Washington women rowers are surprising 2nd at NCAAs

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — The Washington women's varsity four won a national title and the Huskies finished second in the team standings on the final day of the NCAA women's rowing championships, Sunday at Lake Natoma. The second-place performance was Washington's best since a runner-up effort in 2002.

The Huskies also earned the bronze medal in the second varsity eight and finished fifth in the varsity eight grand final.

A Huskies celebration seemed like an unlikely scenario on May 18 when Washington finished fourth in the Pac-10 championships at the same venue. That subpar effort left the Huskies' NCAA fate up to the selection committee.

"I was pretty sure we weren't going," said junior Samantha Smith, the No. 3 seat in the second varsity eight. "I never would have thought after Pac-10s that this was going to happen, so it makes it twice as good."

The Huskies' showing during the three-day regatta validated their selection, according to coach Bob Ernst.

"We almost didn't get invited, I suppose," he said. "Clearly, we belong here."

Brown (67 points) won its NCAA-leading sixth team championship, while Washington (59) finished among the top two for the sixth time. They are the only two schools to record top-10 finishes at every championship since the NCAA began sponsoring women's rowing in 1997. The Huskies were team champions in 1997, 1998 and 2001.

Pac-10 champion California was third (53), followed by Yale (51) and Virginia (47).

Washington State (30) finished eighth, its second-best showing in school history.

The Huskies' varsity four parlayed an impressive finishing sprint into the first NCAA title by a UW crew since 2002.

Washington streaked off the starting line and immediately gained a boat-length lead. It maintained that advantage through the opening 1,000 meters before Virginia made its move, pulling into the front just after the midway mark and opening a two-seat advantage for the next 600 meters.

"We all knew that this was the big time," said Rachel Powers, the Huskies' varsity four stroke. "We really had to pull through and do something spectacular. We were ready to have to fight back against another crew."

The Huskies rallied furiously, overtaking the Cavaliers with 100 meters to go on the way to a two-seat triumph in 7 minutes, 24.75 seconds.

"I said to the girls that it would come down to the sprint for the national title," coxswain Maggie Cheek said. "The boat just lifted up out of the water and we just went."

Division II

Western Washington won the team title for the fourth year in a row after beating its closest competitor in the varsity eight grand final by more than 13 seconds.

The Vikings finished the race in 6:53.20, followed by UC San Diego in 7:06.68.

Western was led by a core group of four seniors — Metta Gilbert, Samantha Marikis, Staci Reynolds and Amelia Whitcomb — who rowed in the national regatta for each of the championships.

Western finished with a perfect score of 20 points to 15 for UC San Diego, which was the runner-up for the second straight year.

Division III

A fourth-place finish in the varsity eight grand final and a win in the third varsity eights helped Puget Sound to a third-place team finish, its best since 2003.

Williams, which finished second and third in the varsity eights, won its third straight Division III title with 25 points. Trinity (Conn.) was second with 21.

Puget Sound and Ithaca tied for third with 15 points, but the Loggers collected the third-place trophy by virtue of a higher finish in the grand final.

NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships

At Gold River, Calif.

TEAM SCORES

1, Brown, 67; 2, Washington, 59; 3, California, 53; 4, Yale, 51; 5, Virginia, 47; 6, Michigan State, 38; 7, Ohio State, 34; 8, Washington State, 30; 9, Harvard, 26; 10, Wisconsin, 25; 11, Tennessee, 21; 12, Princeton, 17.

VARSITY 8

GRAND FINAL -- 1, Yale, 6:34.05; 2, Stanford, 6:34.95; 3, Brown, 6:35.25; 4, California, 6:36.21; 5, Washington, 6:38.25; 6, Michigan State, 6:40.26.

PETITE FINAL -- 1, Harvard, 6:35.30; 2, Virginia 6:38.52; 3, Washington State, 6:42.40; 4, Southern California, 6:43.32; 5, Michigan 6:43.91; 6, Princeton, 6:45.04.

THIRD FINAL -- 1, Wisconsin, 6:41.98; 2, Clemson, 6:43.33; 3, Ohio State, 6:45.83; 4, Tennessee, 6:49.19.

SECOND VARSITY 8

GRAND FINAL -- 1, Brown, 6:42.42; 2, Ohio State, 6:44.87; 3, Washington, 6:48.41; 4, Virginia, 6:49.88; 5, Tennessee, 6:51.60; 6, California, 6:52.15.

PETITE FINAL -- 1, Wisconsin, 6:50.34; 2, Washington State, 6:51.72; 3, Yale, 6:54.14; 4, Michigan State, 6:56.48; 5, Harvard, 6:56.50; 6, Princeton, 7:06.31.

VARSITY 4

GRAND FINAL -- 1, Washington, 7:24.75; 2, Virginia, 7:26.09; 3, Brown, 7:29.77; 4, California, 7:33.10; 5, Michigan State, 7:33.99; 6, Yale, 6:41.82

PETITE FINAL -- 1, Ohio State, 7:34.33; 2, Washington State, 7:38.47; 3, Wisconsin, 7:43.39; 4, Princeton, 7:45.54; 5, Tennessee, 7:45.70; 6, Harvard, 7:52.74

NCAA Div. II Women's Rowing National Championships

At Rancho Cordova, Calif.

GRAND FINAL -- EIGHTS: 1, Western Washington, 6:53.20; 2, UC San Diego, 7:06.68; 3, Dowling, 7:10.19; 4, Philadelphia, 7:21.24

GRAND FINAL -- FOURS: 1, Western Washington, 7:57.54; 2, UC San Diego, 8:10.95; 3, Nova Southeastern, 8:25.10