PENNSAUKEN, NJ – The Western Washington University rowing program put the finishing touches on another great season placing fourth in the team standings at the 2023 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships at Cooper River Park.

 

Racing at nationals for the 19th time in the last 21 seasons, the Vikings youthful crew capped its national regatta appearance with a 3rd-place finish in the Varsity Four and 5th-place showing in the Varsity Eight. WWU finished with 14 points overall as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference swept the top four spots at the national regatta.

 

"It was fantastic racing today. The four had a superb race placing third, which is fantastic against a competitive field," said WWU head coach John Fuchs. "The eight was just a day late finding the rhythm it needed to get to the final. Spirits are high, though, and we will have a great group coming back next year."

 

The Varsity Four highlighted Saturday's racing in Camden County, New Jersey just outside of Philadelphia earning the bronze medal in the grand final of the event. The Vikings completed the 2,000-meter course in 8:20.610 edging out Seattle Pacific for a medal. Cal Poly Humboldt cruised to the gold medal en route to a 30-point sweep for the national title.

 

WWU's Varsity 8+ won the petite final with open water ahead of Jefferson in the head-to-head matchup, earning six points towards the team total to place ahead of 5th-place Embry Riddle.

 

Cal Poly Humboldt won its third national title and first since 2014, followed by Central Oklahoma in 2nd place (25 points) and Seattle Pacific in 3rd place (18 points). WWU was the runner-up at the 2022 NCAA Championships and has earned a podium team finish in 18 of 19 trips to D2 nationals.

 

Cal Poly Humboldt won the 2023 national title with a perfect team score of 30 points, winning the grand final in both the Varsity Four and Varsity Eight races. WWU placed 4th with 14 points, just off the podium behind Central Oklahoma (2nd place) and Seattle Pacific (3rd place) to complete an All-GNAC top four of the six-team national regatta:

 

 

Here is a look at the results from the 2023 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships, including racing from Friday's heats and repechage and Saturday's petite and grand finals:

 

 

Here is a look at the team scoring format and points breakdown for the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championships:

 

 

Here is a look at the boat lineups for the Vikings for the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championships. The Vikings are using two "borrowed" Vespoli shells during this year's championship regatta:

 

 

For the second consecutive year senior Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks was the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 Award, presented at the NCAA Championships to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships. Ruhlin-Hicks is nearing graduation with a perfect 4.00 GPA as a political science major. She also won the award in 2022 and joins Megan Northey (2012) as Viking rowers to win the award.

Congratulations to @WWU_Rowing senior Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks on winning the NCAA Elite 90 Academic Award for the second consecutive season!

Clarice has a perfect 4.00 GPA as she nears graduation with a degree in Political Science. pic.twitter.com/LHWgCfFk9D
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) May 27, 2023

WWU has now advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 19 of the 21 years of the event (19 of 20 in full seasons) and 20 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 19 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 all but one trip nationals (five 3rd-place finishes). Last season the Vikings raced to a national runner-up placing, with the Varsity 8+ placing second in the grand final. Here is a look at this year's NCAA Division II Rowing Championships field:

 

 

Here is a look at the national champion and runner-up from each of the 21 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.

 

 

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 (25th 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 19 of the 21 NCAA Division II national regattas, taking home the gold (8 times) or silver (5 times) medal 13 times in the 21 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.

 

WWU Rowing Inside the Numbers:

19 – NCAA II Rowing Championship Appearances (out of 21)

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

8 – National Championships (2005-11, 2017)

5 – National Runner-Up Finishes