BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's rowing team was selected as an at-large bid for the 2025 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships that will be held May 30-31 at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, New Jersey.

 

The Vikings will be competing in the national D2 regatta for the 21st time in program history (out of 23 seasons). WWU is a nine-time national champion at the event including taking home the trophy last season.

 

WWU will head to Lake Mercer as a team to watch for the national title entering the regatta with one of the top Varsity 8+ lineups in the nation. The Vikings are tied for 2nd in the current CRCA/Pocock Coaches Poll and are coming off a solid 2nd-place finish at the GNAC Championships behind No. 1 ranked Cal Poly Humboldt.

 

The Vikings will be joined by their three GNAC counterparts at the national championship regatta with conference champion Cal Poly Humboldt, Central Oklahoma and Seattle Pacific also representing the West Region at the national regatta. This marks the third consecutive season that GNAC will field four of the six teams in the national rowing championships for the NCAA Division II level.

 

Joining the four West Region programs will be Jefferson from the East and Embry-Riddle from the South. Each team will field a Varsity Four and Varsity Eight entry in the regatta. Racing begins on Friday (May 30) with the Division II eights heats at 9 am ET/6 am PT followed by the fours at 9:24 am ET/6:24 PT.

 

 

WWU has now advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 21 of the 23 years of the event (21 of 22 in full seasons) and 22 total times to the national rowing regatta (was a combined championship prior to 2002). 

 

The Vikings are nine-time national champions, winning seven consecutive titles from 2005-11 and again in 2017 and 2024. In 20 trips to the DII Rowing Championships, Western has taken home the gold (9 times) or silver (5 times) medal 13 times.

 

Here is a look at the schedule for the NCAA II Rowing Championships event schedule that will be held over two days May 30-31 (Friday-Saturday) at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, New Jersey. The winner of each heat on Friday advances directly to the Grand Final, with the remaining crews rowing Friday afternoon in the repechage. The Grand Final for the eights and fours will consist of four boats each, with the petite final two boats:

 

 

Here is a look at the late assignments for the heats to open the NCAA II Rowing Championships on Friday, May 30 with the two-day regatta held at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, New Jersey:

 

Eights – Heat 1

Lane 2 – Central Oklahoma

Lane 3 – Western Washington

Lane 4 – Seattle Pacific

Eights – Heat 2

Lane 2 – Jefferson

Lane 3 – Cal Poly Humboldt

Lane 4 – Embry-Riddle

Fours – Heat 1

Lane 2 – Seattle Pacific

Lane 3 – Cal Poly Humboldt

Lane 4 – Western Washington

Fours – Heat 2

Lane 2 – Jefferson

Lane 3 – Embry-Riddle

Lane 4 – Central Oklahoma

 

Teams will be 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 2025 NCAA Division II national championship trophy:

 

 

 

WWU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 21 of the 23 years of the event (21 of 22 in full seasons) and 22 total times to the national rowing regatta (was a combined championship prior to 2002). The Vikings are nine-time national champions, winning seven consecutive titles from 2005-11, again in 2017 and added the ninth title this year. In 20 trips to the DII Rowing Championships, Western has taken home the gold (9 times) or silver (5 times) medal 14 times.

Here is a look at the national champion and runner-up from each of the 22 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 Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country across all divisions, having won nine NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings won the 2024 NCAA II National Title, the 2017 title, placed 2nd in 2018, 3rd in 2019 and runner-up in 2022. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 21 of the 23 NCAA Division II national regattas (including 2025), taking home the gold (9 times), silver (5 times) and bronze (5) medal 19 times in the 22 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded, and reached the podium 19 times. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011.

 

WWU Rowing Inside the Numbers:

21 – NCAA II Rowing Championship Appearances (out of 23)

16 – Individual Championships (Eight-7, Fours-9)

9 – National Championships (2005-11, 2017, 2024)

5 – National Runner-Up Finishes

5 – 3rd Place Finishes at Nationals

2 – GNAC Championships (in 5-year history of event)