CLEAN SWEEP! UW Wins 2017 NCAA Rowing Championship
May 28, 2017 | Women's Rowing
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. β The Washington 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 NCAA rowing title Sunday at Mercer Lake.
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No. 1-ranked Washington, under first-year head coach Yasmin Farooq, won all nine of its races during the three-day regatta, including heats and semifinal races. Β Sunday, the Huskies earned victories in the varsity eight (I Eights), second varsity eight (II Eights) and varsity four (Fours) grand finals.
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"I was just so impressed by how every single person on this team stepped up from the first day," said head coach Yasmin Farooq.Β "They really, really did. Today they showed what great teammates do for one another. We always viewed it as a team championship where every person mattered."
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).
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The closest race of the day, by far, was the last one, the varsity eight grand final. Despite having won the second varsity eight and the varsity four, the Huskies needed to beat Cal to clinch the team title. From the start, the three Pac-12 boats (Stanford, along with UW and Cal) took to the front, with Washington in the lead from the beginning.
Washington maintained its lead throughout, holding off a strong finish from the Cardinal in the final few hundred meters. Washington won in a time of 6:36.939. Stanford was second in 6:38.520 and Cal finished third in 6:40.069. Texas, Michigan and Yale filled out the final three spots in the grand final.
"Outside of the Olympic finals, this is the most competitive racing on the planet at rowing at the NCAA's," added Farooq.Β "You see photo finishes every day. We knew it would come down to every boat having their best performance and also culminating in the varsity eight final."
The Huskies had an easier time in the second varsity eight and varsity four, winning each in wire-to-wire fashion. The second varsity eight in particular rowed a dominant race, holding several lengths of open water over the field much of the second 1,000 meters. The 2V8+ won in 6:47.268, well ahead of second-place Cal, in 6:53.313. The varsity four finished four-plus seconds better than the Golden Bears, winning in a time of 7:07.103 to Cal's 7:11.706.
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"Every single boat executed the race plan perfectly," said Farooq.Β "It took a lot of courage for them to do that because it required a lot of commitment early in the race that most people would think would be unsustainable. Every one of those boats delivered on all 240 of those strokes in that race."
The Huskies' NCAA rowing title was their first since 2001 and their fourth since the NCAA began the Regatta in 1997. Washington's four NCAA crowns are second-most by any school. The UW won an additional seven national titles the pre-NCAA era. In 1987, Washington also swept all three Grand Final races in route to the title. Washington's rowing victory also marked the 500th NCAA team championship won by a Pac-12 program, most by any conference.
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Washington's varsity eight won its fifth championship at the NCAA Regatta, having previously won the grand final in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002. The second varsity eight took first for just the second time in Washington history, having also won in 2002. The Husky varsity four earned its fifth NCAA victory, alongside first-place finishes in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2008.
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Farooq, the two-time U.S. Olympic women's eight coxswain who won an NCAA Championship as head coach at Stanford in 2009, is the first coach ever to win the title with two different schools. Β Additionally, no other coach had ever before won an NCAA rowing title in his or her first season at the winning school.
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Washington, along with Brown and Princeton, is one of just three programs to have earned a berth in all 21 NCAA Rowing Championship regattas. The Huskies have never finished outside of the top 10 at NCAAs and along with their four team championships, they've finished in second place three times and third on two other occasions, giving the UW a total of nine top-three team finishes at NCAAs.
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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUPS:
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Varsity Eight
Phoebe Marks-Nicholes (Cox)
Chiara Ondoli (Stroke)
Elise Beuke (7)
Brooke Pierson (6)
Katy Gillingham (5)
Brooke Mooney (4)
Tabea Schendekehl (3)
Jessica Thoennes (2)
Annemieke Schanze (Bow)
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Second Varsity Eight
Isabella Corriere (Cox)
Marlee Blue (Stroke)
Margaret Phillips (7)
Carmela Pappalardo (6)
Phoebe Spoors (5)
Karle Pittsinger (4)
Bella Chilczuk (3)
Anna Thornton (2)
Calina Schanze (Bow)
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Varsity Four
Marley Avritt (Cox)
Valentina Iseppi (Stroke)
Valerie Vogt (3)
Julia Paulsen (2)
Sophia Baker (Bow)
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Spares:
Danielle Hansen
Anouschka Fenley
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UW's Women's Rowing Championships
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NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
1997
1998
2001
2017
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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS BY BOAT
1997 I Eights
1998 I Eights
1999 Fours
2000 Fours
2001 I Eights
2001 Fours
2002 I Eights
2002 II Eights
2008 Fours
2017 Fours
2017 II Eights
2017 I Eights
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NCRC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Varsity Eight (recognized as "national champions")
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984,
1985, 1987, 1988
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Junior Varsity Eight
1981, 1982, 1983,
1987, 1989, 1994
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Varsity Four:
1980
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No. 1-ranked Washington, under first-year head coach Yasmin Farooq, won all nine of its races during the three-day regatta, including heats and semifinal races. Β Sunday, the Huskies earned victories in the varsity eight (I Eights), second varsity eight (II Eights) and varsity four (Fours) grand finals.
