GOLD RIVER, Calif. - The Western Washington University women's rowing women's Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 boats recorded wins at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships Sunday on Lake Natoma.

The Vikings placed all four of their boats in the Grand Finals, with the Novice 4 placing 2nd and the 2nd Varsity 8 placing 3rd.

The Varsity 8 turned in a dominating day, pulling double duty after Saturday's wind-shortened competition. WWU reached the finals by winning the first heat of the V8 in 6:44.7 ahead of second-place Pacific Lutheran (6:47.8). In the final race of the day the V8 won the Grand Final in a time of 6:54.0, two seconds better than Orange Coast College (6:56.1).

The Varsity 4 also recorded the victory in impressive fashion finishing the 2,000-meter course in 7:50.0, better than seven seconds ahead of UC San Diego (7:57.1). UCSD entered the competition listed just ahead of the Vikings in the V4 in the NCAA II West Region rankings.

The Novice 4 finished 2nd in the Grand Final in 8:10.1, tailing first-place University of Oregon (7:57.0).

The 2nd Varsity 8 placed 3rd in 7:14.4 behind UCSD (7:10.8) and UC Santa Barbara (7:13.9).

"It was a good weekend for the Vikings," said head coach John Fuchs. "We battled through some tough conditions yesterday to get to the finals and really performed well today, all around. I am proud of the team for coming down here and putting it all on the line and taking care of business."

The Vikings entered the regatta ranked No. 3 in the recent NCAA Division II CRCA/USRowing Coaches Poll and hold the top spot in the NCAA II Regional Rankings (V8 - 1st, V4 - 2nd, Team - 1st).

WWU is scheduled to compete in the annual Windermere Cup next Saturday (May 7) in Seattle. The NCAA Division II selections will be held on May 16 (2 pm) with the national championships being held May 27-29 on Lake Natoma.

Varsity 8 Prelims (Heat 1):

1. Western Washington (6:44.7)
2. Pacific Lutheran (6:47.8)
3. Lewis & Clark (6:54.8)
4. Sonoma State (7:47.2)
5. Washington State (8:03.6)

Novice 4 (Grand Finals):

1. University of Oregon (7:57.0)
2. Western Washington (8:10.1)
3. UC Santa Barbara (8:12.3)
4. Long Beach State (8:14.6)
5. UC Irvine (8:16.0)
6. UC Davis (8:20.8)
7. California (8:22.4)

2nd Varsity 8 (Grand Finals):

1. UC San Diego (7:10.8)
2. UC Santa Barbara (7:13.9)
3. Western Washington (7:14.4)
4. Pacific Lutheran (7:20.3)
5. Puget Sound (7:22.1)
6. Lewis & Clark (7:34.1)

Varsity 4 (Grand Finals):

1. Western Washington (7:50.0)
2. UC San Diego (7:57.1)
3. Oregon (7:59.9)
4. UC Irvine (8:02.5)
5. UC Davis (8:14.4)
6. UC Santa Barbara (8:40.7)

Varsity 8 (Grand Finals):

1. Western Washington (6:54.0)
2. Orange Coast College (6:56.1)
3. UC Santa Barbara (6:58.6)
4. Pacific Lutheran (7:02.6)
5. Humboldt State (7:04.8)
6. UC San Diego (7:13.9)

WWU Lineups at WIRA (Stern to Bow)