MEDFORD, ,MA (May 13, 2026) -- The NCAA Division III Women's Rowing Championships field was announced late Tuesday evening, and the Tufts University women's rowing squad received an at-large berth into the field after a stellar season. The Jumbos are the two-time defending national champions, and will look to earn their third national crown in program history May 29-30 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia.
The team championship is composed of eight teams. Each team is required to field two boats of eight rowers and a coxswain. Automatic qualification is granted to four conferences, which form "Pool A." The remaining four teams are selected from "Pool C," which includes teams that did not win their conference's AQ, independents and institutions from conferences that do not meet automatic-qualification standards.
Tufts was one of four schools to earn a Pool C bid, joining Trinity (CT), Puget Sound and Williams College. William Smith, Catholic, Bates and Wellesley round out the eight-team field.
The Jumbos are the two-time defending champion, winning their first title back in 2024 in Bethel, Ohio. The Jumbos are making their eighth berth into the NCAA Championships all-time, and have finished in the top three in each of the last three Championships.
In 2022 team was sixth and in 2006 they placed fifth on the other occasions when the team had two eights in action. Previously an at-large berth meant a team could only compete in the first varsity eight race, but that format has since changed. The 2005 and 2016 Tufts berths were just for the 1V8, highlighted by the 2016 squad placing sixth in the grand final.
The Jumbos are currently ranked No. 3 in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) latest poll, behind Williams College and Bates College.
Tufts will be in lane three in the first varsity eight, while the Jumbos second varsity is seeded first overall.
--JUMBOS--
