Rowing | UW women get invitation to nationals

Despite a disappointing finish at the Pac-10 regatta, the University of Washington women's rowing team has received an invitation to the NCAA championships.

The Huskies finished fifth in the varsity eight race Sunday on Lake Natoma outside Sacramento and were fourth overall in the multi-event team standings.

But the Huskies got what coach Bob Ernst admits is "a break" and will head back to Lake Natoma for the NCAA regatta May 30-June 1. They will be one of 12 schools competing for the national title that is based on points earned in three events — varsity eight, second-varsity (JV) eight and four-with-coxswain.

Washington State, which was third in both the Pac-10 varsity-eight race and team standings, got an expected invitation. California got an automatic berth as Pac-10 champion.

Washington expected to have the door slammed in its face Tuesday when the NCAA committee announced entries, but instead Stanford got the bad news.

The Cardinal finished second overall at the Pac-10 regatta on the strength of a second-place finish in the varsity eight and third-place finish in the JV eight races, but it wasn't enough to get a full-team invitation.

Instead, Stanford's varsity eight received an at-large invitation that amounts to a consolation prize.

"We're really disappointed," said Stanford coach Yasmin Faroog, who also used the word "baffled."

She said Ernst congratulated her Sunday and said, "Good luck at NCAAs."

Faroog said Tuesday that the failure of her four-with-coxswain to make the conference final in a race won by Washington probably was "a factor" in the committee's decision. She also speculated that Washington's surprising varsity victory in the early season San Diego Crew Classic might have been taken into account.

The Huskies, Brown and Virginia are the only three schools to have automatically qualified or received invitations to every NCAA regatta since 1997 when women's rowing became an official NCAA sport.

Invitations to the Division II and Division III regattas, also on Lake Natoma on the same dates, were issued Tuesday. As expected, three-time defending Division II champion Western Washington was invited. Puget Sound was invited to the Division III regatta for the sixth straight year.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com