April 17, 2002

Notre Dame, Ind. - The Notre Dame rowing team moved up two spots to ninth in the nation in the latest US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll. The No. 9 ranking is the highest in the five-year history of the program and marks the first time Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Washington continues to hold the top spot with 20 first-place votes and 495 points. Brown is second with the five remaining first-place votes and 480 points, while Michigan leapfrogged seven places to No. 3 after defeating Ohio State last weekend. The Buckeyes fell to fourth, while Princeton rounded out the top five. Stanford checks in at No. 6, while Yale, Cal Notre Dame and Harvard make up the rest of the top 10.

Notre Dame is off this week before traveling to Worchester, Mass., Sunday, April 28, for the 2002 BIG EAST Rowing Challenge. All conference teams who sponsor rowing, including 12th-ranked Syracuse, will compete on Lake Quinsigamond.

Team (1st-Place Votes) 				Points    	Previous Rank
1.  University of Washington (20)		495		1
2.  Brown University (5)			480		2
3.  University of Michigan			409		10
4.  The Ohio State University			391		3
5.  Princeton University			389		6
6.  Stanford University				385		7
7.  Yale University				376		5
8.  University of California at Berkeley	335		4
9.  University of Notre Dame			268		11
10. Harvard University				240		9
11. University of Virginia			237		12
12. Syracuse University				234		8
13. Michigan State University			213		14
14. Washington State University			156		15
15. University of Southern California		138		13
16. Northeastern University			110		19
17. Cornell University				82		NR
18t. Boston University				71		17
18t. Duke University				71		16
20. Oregon State University			58		18

Others receiving votes: Columbia University 52, University of Texas 29, University of Iowa 14, Clemson University 8, Boston College 5, University of Minnesota 2, and University of Wisconsin 2.