GOLD RIVER, Calif. – All three of the Western Washington University women's rowing crews that raced on Saturday at the 2019 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships advanced to the Grand Finals that will be held on Sunday on Lake Natoma.
WWU won its heat in the Varsity 4+, placed 2nd in the third heat of the Varsity 8+ and placed 3rd in the 2nd Varsity 8+. Racing begins in the Grand Finals on Sunday morning with the V8+ at 9 am.
"I am very happy with the team today," said head coach John Fuchs, in his 21st year leading the program. "The goal was to get into all the grand finals and we did. Looking forward to some fun racing tomorrow."
The final day of the 2019 WIRA Championships will feature a live webcast and live results for fans to follow online:
» Webcast (via The Rowing Channel)
» Live Results
» Regatta Schedule
» Heat Sheets
The Vikings got the day off to a good start with the Varsity 8+ finishing second in the third heat of the D2/D3/Club race. WWU finished the 2,000-meter course in 6:50.848, just back of Seattle Pacific (6:49.845). The hard-charging Vikings nearly eclipsed the Falcons at the finish, but the second-place finish was all that was needed to move on to Sunday's Grand Final wish is scheduled to begin at 9 am.
The Grand Final is set up to be a great race, with six advancing crews all finishing under 6:57, and the top four crews all within two seconds of each other. UC San Diego had the top qualifying time winning the second heat in 6:48.734.
Here are the heat results from the three heats of the Varsity 8+ on Saturday:
|
Heat 1
|
Heat 2
|
Heat 3
|
|
Top 2 Advance to Grand Final
|
|
1.
|
Central Oklahoma
|
6:49.165
|
1.
|
UC San Diego
|
6:48.734
|
1.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
6:49.845
|
|
2.
|
UC Santa Barbara
|
6:52.295
|
2.
|
Humboldt State
|
6:56.766
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
6:50.848
|
|
3.
|
Pacific Lutheran
|
6:55.235
|
3.
|
Puget Sound
|
7:03.512
|
3.
|
UC Davis
|
7:14.173
|
|
4.
|
Mills
|
7:30.333
|
4.
|
Washington State
|
7:47.952
|
4.
|
Lewis & Clark
|
7:26.377
|
|
5.
|
Chico State
|
7:39.511
|
5.
|
Pacific
|
8:09.292
|
5.
|
Oregon
|
7:55.664
|
|
|
|
|
6.
|
Cal LTW
|
8:37.590
|
6.
|
Long Beach State
|
8:02.551
|
The Vikings won the third heat in the Varsity 4+, leading wire-to-wire to record an open-water victory over second-place Humboldt State. WWU finished in 7:56.293, the third-fastest qualifying time among the 18 entries in the three heats. With the win the Viking advance to Sunday's Grand Final that is scheduled for 10:40 am.
Here are the heat results from the three heats of the Varsity 4+ on Saturday:
|
Heat 1
|
Heat 2
|
Heat 3
|
|
Top 2 Advance to Grand Final
|
|
1.
|
Central Oklahoma
|
7:44.918
|
1.
|
UC San Diego
|
7:54.757
|
1.
|
Western Washington
|
7:56.293
|
|
2.
|
Orange Coast
|
8:12.030
|
2.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
7:57.760
|
2.
|
Humboldt State
|
8:02.324
|
|
3.
|
Mills
|
8:16.076
|
3.
|
Central Oklahoma B
|
8:11.310
|
3.
|
UC Irvine
|
8:05.563
|
|
4.
|
Oregon
|
8:34.257
|
4.
|
Sonoma State
|
8:13.139
|
4.
|
Cal LTW
|
8:32.801
|
|
5.
|
Sonoma State B
|
9:00.467
|
5.
|
Southern Oregon
|
8:26.593
|
5.
|
Long Beach State
|
8:36.195
|
|
6.
|
UC Santa Barbara
|
9:00.587
|
6.
|
UC Davis
|
9:04.387
|
6.
|
Oregon B
|
9:47.288
|
The Vikings placed 3rd in the second heat of the Second Varsity 8+, finishing in 7:21.988. The third-place finish guaranteed WWU a spot in Sunday's Grand Final in the event, recording the fourth-fastest qualifying time of the nine crews that competed. The Grand Final in the 2V8+ is scheduled to start at 9:50 am on Sunday.
Here are the heat results from the two heats of the Second Varsity 8+ on Saturday:
|
Heat 1
|
Heat 2
|
|
Top 3 Advance to Grand Final
|
|
1.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
7:17.999
|
1.
|
Pacific Lutheran
|
7:14.100
|
|
2.
|
UC San Diego
|
7:26.494
|
2.
|
Humboldt State
|
7:16.652
|
|
3.
|
Puget Sound
|
7:35.321
|
3.
|
Western Washington
|
7:21.988
|
|
4.
|
Chico State
|
8:32.780
|
4.
|
UC Davis
|
8:10.132
|
|
5.
|
Mills
|
8:49.740
|
|
|
|
The Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) is a western regional organization with membership comprised of 40 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.
Here is a look at the race schedule for the Vikings on Sunday at the 2019 WIRA Championships:
|
Sunday, April 28
|
|
9:00 am
|
Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
|
|
9:50 am
|
Second Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
|
|
10:40 am
|
Varsity Four (Grand Final)
|
Here is a look at boat lineups for the Vikings in Saturday's races at the 2019 WIRA Championships:
WWU will be back in action on Saturday, May 4 in the 33rd Annual Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut in Seattle. The annual regatta hosted by the University of Washington celebrates the opening of boating season in the Northwest. More information on the 2019 Windermere Cup can be found online at windermerecup.withwre.com.
More information on the 2019 WWU Rowing season, including a details schedule, roster and quick facts can be found online at WWUVikings.com/RowViks and via social media on Twitter (@WWU_Rowing), Instagram (@wwuwomensrowing) and Facebook (@WWURowing).
WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won 8 NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings won the 2017 NCAA II title and placed 2nd in 2018, and have competed in the NCAA Championships in 17 of the 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.
