SARASOTA, Fla. – The Western Washington University women's rowing team captured national runner-up honors at the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships at Nathan Benderson Park.

 

The Vikings were led to the podium with a strong second-place finish in the featured Varsity Eight Grand Final, nearly taking home the eights national title. 

 

The 15 second-place points earned by the eights, combined with the four points earned with a victory in the Varsity Four Petite Final, catapulted the Vikings to finish tied with Embry-Riddle (FL) with 19 points. The team tie was broken by placement in the Varsity 8+, with the Vikings second place bettering the Eagles fourth-place finish.

 

In 18 trips in the 20-year history of the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships, WWU has recorded a podium finish each time. The 2022 national runner-up finish was the fifth in program history, joining eight national titles (2005-11, 2017) and five third-place trophies.

 

"This was such an exciting day of racing. I couldn't be more proud of this team," said WWU assistant coach Courtney Moeller. "Both boats did exactly what we asked of them. The Varsity Eight was what it's all about. Stroke-for-strike all the way through the race. That's the best type of racing there is. The Varsity Four showed so much improvement with each race. I am excited about their future."

Watch the exciting finish of the #D2ROW Varsity 8+ Grand Final with @WWU_Rowing charging until the very end to earn the 🥈, securing a team 2nd-place national runner-up finish!

18 trips to nationals has resulted in 8 🏆, 5 🥈 and 5 🥉.#RowViks pic.twitter.com/oubYFAvdB6

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) May 28, 2022

Mercyhurst won both the Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ titles to win its second national championships with a perfect score of 30 points. Three-time defending national champion Central Oklahoma finished 5th with 14 points and Seattle Pacific placed 6th in the six-team championships field with nine points.

 

The Vikings secured the second-place trophy with an epic race in the featured eights, matching eventual national champion Mercyhurst and Thomas Jefferson stroke-for-stroke over the first 1,500 meters of the Grand Final. Over the final 500 meters, however, Jefferson dropped off the pace and it was a dash for the title between WWU and Mercyhurst.

 

Both crews dug deep with WWU's lineup of coxswain Adele Houston and rowers Haley Moss, Lindsey Froelich, Morgan MacIntyre, Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks, Maddie Bangasser, Yuki Saburi, Olivia Pells and Sarah Ernst nearly overcoming Mercyhurst with a furious finish. WWU clocked 7:03.739 on the 2,000-meter course, just behind Mercyhurst's finishing time of 7:03.709.

 

WWU's young Varsity four, consisting of three freshman, took the course for the Petite Final after a lightning delay of nearly two hours. The Vikings crew of coxswain Claudia Webster and rowers Emma Clark, Paige Donner, Reed Chesnek and Kristina De Koster led wire-to-wire in the head-to-head race against Jefferson, posting an 18-second victory with a winning time of 8:21.10.

Here is a breakdown of the final team scores for the 2022 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships, with WWU earning national runner-up honors with 19 points. Mercyhurst won its second national title and first since 2004 with a perfect score of 30 winning both the Varsity Four and Varsity Eight national titles. WWU tied with Embry-Riddle, but officially earned the silver medal with the tiebreaker being the higher second-place finish in the eights:

 

 

Here is a look at the results from Saturday's final day of the 2022 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships:

 

 

Here is a look at the results the first day of competition on Friday at the 2022 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships:

 

 

Here is a look at the boat lineups for the Vikings at the 2022 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships. The Vikings debuted two new Vespoli shells during the championship regatta:

 

 

Teams were scored based on placing in the Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ race as follows. Ties for team awards will be broken by the place finish in the eights. The top scoring team will be awarded the 2022 NCAA Division II national championship trophy:

 

 

 

WWU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 18 of the 20 years of the event (18 of 19 in full seasons) and 19 total times to the national rowing regatta (was a combined championship prior to 2002). The Vikings are eight-time national champions, winning seven consecutive titles from 2005-11 and again in 2017. In 18 trips to the DII Rowing Championships, Western has taken home the gold (8 times) or silver (5 times) medal 13 times and finished on the podium (top three) in every trip to nationals (five 3rd-place finishes).

Here is a look at the national champion and runner-up from each of the 20 years that the NCAA Division II has crowned a national title dating back to 2002. WWU won seven consecutive national titles from 2005-11 and returned to the top of the podium in 2017. WWU has reached the podium (1st, 2nd or 3rd) in all 18 trips to the NCAA Division II Championships.

 

 

WWU Rowing Inside the Numbers:

18 – NCAA II Rowing Championship Appearances (out of 20)

15 – Individual Championships (Eight-6, Fours-9)

8 – National Championships (2005-11, 2017)

5 – National Runner-Up Finishes

 

WWU assistant coach Courtney Moeller will lead the Viking contingent in Florida. Moeller is in her seventh season as a full-time member of the coaching staff after a standout career that helped lead the Vikings to their first national championship as the stroke in the Varsity Four in 2005. Moeller also serves as the program director for Whatcom Rowing Association in Bellingham.

More information on the WWU Rowing program, 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 head coach John Fuchs (24th season), WWU Rowing is 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, placed 2nd in 2018, 3rd in 2019 and runner-up again in 2022. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 18 of the last 21 seasons, taking home the gold (8 times) or silver (5 times) medal 13 times in the 20 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded, and reached the podium all 18 times. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011. The Vikings added the 2022 GNAC Rowing Championships team and V8+ titles to its trophy case this season, in addition to the WIRA V8+ Gold Medal.