Release courtesy of USRowing Communications Department
Princeton, N.J. — The University of California, Berkeley held the top position of USRowing’s third regular season varsity men’s eight poll with all 17 first-place votes.
After an impressive opening weekend at the San Diego Crew Classic, the Cal men’s team will return to the Redwood Shores to compete at the Stanford Invitational on April 14 and 15 against Hobart, Wisconsin, Orange Coast College and Santa Clara.
The University of Washington had a solid weekend, sweeping all of its events against Oregon State and the University of Oregon, and earned second place in the poll. Yale University and Princeton University held their ranks at third and fourth place respectively. Harvard University closed out the top five.
In the lightweight men’s poll, Yale University clinched the top spot with five first-place votes after sweeping Georgetown and MIT on the Housatonic River April 8. Cornell University received four first-place votes to earn a second place spot.
Harvard University held their third-place rank. The United States Naval Academy was fourth and Princeton University was fifth.
Stanford University’s lightweight women remained the top pick in the lightweight women’s poll with five first-place votes. The Cardinals defended their 2016 crown at the Knecht Cup on Mercer Lake, winning the lightweight eight title again against second-place Boston University (two first-place votes) and third-place Princeton University.
The University of Wisconsin was fourth, and Harvard-Radcliffe moved up from last week’s seventh-place ranking to take fifth.
Men’s Heavyweight 8+
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank |
| 1 | University of California, Berkeley (17) | 1 |
| 2 | University of Washington | 2 |
| 3 | Yale University | 3 |
| 4 | Princeton University | 4 |
| 5 | Harvard University | 6 |
| 6 | Boston University | 5 |
| 7 | Northeastern University | 7 |
| 8 | Dartmouth University | 8 |
| 9 | Brown University | 9 |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania | 14 |
| 11 | Stanford University | 10 |
| 12 | University of Wisconsin | 11 |
| 13 | George Washington | 13 |
| 14 | Cornell University | 12 |
| 15 | Syracuse University | 17 |
| 16 | Columbia University | 15 |
| 17 | Georgetown University | NR |
| 18 | United States Naval Academy | 16 |
| 19 | Florida Institute of Technology | 19 |
| 20 | Oregon State University | NR |
Also receiving votes: Drexel, Hobart, St. Joseph’s, Santa Clara, Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Participating Coaches: Todd Kennett (Cornell), Tom Sanford (Marist), Geoff Bond (Penn), Luke Agini (Georgetown), Charley Butt (Harvard), Paul Bugenhagen (Hobart), Paul Cooke (Brown), Philip Schmehl (Marist), Steve Gladstone (Yale), Gabe Winkler (Oregon State), Michael Callahan (Wahington), Jim Barr (Holy Cross), Mike Irwin (St. Joseph’s), Greg Hughes (Princeton), Wyatt Allen (Dartmouth), Thomas Bohrer (BU), Scott Alwin (Columbia)
Men’s Lightweight 8+
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Yale University (5) | 2 |
| 2 | Cornell University (4) | 1 |
| 3 | Harvard University | 3 |
| 4 | United States Naval Academy | 5 |
| 5 | Princeton University | 4 |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | 6 |
| 7 | Columbia University | 7 |
| 8 | University of Delaware | 8 |
| 9 | Georgetown University | 9 |
| 10 | Dartmouth University | 10 |
| 11 | Mercyhurst University | 11 |
| 12 | MIT | 12 |
| 13 | Purdue | 13 |
| 14 | Temple University | 14 |
| 15 | University of California, Berkeley | 15 |
Also receiving votes: University of California, Santa Barbara, St Joseph’s University, California Maritime, Washington State University
Participating Coaches: Martin Crotty (Princeton), William Boyce (Harvard), Lee Rumpf (Georgetown), Sean Healey (Dartmouth), Colin Farrell (Penn), Chris Kerber (Cornell), Shawn Bagnall (Navy), Andy Card (Yale), Nich Lee Parker (Columbia)
Women’s Lightweight 8+
| Rank | Team | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Stanford University (5) | 1 |
| 2 | Boston Unversity (2) | 2 |
| 3 | Princeton University | 5 |
| 4 | University of Wisconsin | 3 |
| 5 | Harvard-Radcliffe | 7 |
| 6 | University of Tulsa | 8 |
| 7 | Georgetown University | 4 |
| 8 | MIT | 6 |
| 9 | Villanova University | 9 |
| 10 | Bucknell University | 10 |
| 11 | Purdue University | 11 |
| 12 | University of California, Berkeley | 13 |
| 13 | LaSalle University | 12 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 15 |
| 15 | University of Oregon | NR |
Also receiving votes: Washington State, Penn State
Participating Coaches: Sarah Baker (Harvard-Radcliffe), Dusty Mattison (Wisconsin), Paul Rassam (Princeton), Claire Martin-Doyle (MIT), Malcolm Doldron (BU), Rodney Mott (Tulsa), Kate Bertko (Stanford)