The UCSD womens crew team’s varsity eight boat took third place at the NCAA Division II Nationals last Sunday, May 2 at Eagle Creek Park, Indiana.
No. 2 ranked Nova Southeastern upset first-ranked Barry in the Grand Final to claim the program’s first NCAA title. The Tritons came in third, six seconds after Barry (6:54.69) and five seconds in front of conference opponent Western Washington (6:59.12). 

Along with a national title in the varsity eight competition, Nova Southeastern’s varsity four boat also took first in the Grand Final.

“We went in seeded fifth and just by making the Grand Finals exceeded everyone’s expectations about what we could do,” varsity eight member Ashley Travaglione said. “I think we knew as a team that we could do better than fifth, and we showed that by fighting our way to the top three.”

On the opening day of competition, the Tritons finished third in the first of two three-team heats. Paired with Barry and Central Oklahoma, the Tritons finished the 2,000-meter race with a time of 7:37.03. 

With the loss, UCSD was relegated to the Repechage race, to compete against Central Oklahoma, Mercyhurst and Western Washington the following day.

Staving off elimination, the Tritons (7:42.96) just edged out second place No. 3 nationally ranked Western Washington (7:43.95) to claim a spot in the four-team Grand Final on Sunday. With Barry and Nova Southeastern earning the automatic qualifier, and with one day of rest in hand, No. 6 UCSD along with Western Washington completed the field for the Grand Final. Nova Southeastern finished with a time of 6:42.47, while Barry finished at 6:48.00.

The Tritons graduate three seniors from the varsity eight boat: seniors Alyssa Dixon-Word (Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete), Michelle Robbins (CRCA All-American) and Travaglione (First-team All-Conference). Other members of the boat include junior coxswain Catherine Sheffler, sophomores Rachel Schneiderman, Kelly Peterson and Claire Duesdieker, as well as freshmen Kelsey Henck and Shruti Kamath. 

“We couldn’t have asked for a better season, especially coming off last season,” Travaglione said. “When [head coach Colin Truex] became our coach, we were all ready to work hard to improve even just a little bit from last year. As the season went on we all realized we had something special and could go to nationals.”

The Tritons end a solid season, by making the program’s first appearance at Nationals since 2008 and earning second place at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships. 

“The seniors finished their careers with an outstanding performance, and the underclassmen have something they can build on in the coming years,” Truex said to the UCSD athletics department.