\nReports on all the AQ results and D1 conference championships are available here in row2k’s NCAA coverage<\/a>–and the D1 Selection show to announce the other 12 teams invited to this year’s championships is set for Tuesday, May 19th at 5 pm, EST<\/a>. <\/p>\n
Princeton 1V crossing the line<\/p>\n
Remembering Kerry on the podium<\/p>\n
Coxswain toss for the Tiger’s 1V<\/p>\n
Delevante sharing a moment with coxswain Lindsay Saunders<\/p>\n
Jacksonville wins the MAAC<\/p>\n
Jacksonville 1V<\/p>\n
Jacksonville also has a strong Team Mom game<\/p>\n
\nrow2k caught up with Princeton and Jacksonville at the Cooper, and you can also check out the fully updated D1 AQ Tracker here.<\/a> <\/p>\n
\nIvy AQ: Princeton <\/p>\n
\nPrinceton notched a repeat victory in the Varsity Eight race that determines the Ivy League champion, and the win gave them the points edge they needed across the three NCAA boat classes to capture the Ivy’s Automatic Qualifier this year as well. The win was also a repeat of their upset win a year ago over a top-seeded Yale crew which had beaten them in the regular season both years. <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/EE4A5202-01.JPG\")
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\nYale won the overall team points title, which counts every event, for the second consecutive year, but Princeton’s wins in the 1V and 2V eight earned the Tigers the AQ. Yale took second in both those races and won the Varsity Four. <\/p>\n
\nFor Princeton, the win in the varsity eight was especially meaningful. <\/p>\n
\n“This was a really tough summer for us. We lost a member of the varsity eight from last year, Kerry Grundlingh, and we were all carrying her with us in the racing,” said head coach Lori Dauphiny. “We really felt her presence and it was pretty special.” <\/p>\n
\nJust one year ago, Princeton had earned the same Ivy 1V trophy with Grundlingh in the bow seat. She tragically died just two months later<\/a>, in a cycling accident last July. <\/p>\n
\nThe team wore “KG” patches to remember their teammate, and took a moment on the podium to turn around and point to them. Dauphiny also said Grundlingh’s mother was watching the races today from South Africa and emailing with her. <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2B7A9121-01.JPG\")
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\n“That’s how our fall started, which was a really tough beginning, but what’s special about this team is that everyone rallied around each other. It was amazing to see. <\/p>\n
\n“Everyone had to process what had happened, and there was such a supportive environment around this team. <\/p>\n
\n“Her mom wrote us first thing in the morning, and then she wrote us after all the racing, too,” Dauphiny added. “It’s heartbreaking for her, but it’s also really special that we can honor Kerry and carry her in our hearts.” <\/p>\n
\nLike last year, Princeton came to the Cooper ranked just behind Yale, but turned things around on the race course with the championship on the line. <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FK4A8936-01.JPG\")
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\n“We had our ups and downs, for sure,” Dauphiny said about the season leading up to Ivies. “The winter wasn’t easy. It was long, and in the spring, we had some wins, but we also had defeats. <\/p>\n
\n“There were changes as we went along, but I would say the best thing about this spring was that each week we learned something, and then this team brought the lessons we had learned to the championship.” <\/p>\n
\nAmalka Delevante, the freshman stroke of the varsity eight, talked about what makes the crew special. <\/p>\n
\n“It’s the fact that we’re all pulling for each other,” she said. “It’s the team spirit across the whole of the crew, but within that boat as well. We all had each other’s backs, and we all believed that we could do it together, and that’s what we showed today.” <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/EE4A5220-01.JPG\")
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\nAs the race unfolded, Delevante said it was exciting as the Tigers started to get traction to pull away. <\/p>\n
\n“We’ve been building a lot of speed and practice, and we had this self-belief, knowing that we had what it takes and we just had to execute. The training we’ve been doing, especially against our 2V, which is really, really fast, has pushed us in practice every single day. That gave us really good preparation coming into this race.” <\/p>\n
\nMAAC AQ: Jacksonville <\/p>\n
\nJacksonville returned to the top of the MAAC Conference, just one year after tough regatta and some breakout performances from other schools in the league dashed their hopes of a four-peat in 2025. <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6P7A4266-01.JPG\")
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\nThis year, Jacksonville kept the math simple with their NCAA boats, winning both eights and taking second in the varsity four to Marist. <\/p>\n
