The Western Washington women’s 2017 NCAA Division II national champion rowing team. WWU Athletics photo
It was a big day on the lake for two Washington college rowing teams.
The Western Washington women won the program’s eighth NCAA Division II national championship edging out Central Oklahoma in the team competition Sunday morning on Lake Mercer at West Windsor, N.J.
The Washington Huskies women’s rowing team became the first program in the 21-year history of the NCAA rowing championship to sweep all three grand finals, earning the Huskies their fourth Division I rowing title.
WWU’s four-oared boat set the tone in the first race of the D-II championship, recording an open-water victory over Mercyhurst finishing the 2,000-meter course in 7:51.610.
Clark County connections on the Vikings fours were junior coxswain Madison Moelhman, a Columbia River High grad, and senior Nicole Vanderzanden, a Union High grad.
The WWU Eights finished second in the four-boat race of the Grand Final to earn nine team points and seal the team championship. Coxswain was sophomore Giselle Kiraly, a Columbia River grad and Vancouver Lake Crew alum.
The Vikings won 24 of 32 races during the season and were the season-long No. 1 team in the national rankings.
The No. 1-ranked Huskies won all nine of their races during the three-day regatta, including heats and semifinal races. Sunday, the Huskies earned victories in the varsity eight (I Eights), second varsity eight (II Eights) and varsity four (Fours) grand finals.
The Huskies entered the weekend as the top seed in all three boats and lived up to that rating. The UW scored the maximum 132 points to earn the team title, well in front of second-place California (123) and third-place Michigan (112).
Also competing at nationals for Washington State was junior Jenna Kennedy, an Evergreen High grad. She was in the WSU Second Varsity Eight boat that placed 14th.
“With five rowing programs from the state of Washington at the national regatta, the Northwest is quickly becoming a rowing mecca,” WWU coach John Fuchs said. “This is really cool for our region and all the programs to have this much success.”
