May 1, 2002

Notre Dame, Ind. - After finishing second at the BIG EAST Rowing Challenge, the Notre Dame rowing team fell three spots to 13th nationally in the latest US Rowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll. It was the first time in three weeks that Notre Dame has appeared outside of the top 10. Two weeks ago, the Irish achieved the highest ranking in the five-year history of the program at ninth, marking the first time Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Washington continues to hold the top spot with 21 first-place votes and 496 points. Brown is second with the four remaining first-place votes and 479 points, while Michigan held steady in third with 432 points. Princeton stayed in fourth with 412 points, while Ohio State is fifth with 393 points. Yale, Cal, Harvard, USC and Syracuse round out the top 10.

Notre Dame has its biggest weekend of the year when it travels to Oak Ridge, Tenn., May 18-19 for the 2002 Central Regions. All teams in the Central and South Region will participate in the weekend's regatta.

Team (1st-Place Votes) 				Points    Previous Rank
1.  University of Washington (21)		496		1
2.  Brown University (4)			479		2
3.  University of Michigan			432		3
4.  Princeton University			412		5
5.  The Ohio State University			393		4
6.  Yale University				377		6
7.  University of California at Berkeley	312		8
8.  Harvard University				301		9
9.  USC						300		15
10. Syracuse University				249		13
11. Stanford University				244		7
12. University of Virginia			232		11
13. University Notre Dame			195		10
14. Michigan State University			185		12
15. Northwestern University			162		16
16. Oregon State University			134		17
17. Washington State University			102		14
18. Cornell University				  87		18
19. Boston University			  	  78		20
20. Duke University				  40		19

Others receiving votes: Columbia University 17, University of Texas 13, Clemson University 5, University of Minnesota 2, Boston College 1, Dartmouth College 1, University of Iowa 1.