Harvard bested perennial powers Brown and Washington to capture its first Division I Women's Rowing Championship May 30-June 1 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.

Indiana University, Bloomington, and USRowing co-hosted the second annual championship. From 1997, the inaugural year of an NCAA-sponsored sport in women's rowing, to 2000, the championship was a National Collegiate event.

Harvard is the first team to beat Washington and Brown, which had won three titles apiece in the six previous years of the regatta.

The finals of the I Eights was a crucial race, allowing victorious Harvard, rowing in at 6:26.92, to earn 36 points and capture the team title. Michigan came in second with a 6:28.58 and Stanford finished third.

Brown took first place in the petite finals of the I Eights race, with Princeton coming in second. Ohio State was just .47 seconds behind Princeton, finishing third with 6:23.95.

Washington won the petite Fours with a time of 7:38.02, with Virginia closely following at 7:39.05 and Michigan State coming in at 7:40.01.

For the second year in a row, Brown captured the Fours title, rowing the race in 7:18.83. California and Michigan took second and third, respectively.

Brown also claimed the II Eights final in a familiar battle with Washington. Brown's time was a 6:35.03, ahead of Washington's 6:38.57. Virginia came in first in the petite finals of the II Eights race. Yale finished second.

Harvard finished with 59 team points. Defending champion Brown finished a close second with 57 team points; Washington took third with 55.

Team results

1. Harvard, 59; 2. Brown, 57; 3. Washington, 55; 4. Michigan, 51; 5. California, 43; 6. Virginia, 41; 7. Princeton, 38; 8. Ohio St., 38; 9. Stanford, 33; 10. Yale, 27; 11. Michigan St., 16; 12. Washington St., 10.

Event results

Fours: Petite final -- 1. Washington [Cora Fix, Laura Barnes, Debbie Curry, Kasia Bloch, Courtney Goodridge (coxswain)], 7:38.02; 2. Virginia, 7:39.05; 3. Michigan St., 7:40.01; 4. Washington St., 7:43.04; 5. Princeton, 7:45.09; 6. Stanford, 7:56.00.83.

Fours: Final -- 1. Brown [Deborah Dryer, Kaitlin Masarie, Katie Reynolds, Gillian Almy, Mira Metha (coxswain)], 7:18.83; 2. California, 7:21.43; 3. Michigan, 7:24.83; 4. Ohio St., 7:30.02; 5. Yale, 7:32.51; 6. Harvard, 7:34.79.

II Eights: Petite final -- 1. Virginia [Andrea Czarkowski, Jessie Haury, Katie Yrazabal, Amanda Kennedy, Margaret Matia, Claudia Durkin, Mary Dobmeier, Kelley Jesnig, Danielle Sewell (coxwain)], 6:38.28; 2. Yale, 6:40.05; 3. Michigan, 6:40.32; 4. Michigan St., 6:40.92; 5. Washington St., 6:43.58; 6. Stanford, 6:45.60.

II Eights: Final -- 1. Brown [Abby Thomas, Frances Betancourt, Jill Filipek, Kady Tremaine, Megan Wachs, Meg Anderson, Audrey Patten, Becky Hutchinson, Liza Aquiar (coxswain)], 6:35.03; 2. Washington, 6:38.57; 3. California, 6:39.67; 4. Princeton, 6:41.99; 5. Harvard, 6:42.43; 6. Ohio St., 6:43.80.

I Eights: Petite final -- 1. Brown [Diane Schneider, Sarah Broadhead, Marie Wallott, Karen Prazar, Maggie Cheney, Meaghan Kelly, Eleanor Dodson, Peggy McKendry, Erika Raires (coxswain)], 6:20.01; 2. Princeton, 6:23.48; 3. Ohio St., 6:23.95; 4. California, 6:24.97; 5. Yale, 6:26.13; 6. Texas, 6:28.65.

I Eights: Final -- 1. Harvard [Sarah Marvel, Courtney Brown, Caryn Davies, Anna Brock, Lis Lambert, Heather Schofield, Carolina Fisher, Tasha Pasternack, Julie Gluck (coxswain)], 6:26.92; 2. Michigan, 6:28.58; 3. Stanford, 6:29.54; 4. Washington, 6:30.07; 5. Virginia, 6:31.49; 6. Southern California, 6:38.33