BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women’s rowing team will be in action this weekend in a dual regatta against the Stanford Lightweights on Redwood Shore Lagoon in Redwood Shores, California.
The Vikings will compete against the Cardinal head-to-head in three races, the Varsity 8+ and two four-oared races. Racing is set to begin at 11 am on the 2,000-meter course immediately following the University of Washington and University of California dual that will run from 9-11 am on the same course.
WWU is currently ranked No. 6 in the most recent USRowing/CRCA NCAA Division II coaches poll and listed No. 4 in the second edition of the NCAA II regional rankings. The Stanford Lightweights are ranked No. 1 in the USRowing Collegiate Women’s Lightweight Coaches Poll.
THE RACE SCHEDULE
The race schedule for the dual against Stanford Lightweights is the following. Results from the races will be posted as soon as available to WWU’s twitter page and WWUVikings.com:
|
Race |
Time |
|
Varsity 8+ |
11:00 am |
|
Varsity 4+ (A Race) |
11:12 am |
|
Varsity 4+ (B Race) |
11:24 am |
VIKINGS FLEET
Here is a look at WWU’s projected boat lineups for the three races this Saturday against Stanford Lightweights (subject to change):
|
Varsity 8 |
|
Cox – Jonah Bettger (So./Brush Prairie, WA/Prairie) |
|
Stroke – Hannah Bivans (Jr./Claremont, CA/Claremont) |
|
7 – Claire Whiting (Sr./Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) |
|
6 – Chloe Burns (Sr./Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) |
|
5 – Jessica Smithlin (Fr./Orting, WA/Orting) |
|
4 – Ashley Yandt (Jr./Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake) |
|
3 – Maddie Bangasser (Fr./Sammamish, WA/Eastlake) |
|
2 – Trisha Patterson (Sr./Camas, WA/Camas) |
|
Bow – Carly Lant (So./Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge) |
|
Varsity 4 – A |
|
Cox – Corina Chon (So./Bellingham, WA/Sehome) |
|
Stroke – Angie Dexter (So./Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage) |
|
3 – Kasey Mallon-Andrews (Sr./Issaquah, WA/Issaquah) |
|
2 – Megan Reid (Sr./Sitka, AK/Sitka) |
|
Bow – Michaela Bonenberger (So./Fort Collins, CO/Fossil Ridge) |
|
Varsity 4 – B |
|
Cox – Adele Houston (So./Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale) |
|
Stroke – Anneka Bostrom (Fr./Arlington, WA/Lakewood) |
|
3 – Kristen Thomas (Jr./Boulder, CO/Boulder) |
|
2 – Hannah Haupt (Jr./Sun Valley, ID/Wood River) |
|
Bow – Rachael Schick (Fr./Anchorage, AK/East Anchorage) |
NEXT UP
The Vikings shells will stay in Northern California as the team makes a return to the area next weekend for the annual Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships at Lake Natoma just outside of Sacramento. Last year Western won the gold medal at the WIRA Championships and was awarded the WIRA Team Efficiency Trophy (for all divisions) for the success of the number of races entered vs. placement in those races.
NATIONAL POLL
The Vikings are ranked No. 6 nationally in the April 18 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) poll conducted by USRowing and presented by Pocock Racing Shells. WWU was ranked No. 1 in the first poll of the season and was listed No. 5 last week. The NCAA Division II West Region features five of the top 8 teams in the rankings, including No. 1 Central Oklahoma, No. 4 UC San Diego, No. 5 Humboldt State, No. 6 WWU and No. 7 Seattle Pacific. The Vikings ended the 2017 season ranked No. 1 in the nation after winning the program’s eighth national championship, marking the 10th time the program has finished a season atop the polls.