Β
"I was just so impressed by how every single person on this team stepped up from the first day," said head coach Yasmin Farooq.Β "They really, really did. Today they showed what great teammates do for one another. We always viewed it as a team championship where every person mattered."
BOW DOWN! #NationalChamps pic.twitter.com/j1FPlVmR41
β Washington Rowing (@UW_Rowing) May 28, 2017
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).
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The closest race of the day, by far, was the last one, the varsity eight grand final. Despite having won the second varsity eight and the varsity four, the Huskies needed to beat Cal to clinch the team title. From the start, the three Pac-12 boats (Stanford, along with UW and Cal) took to the front, with Washington in the lead from the beginning.
Washington maintained its lead throughout, holding off a strong finish from the Cardinal in the final few hundred meters. Washington won in a time of 6:36.939. Stanford was second in 6:38.520 and Cal finished third in 6:40.069. Texas, Michigan and Yale filled out the final three spots in the grand final.
"Outside of the Olympic finals, this is the most competitive racing on the planet at rowing at the NCAA's," added Farooq.Β "You see photo finishes every day. We knew it would come down to every boat having their best performance and also culminating in the varsity eight final."
The Huskies had an easier time in the second varsity eight and varsity four, winning each in wire-to-wire fashion. The second varsity eight in particular rowed a dominant race, holding several lengths of open water over the field much of the second 1,000 meters. The 2V8+ won in 6:47.268, well ahead of second-place Cal, in 6:53.313. The varsity four finished four-plus seconds better than the Golden Bears, winning in a time of 7:07.103 to Cal's 7:11.706.
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History made!! Washington's V8+ takes home the NCAA National Championship! #NationalChamps #WOOF #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/dg74RlS8Ou
β Washington Rowing (@UW_Rowing) May 28, 2017
"Every single boat executed the race plan perfectly," said Farooq.Β "It took a lot of courage for them to do that because it required a lot of commitment early in the race that most people would think would be unsustainable. Every one of those boats delivered on all 240 of those strokes in that race."
The Huskies' NCAA rowing title was their first since 2001 and their fourth since the NCAA began the Regatta in 1997. Washington's four NCAA crowns are second-most by any school. The UW won an additional seven national titles the pre-NCAA era. In 1987, Washington also swept all three Grand Final races in route to the title. Washington's rowing victory also marked the 500th NCAA team championship won by a Pac-12 program, most by any conference.
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Washington's varsity eight won its fifth championship at the NCAA Regatta, having previously won the grand final in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002. The second varsity eight took first for just the second time in Washington history, having also won in 2002. The Husky varsity four earned its fifth NCAA victory, alongside first-place finishes in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2008.
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Farooq, the two-time U.S. Olympic women's eight coxswain who won an NCAA Championship as head coach at Stanford in 2009, is the first coach ever to win the title with two different schools. Β Additionally, no other coach had ever before won an NCAA rowing title in his or her first season at the winning school.
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Washington, along with Brown and Princeton, is one of just three programs to have earned a berth in all 21 NCAA Rowing Championship regattas. The Huskies have never finished outside of the top 10 at NCAAs and along with their four team championships, they've finished in second place three times and third on two other occasions, giving the UW a total of nine top-three team finishes at NCAAs.
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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUPS:
Β
Varsity Eight
Phoebe Marks-Nicholes (Cox)
Chiara Ondoli (Stroke)
Elise Beuke (7)
Brooke Pierson (6)
Katy Gillingham (5)
Brooke Mooney (4)
Tabea Schendekehl (3)
Jessica Thoennes (2)
Annemieke Schanze (Bow)
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Second Varsity Eight
Isabella Corriere (Cox)
Marlee Blue (Stroke)
Margaret Phillips (7)
Carmela Pappalardo (6)
Phoebe Spoors (5)
Karle Pittsinger (4)
Bella Chilczuk (3)
Anna Thornton (2)
Calina Schanze (Bow)
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Varsity Four
Marley Avritt (Cox)
Valentina Iseppi (Stroke)
Valerie Vogt (3)
Julia Paulsen (2)
Sophia Baker (Bow)
Β
Spares:
Danielle Hansen
Anouschka Fenley
Β
Β
UW's Women's Rowing Championships
Β
NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
1997
1998
2001
2017
Β
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS BY BOAT
1997 I Eights
1998 I Eights
1999 Fours
2000 Fours
2001 I Eights
2001 Fours
2002 I Eights
2002 II Eights
2008 Fours
2017 Fours
2017 II Eights
2017 I Eights
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NCRC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Varsity Eight (recognized as "national champions")
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984,
1985, 1987, 1988
Β
Junior Varsity Eight
1981, 1982, 1983,
1987, 1989, 1994
Β
Varsity Four:
1980
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Players Mentioned
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