Crews from Brown outdistanced Yale to win their fourth national title in six years at the Division I Women's Rowing Championships May 28-30 at the CSUS Aquatic Center in Sacramento, California.

Brown, which also captured team championships in 1999, 2000 and 2002, is one of only four schools to make an appearance in every championships since the event debuted in 1997. With this crown, Brown eclipsed Washington for the most team titles. The Huskies have claimed three.

The Bears, who fell just two points shy of the national crown last year, tallied 70 points in the winning effort. It was the largest point total amassed by a team since 1998.

Second-place finisher Yale notched its best showing in school history with 59 points. Before this year, the Bulldogs' highest finish was fifth place in 1997. Michigan earned 52 points to take third by a slim one-point margin over California. Washington rounded out the top five in the team competition with 43 points. Defending champion Harvard finished 10th in the team standings.

"We had some ups and downs during the course of the season, but the team really came together over the last few weeks," said Brown head coach John Murphy. "We practiced very well over that span, and we were really excited about our chances heading into the championship."

Brown's time of 6:32.9 edged Yale by 1.7 seconds in a tight I Eights final. Michigan, Princeton, Ohio State and Princeton filled out the top six. In the II Eights final, Brown captured the lead about midway through the race and surged to victory more than two seconds in front of California. Washington State took third, followed by Michigan, Yale and California, respectively.

In the I Eights petite final, the victory went to Washington, which turned in a time of 6:37.8. Harvard, Virginia, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Southern California rounded out the field.

Virginia posted the winning time of 6:48.8 in the II Eights petite final to finish in front of Wisconsin, Harvard, Princeton, Michigan State and Ohio State.

The Cavaliers also improved on last year's eighth-place finish in the Fours, winning the event this year with a time of 7:27.5. Washington, Brown, Yale, California and Ohio State followed.

Wisconsin earned first place in the Fours petite final with a time of 7:32.5 over Michigan State, Michigan, Princeton, Washington State and Harvard.

Team results

1. Brown, 70; 2. Yale, 58; 3. Michigan, 52; 4. California, 51; 5. Washington, 43; 6. Princeton, 36; 7. Virginia, 36; 8. Ohio St., 33; 9. Washington St., 28; 10. Harvard, 24; 11. Wisconsin, 19; 12. Michigan St., 18.

Event results

Fours: Petite final -- 1. Wisconsin [Megan Stevens, Kirby Kallie, Katie Pofahl, Leah Gordon, Malika McCormick (coxswain)], 7:32.5; 2. Michigan State, 7:34.2; 3. Michigan, 7:37.7; 4. Princeton, 7:39.5; 5. Washington St., 7:41.1; 6. Harvard, 7:46.4;

Fours: Final -- 1. Virginia [Launa Forehand, Kerry Maher, Renee Albers, Libby McCann, Ashley Jones (coxswain)], 7:27.5; 2. Washington, 7:30.8; 3. Brown, 7:32.2; 4. Yale, 7:34.4; 5. California, 7:39.3; 6. Ohio St., 7:39.9.

II Eights: Petite final -- 1. Virginia [Danielle Sewell, Carolyn McMillan, Julie Creighton, Katie Yrazabal, Kelley Jesnig, Yvonne Epp, Jessica Haury, Mary Dobmeier, Emily Richard (coxswain)], 6:48.8; 2. Wisconsin, 6:51; 3. Harvard, 6:53.7; 4. Princeton, 6:54; 5. Michigan St., 6:54.4; 6. Ohio St., 6:55.1.

II Eights: Final -- 1. Brown [Erika Faires, Diane Schneider, Caitlin Flynn, Sophie Branson-Gill, Meghan Kelly, Maggie Cheney, Kaitlin Masarie, Audrey Patten, Peggy McKendry (coxswain)], 6:44.1; 2. California, 6:46.8; 3. Washington St., 6:47; 4. Michigan, 6:47.2; 5. Yale, 6:50.4; 6. Washington, 6:50.41.

I Eights: Petite final -- 1. Washington [Megan Mach, Sandra Hangan, Kara Farquharson, Yvonneke Stenken, Allison DePalma, Mary Reeves, Sarah Hubbard, Gemma Edward-Aron, Michael Kohan (coxswain)], 6:37.8; 2. Harvard, 6:38.4; 3. Virginia, 6:38.6; 4. Tennessee, 6:41.1; 5. Notre Dame, 6:44; 6. Southern California, 6:44.1.

I Eights: Final -- 1. Brown [Mira Mehta, Deborah Dryer, Meg Anderson, Catherine Starr, Karen Prazar, Rachel Dearborn, Natalia Obolensky, Marie Walcott, Gillian Almy (coxswain)], 6:32.9; 2. Yale, 6:34.6; 3. Michigan, 6:37.1; 4. Princeton, 6:37.7; 5. Ohio St., 6:38.9; 6. California, 6:40.1