April 28, 2018 RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The Western Washington University women's rowing team opened competition at the 2018 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships with all three of its crews qualifying for the Grand Finals on Sunday.
Western's Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ entries won its heats, while the Novice 4+ finished 2nd in racing held Saturday on Lake Natoma just outside of Sacramento, California.
The Varsity 8+ got the day started with a first-place finish in the second of two heats, completing the 2,000-meter course in 6:57.149. WWU battled early with Humbled State, but pulled away midway through the course and closed with an open-water victory over 2nd-place Seattle Pacific (7:01.530). The University of Puget Sound finished 3rd in 7:02.231 to round out the top three finishers that automatically advance to Sunday's Grand Final at 9 am.
The Varsity 4+ won the third heat in a time of 8:10.312, the second-fastest qualifying time among the 19 entries in the D2/D3/Club division. WWU recorded an open-water victory by 14 seconds over second-place UC San Diego. WWU will race out of lane 3 in Sunday's Grand Final scheduled to start at 10:30 am.
The Novice 4+ crew came in second in their heat finishing in 8:38.905, completing WWU's sweep of advancing to the Grand Final in all three of its events. WWU had the fourth-fastest time among the 18 entries in the meet and will race out of lane 5 in Sunday's Grand Final that is set to begin at 12:10 pm.
"We are happy with the performances across the board," said head coach John Fuchs. "Today was about solid smart execution. As a result all three crews advanced to the finals. The real racing will be tomorrow. Should be fun." HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can follow the final day of the 2018 WIRA Championships online through live results or a live webcast from Lake Natoma:
THE RACE RESULTS
Here are race results from Saturday's action at the WIRA Championships, with all three of WWU's crews qualifying for the Grand Finals in their events:
Varsity 8+ (Heat 2) | Varsity 4+ (Heat 3) | Novice 4+ (Heat 2) |
WWU (6:57.149) | WWU (8:10.312) | Loyola Marymount (8:25.640) |
Seattle Pacific (7:01.530) | UC San Diego (8:24.574) | WWU (8:38.905) |
Puget Sound (7:02.231) | UC Santa Barbara (8:33.309) | Humboldt State (8:48.604) |
Humboldt State (7:05.944) | Washington State (8:35.617) | Long Beach State (9:23.351) |
UC Davis (7:21.489) | UC Davis (9:00.798) | UC Berkeley LTW (9:25.555) |
Oregon (7:36.339) | Pacific (9:43.833) | UC Santa Barbara (10:03.086) |
Southern Oregon (7:44.603) | | |
TOMORROW'S SCHEDULE
All three of WWU's crews will race in the Grand Finals of their events Sunday at the WIRA Championships with the following start times and lane assignments:
Race | Time | Lane 1 | Lane 2 | Lane 3 | Lane 4 | Lane 5 | Lane 6 |
Varsity 8+ Grand Final | 9:00 am | Central Oklahoma | Western Washington | UC Santa Barbara | Seattle Pacific | UC San Diego | Puget Sound |
Varsity 4+ Grand Final | 10:30 am | Central Oklahoma | Sonoma State | Western Washington | Long Beach State | Humboldt State | UC San Diego |
Novice 4+ Grand Final | 12:10 pm | Stanford LTW | Loyola Marymount | Central Oklahoma | UC Irvine | Western Washington | Mills |
VIKINGS FLEET
Here is a look at WWU's boat lineups that raced Saturday at the WIRA Championships:
Varsity 8 |
Cox - Jonah Bettger (So./Brush Prairie, WA/Prairie) |
Stroke - Hannah Bivans (Jr./Claremont, CA/Claremont) |
7 - Claire Whiting (Sr./Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) |
6 - Chloe Burns (Sr./Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) |
5 - Carly Lant (So./Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge) |
4 - Ashley Yandt (Jr./Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake) |
3 - Maddie Bangasser (Fr./Sammamish, WA/Eastlake) |
2 - Trisha Patterson (Sr./Camas, WA/Camas) |
Bow - Jessica Smithlin (Fr./Orting, WA/Orting) |
Varsity 4 |
Cox - Adele Houston (So./Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale) |
Stroke - Angie Dexter (So./Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage) |
3 - Kasey Mallon-Andrews (Sr./Issaquah, WA/Issaquah) |
2 - Megan Reid (Sr./Sitka, AK/Sitka) |
Bow - Michaela Bonenberger (So./Fort Collins, CO/Fossil Ridge) |
Novice 4 |
Cox - Corina Chon (So./Bellingham, WA/Sehome) |
Stroke - Anneka Bostrom (Fr./Arlington, WA/Lakewood) |
3 - Rachael Schick (Fr./Anchorage, AK/East Anchorage) |
2 - Hannah Haupt (Jr./Sun Valley, ID/Wood River) |
Bow - Kristen Thomas (Jr./Boulder, CO/Boulder) |
WHAT IS WIRA
The Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) is a western regional organization with membership comprised of 34 rowing programs at all division levels, and representing colleges and universities in five western states. WIRA includes nearly every rowing program in the West outside of the Pac-12 Conference.
NEXT UP
Following the WIRA Championships, WWU will close out the 2018 regular season on Saturday, May 5 with the annual trip to Seattle to compete in the 32nd Annual Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut. The NCAA selection show will be on Monday, May 14 at 2 pm PT.
ABOUT WWU ROWING
WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won 8 NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings are the defending national champions after winning the 2017 NCAA II title and have competed in the NCAA Championships in 16 of the last 17 seasons. Western won an unprecedented 7 consecutive national championships from 2005-2011, and placed among the top three nationally each season from 2002 to 2014 with the Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ reaching the grand finals every time during this stretch.
COACH FUCHS
Head coach John Fuchs is in his 20th year leading the program and has guided the Vikings to 10 seasons as the No. 1 team in the nation. Fuchs has been the head coach for all 8 of WWU's national championship performances and has coached 26 CRCA All-Americans.
