Western Washington swept the Varsity Eight and Varsity Four races to win the team title at the NCAA Division II Women’s Rowing Championship May 28. The regatta was held at the Finn Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey.

The top-ranked Vikings claimed their second consecutive title with a perfect score of 20 and joined UC Davis as the only school to repeat as champion in the five-year history of the Division II championship. Barry finished second with 15 points, followed by Nova Southeastern with eight and UC San Diego with seven points.

In the Fours race, the Vikings stroked their way to an easy two-boat-length victory in 8:24.16. Barry, the eventual national runner-up, was second with a time of 8:30.46, followed by UC San Diego at 8:35.13.

The Eights grand final was much tighter. Western Washington trailed Barry until the final 200 meters of the race when the Vikings surged into the lead and clipped the Buccaneers by a third of a boat length. Barry was just 1.08 seconds behind. Nova Southeastern was third, followed by Florida Tech. 

“It’s an amazing accomplishment by these rowers,” said Western Washington head coach John Fuchs. “It could have gone either way. Barry had such a good program this year, especially the Eights, and we knew it was going to be close — and it was. It was a great performance by both boats. We wanted to perform our best and we did that. It was flawless racing by both crews.”

Team results

1. Western Wash., 20; 2. Barry, 15; 3. Nova Southeastern, 8; 4. UC San Diego, 7.

Event results

Fours: Grand final — Western Wash. [Coree Naslund (coxswain), Kirsten Mathers, Hilary Gastwirth, Katie Saelens, Katrina Anderson], 8:24.1550; 2. Barry, 8:30.4640; 3. UC San Diego, 8:35.1310.

Eights: Petite final — 1. UC San Diego [Arianna Pilram (coxswain), Jen Myers, Melanie Kaelberer, Meghan Kelly, Leah Llach, Cara Kuebert, Katie Murray, Alissa Kispersky, Anna Simeon], 7:30.4180; 2. Dowling, 7:38.8400.

Eights: Grand final — 1. Western Wash. [Elisabeth Johnson (coxswain), Amelia Whitcomb, Staci Reynolds, Julia Gamache, Jordon Tobler, Lindsay Mann-King, Rebecca Willms, Metta Gilbert, Samantha Marikis], 7:17.6400; 2. Barry, 7:18.6810; 3. Nova Southeastern, 7:25.4410; 4. Florida Tech, 7:32.3410.