BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's rowing program has made its annual trek to the NCAA Rowing Championships and will compete for the Division II national title beginning Friday morning in Indianapolis, Indiana.

                                            

Head coach John Fuchs is in his 21^st year leading the program and has led the Vikings to the NCAA Rowing Championships 18 times over the last 19 seasons. WWU is one of six NCAA Division II programs that will compete for the 2019 national championship at the Indianapolis Rowing Center at Eagle Creek Park. Racing begins Friday morning with the heats, continues Saturday with the repechage and concludes Sunday with the finals.

 

WWU is ranked No. 4 nationally in the Division II USRowing/CRCA Coaches Poll and is one of four West Region teams selected to the six-team field, joining Central Oklahoma, UC San Diego and Seattle Pacific. Jefferson will represent East region and Florida Tech was the top seed out of the South region.

 

Racing at the NCAA Championships is set to begin on Friday (May 31) with the Division II heats in the eights and fours scheduled to begin at 11:24 am ET/8:24 am PT. Each of the six teams selected to the championships will race an eight and four-oared boat, a new format for the 2019 Division II Rowing Championships. The Vikings will race out of lane 2 in the second heat of the eights at 11:24 am ET/8:24 am PT and the first heat of the fours in lane 4 at 11:48 am ET/8:48 am PT.

 

WWU was the national runner-up in 2018 and won the program's eighth national title in 2017. The Vikings won seven consecutive national championships from 2005-2011. WWU has taken home the gold (8 times) or silver (4 times) medal 12 times in the 17 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded dating back to 2002. During the 17 years of the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships, the fours have won nine individual titles (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018) and the eights have six titles (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011).

 

More information on the NCAA Rowing Championships, which includes the Division I, II and III races, can be found online via at IndianaSportsCorp.org. The 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships is hosted by Indiana University, in conjunction with Indiana Sports Corp and the Indianapolis Rowing Center. The 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships will stream online at NCAA.com.

 

The 2019 NCAA Rowing Championships features teams competing for the NCAA I, II and III national championships this weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana. All three days of the regatta will stream live on NCAA.com and feature live timing updates. Here are some handy links on how to follow the Vikings at the NCAA Rowing Championships:

 

»      Live Webcast via NCAA.com

»      Live Results

»      Heat Sheets with Lineups

»      Championships Program

»      Regatta Information

»      NCAA II Rowing Homepage

»      CRCA/US Rowing National Coaches Poll

 

Here are the lane and heat assignments for the opening day of racing (May 31) of the 2019 NCAA Division II Rowing Championship. The winner of each heat will advance automatically to the Sunday Grand Final, while all other crews will race in Saturday's repechage looking to advance to Sunday's four-boat Grand Final. Saturday's repechage is scheduled to begin at 10:24 am ET/7:24 am PT with the eights, followed by the fours at 10:48 am ET/7:48 am PT:

 

 

Senior captain Hannah Bivans (Claremont, CA) is a four-year letterwinner for the Vikings and will end her collegiate career with four trips to the NCAA Rowing Championships. Bivans was an extra in her first two years in the program, rowed out of the 3-seat in the eight last year and is in the stroke position in the four for the 2019 championships. 

 

The Vikings will have a pair of juniors coxing the two boats at the NCAA Championships, with Corina Chon (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) steering the eight and Adele Houston (Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale) in the four. Houston was the coxswain for the four that finished first at the 2018 NCAA II Championships in Sarasota, Florida.

 

A question is often asked on how the national championships is scored at the NCAA II Rowing Championships. Below is the breakdown of how points are awarded with the highest total after Sunday's racing crowned the national champion:

 

 

The WWU rig arrived safely in Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon after traveling over 2,200 miles during the three-day journey. WWU assistant coach Courtney Moeller captained the journey that began with the team loading WWU's two boats on the trailer following Saturday's practice at Lake Samish. The WWU rig then loaded up boats from Seattle Pacific and Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday in Seattle, and headed east to pick up boats from Gonzaga in Spokane. The journey to Indy crossed through seven states, going from Washington, to Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and finally Indiana.

 

WWU is one of five collegiate teams from the state of Washington at the NCAA Rowing Championships, joining the University of Washington and Gonzaga (Division I), Seattle Pacific (Division II) and Pacific Lutheran (Division III).

 

Here is a look at the national champion and runner-up from each of the 17 years that the NCAA Division II has crowned a national title dating back to 2002:

 

 

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).

 

Led by 21^st-year head coach John Fuchs, WWU Rowing has become one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won eight 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 (2019 makes it 28 of 19). WWU has taken home the gold (8 times) or silver (4 times) medal 12 times in the 17 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded. 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.

The NCAA Rowing Championships begin on Friday, showcasing the great rowing programs from the state of Washington. 

Good luck @WWU_Rowing, @UW_Rowing, @SPUrowing, @LutesRowing and @ZagsRowing pic.twitter.com/zBLzW0d55j
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) May 30, 2019

The NCAA #D2Row Championships begin on Friday, and with the three-hour time difference, we want to make sure you set your alarms tomorrow to tune in and watch @WWU_Rowing. 

8️⃣ - 8:36 am PT (Lane 2)
4️⃣ - 8:48 am PT (Lane 4)#RowViks pic.twitter.com/8gXzB6loyb
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) May 30, 2019

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 We're officially in Indy! #rowviks #NCAAROW #D2ROW #NCAABanquet #raceweek #furthestfromhome
 
A post shared by  WWU Women's Rowing (@wwuwomensrowing) on May 30, 2019 at 7:57am PDT
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 The boats are locked and loaded at the @ncaa Rowing Championships! The only thing left is the arrival of the team!! A huge "THANK YOU" to our #PNWRowing friends at @zagsrowing @pluwomensrowing @spurowing for lending a hand (actually several) today! #rowviks #ncaarowingchampionships #teamwork
 
A post shared by  WWU Women's Rowing (@wwuwomensrowing) on May 29, 2019 at 1:33pm PDT