe, Lucy Howell, Aoife Schmitt, Julia Zipoli and Sydney Barr.

This caps a tremendous 2023-24 season for coach Lily Siddall‘s Tufts Women’s Rowing program. The Jumbos won the Collegiate Eights event at the Head of the Charles in October. In the spring the Jumbos won the Points Trophy at both the New England Rowing Championships and the National Invitational Rowing Championships. They also captured their first New England Small College Athletic Conference title.

This is Tufts’ first NCAA Championship in rowing, and the school’s 13th overall. The Jumbo men’s lacrosse team won the DIII NCAA Championship last Sunday over RIT. Tufts’ Men’s Rowing team was competing at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association DIII Championships also on Saturday morning.

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