May 25, 2018 SARASOTA, Fla. - The Western Washington University women's rowing team won both of its heats during the opening day of the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships on Friday morning, with both the Eights and Fours advancing to Saturday's Grand Finals at Nathan Benderson Park.
With the regatta schedule modified due to unfavorable weather conditions later in the weekend, Western is scheduled to row for its 9th NCAA Division II national championship on Saturday. Central Oklahoma also won both of its preliminary heats to advance directly to the Grand Finals that have been rescheduled for Saturday (instead of Sunday), with the final spots in the finals being decided later Friday afternoon in the repechage (weather permitting).
Western's eight-oared boat was first to hit the water on Friday, racing against UC San Diego and Barry in the second of two heats. The Vikings put together a composed race, holding off a strong start by UCSD, and then dominated the final 500 meters to push past the Tritons for a one-boat-length victory. WWU finished the 2,000-meter course in 6:54.094, with UCSD crossing in 2nd place at 6:57.572, and Barry in 3rd place at 7:15.514.
The Vikings were matched up against Mercyhurst in the first of two heats of the Division II fours, and Western led wire-to-wire to record an open-water victory. WWU finished in 7:48.299, well ahead of the Lakers which clocked 8:32.075. Central Oklahoma won the second heat to also advance, with Mercyhurst and Florida Tech set to race later this afternoon in the repechage with the winner qualifying for the three-boat Grand Final.
WWU is racing in the NCAA Rowing Championships for the 17th time in the last 18 seasons and is an 8-time champion in the event. The Vikings won seven consecutive championships from 2005-2011 and returned to the top of the podium last season. Western Washington, Central Oklahoma, Florida Tech and Mercyhurst are competing for the 2018 NCAA II team title, while UC San Diego and Barry both raced an at-large eight. WWU edged UCO 17-16 last year to win the 2017 NCAA Division II Championship.
RESULTS
Here are results from the four Division II races during the Friday morning heats at the NCAA Rowing Championships:
Eights - Heat 1:
- Central Oklahoma (6:51.784)
- Florida Tech (7:04.691)
- Mercyhurst (7:28.039)
Eights - Heat 2:
- Western Washington (6:54.094)
- UC San Diego (6:57.572)
- Barry (7:15.514)
Fours - Heat 1:
- Western Washington (7:48.299)
- Mercyhurst (8:32.075)
Fours - Heat 2:
- Central Oklahoma (7:42.502)
- Florida Tech (7:53.024)
REGATTA SCHEDULE
The remaining schedule for the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships will be finalized later today as lightning storms have pushed back the afternoon session of racing and the Division II repechage. Updates on when WWU will race next will be posted via social media on Twitter and Facebook.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Fans can follow the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships online with a live webcast and live results during all three days of the event. The NCAA will have commentators for each race, along with an added drone angle to enhance the live coverage:
💻 Webcast via NCAA.com
📊 Live Results via Regatta Timing
REGATTA FORMAT
The winners of each heat of the fours and eights (Western Washington and Central Oklahoma) advance directly to Saturday's Grand Final (originally scheduled for Sunday), while all other crews will race in Friday afternoon's repechage (originally scheduled for Saturday). The following is a detailed layout of how the regatta runs to determine the national champion:
EIGHTS HEATS:
Winners of heats A and B advance directly to the four-boat Grand Final; Non-winners proceed to the four-boat repechage. EIGHTS REPECHAGE:
Top two finishers of the repechage advances to the four-boat Grand Final. EIGHTS GRAND FINAL:
The Grand Final shall be a four-boat final to determine the event champion, 2nd, 3rd and 4th-place finishers. EIGHTS PETITE FINAL:
The Petite Final shall be a two-boat race consisting of the 3rd and 4th-place finishers from the Repechage. FOURS HEATS:
Winners of heats A and B advance directly to the three-boat Grand Final; Non-winners proceed to the two-boat repechage. FOURS REPECHAGE:
Winner of the repechage advances to the three-boat Grand Final FOURS GRAND FINAL:
The Grand Final shall be a three-boat final to determine the event champion, 2nd, and 3rd-place finishers. |
HOW THE SCORING WORKS
The team national champion will be decided on by a point system under the following structure:
2018 NCAA II WOMEN'S ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
POINTS SYSTEM |
Place | Eights | Fours |
1 | 12 | 8 |
2 | 9 | 6 |
3 | 6 | 4 |
4 | 3 | 2 |
Notes: (1) Only boats from institutions competing as a team will be awarded points. Points earned by a "non-team" boat will be awarded to the next "team" boat. (2) Ties for team awards will be broken by the place finish in the Eights. |
VIKINGS FLEET
Here is a look at WWU's boat lineups raced Friday in the opening heats of the NCAA Championships:
Varsity 8+ |
Cox - Jonah Bettger (So./Brush Prairie, WA/Prairie) |
Stroke - Claire Whiting (Sr./Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) |
7 - Carly Lant (So./Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge) |
6 - Chloe Burns (Sr./Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) |
5 - Maddie Bangasser (Fr./Sammamish, WA/Eastlake) |
4 - Ashley Yandt (Jr./Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake) |
3 - Hannah Bivans (Jr./Claremont, CA/Claremont) |
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) |
Spares |
Hannah Haupt (Jr./Sun Valley, ID/Wood River) |
Rachael Schick (Fr./Anchorage, AK/East Anchorage) |
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 (2018 is the 17th appearance in last 18 seasons). Western won 7 consecutive DII 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.
