HANOVER— The Dartmouth College women’s rowing team was one of 13 at-large selections to participate in this year’s NCAA Division I women’s rowing championship, which begins on Friday in West Windsor, N.J.

It’s the first time the program has made it to the postseason since 2011.

Big Green women’s rowing head coach John Graves said it was an emotional moment when the team learned it had made the cut.

Rowing isn’t a high-profile sport, Graves acknowledged, and his athletes typically receive little recognition compared to the amount of work they put into competing.

The college organized a viewing party for the team to watch as the at-large bids were announced, so the Big Green learned about their fate as a group.

“It was really special to have a moment like that at the selection party where the team could feel the support of the college behind them … the support of everyone that’s been pulling for us throughout the season,” said Graves.

The Big Green will be one of 22 teams from around the country with the opportunity to compete at the championship meet. They’ll be the 11th seed in the first varsity eights event and the 13th seed in second varsity eights and varsity fours.

In the first eights, Dartmouth is locked in a heat with Boston University, Tennessee, Rutgers, California and Fairfield.

The Big Green’s second eights heat features Boston University, Syracuse, Texas, Yale and Rhode Island.

Dartmouth’s fours heat includes Northeastern, Harvard, Texas, Yale and Rhode Island.

Graves was an assistant coach on the Dartmouth men’s rowing team for two years before being hired as the women’s head coach in 2023.

“It’s been a process of identifying the things we needed to do to be a competitive team in the Ivy League, which is one of the most competitive leagues in the country,” said Graves.

As evidence of the progress, he pointed to last year’s Ivy League championship, where the women’s team made the grand final for the first time in years.

“I think that moment was a big one for making them excited about training over the summer, training through the fall, and I think also trusting the process,” said Graves.

Graves said he has been surprised by how quickly the Big Green progressed, but he has encouraged the rowers not to take the opportunity for granted because getting back to this point is never guaranteed.

“From the outside perspective, it’s going to seem like it’s going to be all upwards from here and NCAAs will be the new normal going forward, but that’s just not how it works,” he said.

“This is amazing, this is an awesome place to be, well done, but we don’t want to leave this season feeling we left any speed on the table.”

Graves said he’s hopeful the team could use the momentum from a successful Ivy League championship and parlay that into a strong performance in New Jersey.

“We get to race Cal, Tennessee and Rutgers. What an awesome opportunity [to see] how fast we go and if we can knock any of those people off,” said Graves.

For a complete look at the schedule and to keep track of results, visit https://www.ncaa.com/news/rowing/article/2025-05-18/2025-ncaa-di-rowing-championship-how-watch-schedule-results.

Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at mcoughlin@vnews.com.