Sawyer in D-III rowing championships

WORCESTER – The Worcester Polytechnic Institute women’s rowing team, including Abigail Sawyer of Uxbridge, has been selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time in program history. This year’s championships will be held May 25-26 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., and will be hosted by the University of Central Florida.

The third-ranked Engineers join the likes of No. 1 Bates, No. 2 Ithaca, No. 8 Pacific Lutheran, No. 13 Washington College, No. 5 Wellesley, No. 4 Wesleyan and No. t6 Williams, who collectively account for 14 national championships and 54 appearances.

The varsity eight has been a mainstay in the CRCA/US-Rowing Division III Coaches Poll the past three seasons, including the top ten during the past two springs. This past weekend, the Engineers lived up to their ranking by finishing third to Bates and Ithaca at the National Invitation Rowing Championships.

They also defeated Wesleyan twice, as well as Williams in the final and No. 10 William Smith in the morning heat. At the New England Rowing Championships, WPI again defeated the Cardinals twice while also topping Wellesley, Williams and No. 9 Tufts in the grand final.

In the regular season, the Crimson and Gray bested Tufts to reclaim the Bernard Brown Cup, William Smith three more times, No. 14 Smith twice, including once in the NEWMAC Championship, and No. 15 Colby twice.