\nThe team was thrilled to taste victory again after the disappointment of last year, and celebrated the win as a group as soon as the 1V made it back to the dock. They brought a speaker with them for an impromptu dance party on the float, got a full-on mosh pit going once the 1V eight was back at the trailer, and closed it out with some line dancing. <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6P7A3817-01.JPG\")
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\nAnne Geurts, the senior who stroked the 1V, has seen both sides of qualifying, racing at NCAAs twice her first two years and then missing out last spring. She said earning the chance to return means a lot. <\/p>\n
\n“Last year was tough, and I’m very proud of us. We didn’t let it knock us down. We only let it fuel us,” Geurts said. <\/p>\n
\n“This team, top to bottom, has put in the work every single day. We came back in August, and we said we were going to win it, and we did it. <\/p>\n
\n“I’ve never doubted anyone on this team. We’re putting ourselves on a big stage, we’re prepared, we’re capable, and we’re going to go and see what we’re going to do. We have big goals.” <\/p>\n
\nGeurts also talked about the impact that the team’s win will have on the younger athletes who will be making their first NCAA appearance. <\/p>\n
\n“We had a ton of great athletes come in. I’m really grateful for them, first of all, because they pushed me to be better, to be faster, to set records, to reset the standard. But they’re also going to be the future of this program. It’s such an honor to be able to lead them, and hopefully they’re going to fill my shoes and they’re going to do great things. I believe in that.” <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/EE4A5570-01.JPG\")
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\nThe Jacksonville team came to the Cooper fresh off their annual post-semester training trip to Gainesville, Georgia, site of this year’s NCAA Championship, so row2k asked what Geurts was looking forward to now that the team has a ticket back to Lake Lanier. <\/p>\n
\n“I look forward to showing off all the hard work we put in. We have some big goals and they can expect some things from us at NCAAs.” <\/p>\n
\nHead coach Mike Lane said this victory really started with last year’s loss. <\/p>\n
\n“This year’s group, we’ve got 14 seniors. They’ve done a fantastic job with leadership, and what really started this year was our result from last year,” he said. <\/p>\n
\n“We came in with high expectations. We ended up losing the MAAC Championship for the first time in three years, and the team had one of two ways to deal with it. <\/p>\n
\n“They could hang their heads and be disappointed, or they could reset the standard and get fired up for this year. They did a fantastic job of using that motivation to lead us to this championship this year.” <\/p>\n
\n“It’s an incredible feeling,” Lane said about flipping the result this year. “We train starting in August for this one moment, for this one six and a half minutes down the race course. It’s really important that we soak it in and we celebrate it. That we remember what this feels like, so all that hard work that they put in, they get to really embrace it now. <\/p>\n![\"D1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6P7A3588-01.JPG\")
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\n“For us, it’s taking that next step, going to NCAAs and really trying to continue to reset the standard and do something special.” <\/p>\n
\nResetting the standard is especially important, according to Lane, for the younger athletes on the squad. <\/p>\n
\n“They get to look around and see what the expectations are, with the seniors, and we’ve got a huge junior class as well, laying the foundation for those youngsters. We’ve got a great group of freshmen scattered throughout all of our boats and so them seeing this, they know they just need to continue to carry that torch for next year.” <\/p>\n
\nBig Ten AQ: Washington <\/p>\n
\nWashington won the Big Ten AQ after an extended weekend of racing in Indianapolis. Weather pushed the opening heats forward to Friday evening this year, and then the teams waited until Sunday morning for another crack at good racing conditions. <\/p>\n
\n“We didn’t come here to defend a championship–we came here to make every one of our boats go as fast as possible, recognizing there would be strong competition to help drive us,” head coach Yasmin Farooq told gohuskies.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n
\n“With so many new people on the roster this year, our focus from day one was development–not just how we row, but who we are and why we row,” she added. “We invested in the long game, blending experienced athletes with newcomers throughout the year, and even within the season, to build skill, standards, and identity. Alum Blake Nordstrom’s philosophy of ‘Extend Yourself’ has been at the heart of our approach, and this team lived it daily.” <\/p>\n
\nBig 12 AQ: UCF <\/p>\n
\nUCF swept all five races at the Big 12 Championship to earn their AQ. The Knights will be making their seventh NCAA appearance in Gainesville. <\/p>\n
\nInformation on all ten of the conference championships that offered AQ bids this year is available in row2k’s D1 NCAA AQ Tracker here<\/a>. <\/p>\n