BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior rowers Chloe Burns and Karisa Stapp have been named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Pocock Division II All-America team.

WWU head coach John Fuchs, who has led one of the top collegiate rowing programs in the nation for the last 19 seasons, was named the CRCA Division II National Coach of the Year and second-year assistant coach Courtney Moeller was recognized as the Vikings were named the Division II Staff of the Year.

Burns (Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) and Stapp (Bellingham, WA/Mount Baker) are the 21st and 22nd first-team rowing selections in the history of the program. This is the 10th time WWU has had a pair of first-team All-America selections in the same season, and first since 2013.

Burns and Stapp were key members of the Varsity 8+ during the 2017 national championship season for the Vikings, manning the stroke (Burns) and No. 7 seat (Stapp) positions. The Eights finished second in the NCAA Division II championships and teamed with the Fours to win the program’s eighth national championship.

Stapp capped a standout junior season where she also earned academic awards being named a CRCA National Scholar Athlete, WWU co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year and an At-Large CoSIDA District 8 academic selection.

“Chloe and Karisa had a great year for sure,” said Fuchs. “They raised the bar for the rest of the team. It is really cool for them to be recognized like that.”

In order to be considered for the CRCA All-America team, a student-athlete must have participated in at least 75% of all races during the current season and rowed at least 75% of the season’s races in the varsity boat. The strength of team’s schedule, regular season record, end of season regatta results, coaches’ comments and 2,000-meter erg score are also taken into account during the selection process.

Fuchs was named the CRCA Division II National Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, also earning the award in 2005, 2007 and 2008. He has also been named the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Under his guidance, the Vikings won 24 of 32 races during the 2017 season, capped by the program’s eighth national championship with a one-point victory over Central Oklahoma in the NCAA Championships held May 26-28 on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. WWU also won national titles in seven consecutive seasons from 2005-2011.You can watch a full replay of the 2017 Pocock CRCA All-America Award Winners show via Pocock.com.

Moeller was an instrumental part of the program’s success with her tutelage of the national champion Fours. She completed her second seasons as an assistant coach at WWU, rejoining her alma mater that she rowed for as a student-athlete from 2002-05. In addition to her coaching duties, she also helped grow the program’s social media presence with behind the scenes pictures and has been instrumental in fundraising. Strength and conditioning coach Damien Fisher and athletic trainer Masa Migita also played a key role during the program’s run to the national championship.

“To get staff of the year is awesome, not only for Courtney’s hard work but for the whole athletic department staff,” added Fuchs. “We just can’t operate without a lot of key people doing great things.”

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