Around The Oval: Rowing Completes National Championship 3-Peat, Track Qualifies for 15 Events in the NCAA Championship, and How Ohio State's Athletic Program Ranks This Year.

row-h-i-o

In case you missed it, yesterday the Buckeye Rowing Team won the 2015 National Championship. 

This was not unexpected. The rowing team is perhaps the most dominant program at Ohio State currently. They were the nation's top-ranked team every week but one, and entered the weekend as one of the favorites after dominating the B1G Championships two weeks before. This is now the teams third straight NCAA Championship, making them the first team in the history of the rowing championship to accomplish the "3-pete".

It was the first varsity eight that locked up the win for the Buckeyes. They posted the second fastest time ever recorded at an NCAA championship to best the top seeded and undefeated Cal Bears. The win gave the team its second undefeated season in as many seasons, making them 83-0 the past two years (27-0 in races).

This Ohio State team can now rightfully call themselves a dynasty.

track qualifies for 15 events

The only other Buckeye team left competing is the track and field team, and this weekend they did not disappoint. The men's and women's teams combined to qualify for 15 events in the NCAA Championships

Men:

• Donovan Robertson - men's 110-meter hurdles
• Timothy Faust - men's 200-meter dash
• LaMar Bruton - men's 400-meter dash
• Antonio Blanks - men's 400-meter hurdles
• Jackson Neff - men's 3000-meter steeplechase
• J.C. Murasky - men's shot put
• Zack Bazile - men's long jump
• Men's 4x400-meter relay

Women:

• Aisha Cavin - women's 200-meter dash
• SoSo Walker - women's 400-meter dash
• Aaliyah Barnes - women's 400-meter dash
• Katie Borchers - women's 800-meter run
• Carly Pendleton - women's discus
• Women's 4x100-meter relay
• Women's 4x400-meter relay

The NCAA Championships will be in Eugene Oregon June 10-13.

ranking the program as a whole

There are two main awards for the best athletic program in the country: The Capital One Cup, and The Directors Cup.

The Directors Cup is the simpler of the two. Every sport is worth the same amount of points, whether it be women's water polo or football, and it combines the performances of both the men's teams and the women's teams.

The Capital One Cup is divided into men's and women's rankings, and teams earn points by finishing in the top-10 of the final rankings in a sport. Unlike the Directors Cup, every sport is not weighted the same. The more popular, higher revenue sports are worth double the points of the smaller sports. 

So how does Ohio State fare in these standings?

In the Women's Capital One Cup, the Buckeyes are not ranked in the top-10 and have no more chances to score points. 

Ohio State is currently fifth in the Directors Cup, and will likely finish the 2014-15 season at about that ranking. There is absolutely no chance of the Buckeyes winning this award. In fact, Stanford has had it all but locked up for months. A top-5 finish is likely however, and that would be quite an accomplishment.

In the Men's Capital One Cup, however, things are a lot more interesting.

Ohio State currently sits at the top of the rankings with 93.5 points, but it's in trouble. The Buckeyes have no more opportunities to score points in this competition, but other teams do. It may seem like Ohio State has a comfortable lead on teams like Oregon or UCLA, but if you look at the scoring guide you'll realize that this isn't quite the case. 

Here are the three most likely scenarios for Ohio State being dethroned in these standings:

1. A top-3 finish for the Oregon men's track team. The Ducks are currently ranked third in the country entering into the June 10 NCAA Championships. Oregon is considered one of the top track programs in the nation year after year and finishing out of the top-5 would be uncharacteristic of them.
2. A national championship or runner up finish for UCLA in baseball. UCLA is currently ranked second in the USA Today Poll. Although there is a long way to go until the College World Series champion is named, UCLA entered the NCAA Tournament as one of the favorites.
3. A top-10 finish for Virginia in baseball. Although the Cavaliers are unranked in every national poll, they are ranked 21st in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. They also completed their third straight regional title last night with a win against USC and advance on to the NCAA Super Regionals. A top-10 finish may be unlikely for this team, but it certainly is not out of the question. 

The Buckeyes are obviously in a pretty good position to bring this award back to Columbus, but now the only thing they can do is watch as other teams try to catch them. It's kind of like Tresselball.

2014-15 'Ship Count: 5

• Football
• Wrestling
• Pistol
• Synchronized Swimming
• Rowing