BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 1 nationally ranked Western Washington University women's rowing team will compete for the 2026 NCAA Division II National Championship as the Vikings were officially announced as part of the six-team field set to compete at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia May 29-30.

 

The Vikings enter the national championships as the team to beat, aiming for their 10th national title at the NCAA Division II level. WWU has had a stellar late-season performance building speed with top finishes at the WIRA Championships and winning the GNAC Championships with a perfect team score over the weekend. The Varsity 8+ has won its last five races and the Varsity 4+ had its best race of the season winning the GNAC title.

 

The team championship is composed of six teams. Each team is required to field one boat of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers. WWU is joined by GNAC programs Cal Poly Humboldt and Seattle Pacific, Embry-Riddle (Florida), Jefferson, and Rollins.

 

WWU's storied rowing program will be making its 22nd appearances at the D2 national regatta (out of 24 seasons). The Vikings have won nine national titles, taking home the trophy seven consecutive seasons from 2005-2011, and 2017 and 2024.

 

Racing begins on Friday (May 39) 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. Lake Lanier Olympic Park was home of the 1996 Centennial Olympic rowing, canoe and kayak events. A live stream for all NCAA rowing races will be available for free via NCAA.com.

 

 

WWU has now advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 22 of the 24 years of the event (22 of 23 in full seasons) and 23 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 22 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 schedule for the NCAA II Rowing Championships event schedule that will be held over two days May 29-30 (Friday-Saturday) at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia. 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 2026 NCAA II Rowing Championships on Friday, May 29 with the two-day regatta held at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia:

 

Eights – Heat 1

Lane 2 – Jefferson

Lane 3 – Western Washington

Lane 4 – Embry-Riddle

Eights – Heat 2

Lane 2 – Rollins

Lane 3 – Cal Poly Humboldt

Lane 4 – Seattle Pacific

Fours – Heat 1

Lane 2 – Seattle Pacific

Lane 3 – Western Washington

Lane 4 – Embry-Riddle

Fours – Heat 2

Lane 2 – Jefferson

Lane 3 – Cal Poly Humboldt

Lane 4 – Rollins

 

Here is a look at the current CRCA Coaches Poll with the Vikings checking in at No. 1 in the week 11 rankings, with WWU receiving all five first-place votes:

 

 

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 2026 NCAA Division II national championship trophy:

 

 

 

WWU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 22 of the 24 years of the event (22 of 23 in full seasons) and 23 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 in 2024. In 22 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 23 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 and 2024.

 

 

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 22 of the 24 NCAA Division II national regattas, taking home the gold (9 times), silver (5 times) and bronze (6) medal 20 times in the 23 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded, and reached the podium 20 times. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011.

 

WWU Rowing Inside the Numbers:

22 – NCAA II Rowing Championship Appearances (out of 24)

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

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

6 – 3rd Place Finishes at Nationals

5 – National Runner-Up Finishes

3 – GNAC Championships (in 6-year history of event)