Michigan State University Athletics
Rowing Opens 2026 Season at No. 20 in CRCA Poll
2/11/2026 12:01:00 PM | Women's Rowing
East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State is ranked No. 20 in the preseason poll released on Wednesday, February 11 by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/Pocock.
MSU ended 2025 at No. 21 in the CRCA coaches' poll, one of five Big Ten institutions to appear in the final survey. Seven B1G crews are ranked in the preseason CRCA poll: Washington (4), Rutgers (9), Michigan (11), Indiana (14), Ohio State (19), Michigan State (20) and USC (23) – indicating that competition will be highly challenging among the league schools.
The Spartans return 29 rowers in 2026, including 24 who participated in the Big Ten Championships a year ago. Head coach Stacey Rippetoe is in her third season at the helm and has steadily guided her charges to vast improvements over her first two seasons.
I am proud of the improvements our team has worked for throughout the winter season., noted Rippetoe. We are all looking forward to getting back to side-by-side racing!
The 2026 Spartans will head to Florida for a training camp over spring break, with their first competition coming March 27-28 at the Sarasota 2K at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. MSU has an opportunity for an in-state race on Saturday, April 4 when it will line up with Eastern Michigan on Ford Lake in Ypsilanti.
On April 18-19, MSU will be the host institution for the annual Big Ten Invitational. This year's regatta will feature 19 schools and be held at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma. Three schools in the preseason top 25 (No. 1 Stanford, No. 10 Cal and No. 17 Oregon State) are among the eight invited schools in addition to all 11 Big Ten programs; also participating will be Gonzaga, Notre Dame, Sacramento State, San Diego, and Washington State.
Another ranked opponent will be on the Spartan schedule when MSU races in Indiana's Dale England Cup on Lake Lemon in Bloomington on May 2.
The Big Ten Championships return to Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis on May 16-17, which will once again bring together the league's 11 rowing programs for the annual championship. The NCAA Championship Regatta will be held May 29-June 1 on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia.
2026 CRCA/Pocock Preseason Division I Poll
1 Stanford
2 Yale
3 Texas
4 Washington
5 Tennessee
6 Princeton
7 Brown
8 Virginia
9 Rutgers
10 Cal
11 Michigan
12 Syracuse
13 Harvard
14 Indiana
15 Central Florida
16 Pennsylvania
17 Oregon State
18 Duke
19 Ohio State
20 Michigan State
21 Clemson
22 Columbia
23 USC
24 Northeastern
25 Oklahoma