|
CRCA/USRowing NCAA II National Poll (4/18) |
||
|
Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Votes |
|
1. |
Central Oklahoma (4) |
187 |
|
2. |
Barry |
160 |
|
3. |
Florida Tech (1) |
156 |
|
4. |
UC San Diego |
110 |
|
5. |
Humboldt State |
91 |
|
6. |
Western Washington |
88 |
|
7. |
Seattle Pacific |
56 |
|
8. |
Nova Southeastern |
21 |
|
Also Receiving Votes: Mercyhurst (16), Jefferson (13), and Assumption (2) |
||
REGIONAL RANKINGS
WWU was listed No. 4 in the second NCAA regional rankings that were released on April 17, with the fours 3rd and the eights 5th in the region…the regional rankings decide the teams that will make up the NCAA Championships field. The top regionally ranked team from the East, South and West regions will automatically qualify an Eight and Four to the championships, with one at-large team selected. Two at-large eights will also be selected from any of the three regions. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 16 of the last 17 seasons. Here are the West Region rankings as of April 17:
|
FOUR |
EIGHT |
TEAM |
|||
|
EAST |
|||||
|
1 |
Thomas Jefferson |
1 |
Mercyhurst |
1 |
Thomas Jefferson |
|
2 |
Mercyhurst |
2 |
Thomas Jefferson |
2 |
Mercyhurst |
|
3 |
Assumption |
3 |
Assumption |
3 |
Assumption |
|
|
|
4 |
Franklin Pierce |
|
|
|
SOUTH |
|||||
|
1 |
Barry |
1 |
Florida Tech |
1 |
Florida Tech |
|
2 |
Florida Tech |
2 |
Barry |
2 |
Barry |
|
3 |
Nova Southeastern |
3 |
Nova Southeastern |
3 |
Nova Southeastern |
|
4 |
Embry-Riddle (Florida) |
4 |
Rollins |
4 |
Rollins |
|
5 |
Rollins |
5 |
Embry-Riddle (Florida) |
5 |
Embry-Riddle (Florida) |
|
WEST |
|||||
|
1 |
Central Oklahoma |
1 |
Central Oklahoma |
1 |
Central Oklahoma |
|
2 |
Humboldt State |
2 |
UC San Diego |
2 |
UC San Diego |
|
3 |
Western Washington |
3 |
Seattle Pacific |
3 |
Humboldt State |
|
4 |
UC San Diego |
4 |
Humboldt State |
4 |
Western Washington |
|
5 |
Seattle Pacific |
5 |
Western Washington |
5 |
Seattle Pacific |
THE 2018 SCHEDULE
WWU’s 2018 regular-season regatta schedule includes seven events that run from the season-opener on March 10 at the PLU Invitational to the prestigious Windermere Cup in Seattle on May 5. The annual WIRA Championships will be held next weekend (April 28-29) on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California, which will match up the top Division II rowing programs in the West Region. WWU does not have a home regatta this season, but will race in Seattle three times, including the Falcon Regatta on April 14 featuring Seattle Pacific and Central Oklahoma. The NCAA Championships will be held May 25-27 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. Here is a look at the Vikings 2018 regatta schedule:
|
2018 WWU ROWING SCHEDULE |
||
|
March 10 (Sat.) |
PLU Invitational (PLU, WWU, UPS) |
Lakewood, WA (American Lake) |
|
March 31 (Sat.) |
Husky Open |
Seattle, WA (Montlake Cut) |
|
April 7 (Sat.) |
Covered Bridge Regatta (CANCELLED) |
Lowell, OR (Dexter Lake) |
|
April 14 (Sat.) |
Falcon Regatta (SPU, WWU, Central Oklahoma) |
Seattle, WA (Lake Washington Ship Canal) |
|
April 21 (Sat.) |
Stanford Lightweights Dual |
Redwood City, CA (Redwood Shores) |
|
April 28-29 (Sat-Sun) |
Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship |
Gold River, CA (Lake Natoma) |
|
May 5 (Sat.) |
Windermere Cup |
Seattle, WA (Montlake Cut) |
|
May 25-27 (Fri-Sun) |
NCAA National Championships |
Sarasota, FL (Nathan Benderson Park) |
ABOUT WWU ROWING
WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won 8 NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings are the defending national champions after winning the 2017 NCAA II title and have competed in the NCAA Championships in 16 of the last 17 seasons. Western won an unprecedented 7 consecutive national championships from 2005-2011, and placed among the top three nationally each season from 2002 to 2014 with the Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ reaching the grand finals every time during this stretch.
COACH FUCHS
Head coach John Fuchs is in his 20th year leading the program and has guided the Vikings to 10 seasons as the No. 1 team in the nation. Fuchs has been the head coach for all 8 of WWU’s national championship performances and has coached 26 CRCA All-Americans.