Rowing Sweeps All Five Races To Claim Inaugural MAC Rowing Championship

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The University of Massachusetts rowing team swept the Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8, Varsity 4, Third Varsity 8 and Second Varsity Four races at the inaugural Mid-American Conference (MAC) rowing Championship on Saturday at Ford Lake to secure the 2026 MAC Rowing Championship.

"There was so much build up heading into championship Saturday in Michigan and the weather delays truly challenged the mental game as we prepared to be the sharpest in the moment," head coach Eric Carcich said. "Across the board, the team did a great job managing nerves and rolling with the punches all morning long. Having the Varsity 8 go first and win by a length truly set the tone. Winning became contagious after that as we clocked wins straight down the schedule. Then watching the upper boats find the same joy in seeing the B4 win by open water to close out the day is a testament to love this group has for one another."

With the win, UMass captured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship as well as the first conference championship since 2017 and the 17th conference title in program history. Massachuetts finished with 48 points from the scoring races (Varsity 8, Second Varsity 8, Varsity 4) to best Delaware (39), Temple (38), High Point (29), Eastern Michigan (26) and Toledo (18).

"This moment has been building for years, and it would be a miss to not thank all of those that started this journey to a championship." Carcich added. "In many ways they built the very engine that we took for a ride in to win the inaugural MAC championships. With that being said, this group came in from day one with a single purpose: win the championships. That was clear in how they showed up physically on day one and then each and every step we took this year from Head of the Charles medals to spring racing high marks."

There was a lightning delay and the order of racing was subsequently flipped, moving the Varsity 8 to the day's first race. The UMass Varsity 8 set the tone, winning the first race of the championship (6:37.5), besting second place Temple (6:40.8).

The Second Varsity 8 was next, turning in a winning time of 6:49.2 after dominating the second half of its race to pull away from Delaware (6:52.9) and Temple (6:56.1).

After a second lengthy lightning delay, the Varsity 4 led its race wire-to-wire to help UMass sweep the scoring races (7:25.7), with Delaware (7:32.4) and High Point (7:35.6) finishing second and third, respectively.

The UMass Third Varsity 8 held off Eastern Michigan in a tightly contested race for the team's fourth win (6:57.0), with Eastern Michigan placing second (6:58.8). To wrap up the day, the Second Varsity 4 completed the sweep of first place finishes, finishing in 7:33.0. Next up was Temple, who finished in 7:40.7.

"I would like to thank Coach Kemp Savage from EMU for all the work he and his staff did as the host school in Ypsilanti," Carcish concluded. "Our coaching staff has a huge amount of gratitude to able to work with this very young group for another two weeks. Onward and upward; NCAAs here we come!"

Massachusetts will now return to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 29-31 in Gainesville, Georgia.

UMass Boat Lineups

Varsity 8
Amanda Scally (c)
Olivia Ollerenshaw
Sarah Happs
Antonia Gigacher
Sotiria Michailidi
Erin Smith
Sonya Mazrimas
Grace Turnbull
Mia Booth

Second Varsity 8
AJ Prahl (c)
Maeva Ginsberg-Klemmt
Hannah Glover
Louise Roper
Maddie Cockburn
Ruby Hodges
Mia Lowes
Bella Ross
Felicity Pye

Third Varsity 8
Mia Bierowski (c)
Ava Voorhies
Sloane Yurcisin
Aixell Perez-Mercedes
Paige Heyworth
Emilie Bell
Sophie Weeden
Fiona Murphy
Mia Ollari

Varsity 4
Meghan O'Hern (c)
Anastasiia Kolesnikova
Gretta Anderson
Teagan Blue
Lauren Carpenter

Second Varsity 4
Sara Lavigna (c)
Phoebe Gallagher
Claire Misurelli
Sarah Baule
Elle Decatur

-- UMassAthletics.com --

Scoreboard