April 29, 2018 GOLD RIVER, Calif. â€" The Western Washington University women's rowing team turned in a solid team performance during the final day of the 2018 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships with all three of its crews racing in the Grand Finals on Lake Natoma outside of Sacramento.
Western's Varsity 4+ entry took home the gold medal in the D2/D3/Club event with an open-water victory over Central Oklahoma. The Varsity 8+ won bronze â€" the 2nd-fastest NCAA II crew in the race â€" and the Novice 4+ finished just off the podium in 4th place.
"It was a really exciting weekend and we are very satisfied with the team performance," said 20th-year head coach John Fuchs. "The team progressed with each meet, and I want to applaud them for their patience and understanding, and ultimately how it paid off this weekend. Everybody performed better than they have all season, and that is very satisfying." The Varsity 4+ gave a golden performance in the Grand Final, beating Central Oklahoma by over a boat length finishing the 2,000-meter course in 7:35.691. UCO, who edge the Vikings in the fours race at the Falcon Regatta two weeks ago in Seattle, won the silver medal in 7:40.317. WWU started to pull away from the six-team field early in the race, and steadily grew its lead before using a strong finish to put open water between the Vikings and Bronchos. The Vikings top four-oared entry won the 2017 NCAA Division II Championships, leading Western to its eighth national championship.
The Varsity 8+ opened the race schedule finishing 3rd for the bronze medal in a fast Grand Final, completing the 2,000-meter course in a fast time of 6:52.428. Western was edged in the speedy Grand Final by Central Oklahoma (6:45.836) and UC Santa Barbara (6:49.836), with the Vikings finishing ahead of West Region foes UC San Diego (4th place/6:55.961) and Seattle Pacific (6th place/7:03.319). UCO, who is ranked No. 1 in the national coaches poll and West Region rankings, led wire-to-wire, while the Vikings charged for 2nd place but finished a few seats back of UCSB.
The Novice 4+ finished just off the podium in 4th place in the Grand Final of its event, finishing in 7:56.506. A final push in the final 500 meters fell just short of catching the 3rd-place Stanford Lightweights, who edged WWU by less than a half boat length. Central Oklahoma won gold finishing in 7:36.758 and Loyola Marymount got the silver in 7:39.089.
The Vikings are set to complete the 2018 regular season next Saturday (May 5) at the 32nd Annual Windermere Cup hosted by the University of Washington on the Montlake Cut in Seattle. A race schedule and what crews will be racing in the Windermere Cup will be announced later this week.
WWU will then await the May 14 announcement of the field that will make up the five teams that will compete in the 2018 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships. The top teams from the three regions (East, South, West) and one at-large team will compete for the NCAA II Championships May 25-27 in Sarasota, Florida.
THE RACE RESULTS
Here are race results from Sunday's Grand Finals at the WIRA Championships:
Placing | Varsity 8+ (Grand Final) 9:00 am (Lane 2) | Varsity 4+ (Grand Final) 10:30 am (Lane 3) | Novice 4+ (Grand Final) 12:10 pm (Lane 5) |
Gold | Central Oklahoma (6:45.836) | Western Washington (7:35.691) | Central Oklahoma (7:36.758) |
Silver | UC Santa Barbara (6:49.836) | Central Oklahoma (7:40.317) | Loyola Marymount (7:39.089) |
Bronze | Western Washington (6:52.428) | UC San Diego (7:49.343) | Stanford Lightweights (7:54.506) |
4 | UC San Diego (6:55.961) | Humboldt State (7:57.369) | Western Washington (7:56.981) |
5 | Puget Sound (7:00.249) | Sonoma State (8:00.203) | Mills College (8:02.386) |
6 | Seattle Pacific (7:03.319) | Long Beach State (8:08.084) | UC Irvine (8:22.569) |
VIKINGS FLEET
Here is a look at WWU's boat lineups that raced Sunday 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
WWU closes 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, with five full teams (one from each region and one at-large team) advancing to the NCAA Championships May 25-27 in Sarasota, Florida (Nathan Benderson Park).
PARTY ON THE CUT
WWU rowing alumni and friends of the program are invited to attend the 2018 Windermere Party on the Cut on Friday, May 4 from 6-10 pm. The event ($25 advance GA, $30 at the gate, $10 Children) takes place from 6-10 pm at 3710 Montlake Blvd NE in Seattle. There will be an area designated for WWU Rowing to meet and hang out at the event. 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 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.
