No. 17 Women’s Rowing Set for First-Ever NCAA Championship Appearance

Friday, May 29

Lake Lanier, Ga.

All Day

Columbia

NCAA Championship

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

No. 17 Women’s Rowing Set for First-Ever NCAA Championship Appearance

5/28/2026 11:13:00 AM | Women's Rowing

Heat Sheet NCAA Rowing Homepage

The Lions will have three boats in action this weekend

NEW YORK — No. 17 Columbia women's rowing is set for its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance this weekend at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia, hosted by Lake Lanier Olympic Park and the University of North Georgia. Racing is scheduled from Friday to Sunday.

The 2026 NCAA DI rowing championships will have both live results and a live stream on NCAA.com.

Watch Live Day One
Watch Live Day Two
Watch Live Day Three

The NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships are comprised of 22 teams and provides three events (I Eights, II Eights and Fours), each covering a 2,000-meter course. Each team is required to field two boats of eight rowers each and one boat of four rowers. Individual rowers are not permitted to double at the championships. Only boats that are participating in the championships are allowed on the water.

Lineups

First Varsity Eight "Amsterdam"

Cox: Tess Degenhart, Addie Luce, Bryn Dittrich, Emily Bukowski, Giordan Ismael, Sofia Brauweiler, Andrea Vergara, Jackie Zatsiorsky, Hope Gelfand

Second Varsity Eight "Deantini"

Cox: Anika Kumar, Isabel Bessette, Catherine Ruf, Ellery Eward, Rachel Dowd, Kira Morton, Marie Rebeiz, Fiona O'Toole, Shannon Breimer

First Varsity Four "John Condon"

Cox: Debolina Sen, Kiley Martin, Deanna Besart, Maya Jhamb, Alexandra Cardwell

Season Review

The 2025-26 Lions feature an experienced group. The Lions have seen a steady upward trajectory this season, culminating in a second place finish for the First Varsity Eight at Eastern Sprints. The top crew has bested most of its regular season opponents (Boston College, UConn, Holy Cross, Northeastern, Navy, UMass, Bucknell, URI, Cornell, Temple, Rutgers, Notre Dame, BU, Harvard-Radcliffe, and Dartmouth), while only falling to Brown.

Last Time Out

Columbia finished in fourth place in the Varsity Eight Grand Final to headline the Lions' performances at the Ivy League Championship on the Cooper River.

Columbia's Varsity Eight crew posted a time of 6:20.027 in the Grand Final, finishing behind Princeton, Yale and Brown in one of the regatta's most competitive races. The Lions advanced to the Grand Final after placing second in their heat with a time of 6:08.985.

The Lions' Second Varsity Eight also turned in a strong showing, taking fourth in the Grand Final in 6:26.742 after qualifying through with a third place finish in the heat.

In the Varsity Four competition, Columbia captured the Petite Final title in 7:35.412 after placing fourth in its heat. The Lions also added a fourth place finish in the Varsity Four B Final, crossing in 7:19.618.

All-Ivy Recognition

Senior Addie Luce was named First Team All-Ivy League, while senior Jackie Zatsiorsky garnered Second Team recognition. In addition, senior Andrea Vergara earned Columbia's Academic All-Ivy award.

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