Women’s rowing captures fourth place in nationals

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — Washington State’s women’s rowing team needed every one of its 52 points to capture fourth place at the NCAA Championships on May 28.

WSU’s varsity eight earned fourth place in a dramatic varsity eight grand final. The crew needed to finish at least one place ahead of Ohio State to secure a fourth place overall team finish, but trailed the Buckeyes by nearly a second with 500 meters remaining. Down the sprint, the Cougars pulled past Ohio State, crossing the finish line 1.25 seconds before the Buckeyes. Princeton won the race, followed by California and Brown.

The Cougar varsity four also placed fourth in a tight grand final. After bursting off the start line, the Cougars led through the 500 meter mark, but were closely chased by Brown. Brown overtook WSU and extended its lead for the rest of the race. The Cougars held second until the final 500 meters, when they were overtaken by California and Ohio State. The fourth place finish is the best placement by a four in Cougar history.

The second varsity eight took fifth place in its grand final, 0.2 seconds behind Ohio State for fourth, and 1.8 seconds out of second place.

The fourth place team finish is the best placement in WSU history. The varsity eight and varsity four also set Cougar records for the best finish by their respective boats at the NCAA Championships.

California captured the team national title with 66 points. Brown also ended the day with 66, but placed 0.3 seconds behind the Golden Bears in the tiebreaking varsity eight grand final. It is the second time in history the winner of the varsity eight grand final, Princeton, has not also won the national title.


NCAA Championships
West Windsor, N.J.
May 28, 2006

Team Point Totals

1. California 66
2. Brown 66
3. Princeton 56
4. Washington State 52
5. Ohio State 52
6. Michigan State 40
7. Washington 33
8. Wisconsin 28
9. Notre Dame 22
10. Yale 21
11. Stanford 21
12. Tennessee 11

– – – –

Varsity Eight Grand Final

1. Princeton 6:36.85
2. California 6:43.26
3. Brown 6:43.52
4. Washington State 6:48.07
5. Ohio State 6:49.32
6. Michigan State 6:51.22

– – – –

Second Varsity Eight Grand Final

1. Brown 6:48.77
2. California 6:54.38
3. Wisconsin 6:54.49
4. Ohio State 6:55.97
5. Washington State 6:56.20
6. Princeton 7:00.48

– – – –
Varsity Four Grand Final

1. Brown 7:41.10
2. California 7:45.35
3. Ohio State 7:45.78
4. Washington State 7:46.09
5. Michigan State 7:49.34
6. Washington 7:54.03

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