All news

Brown and Western Washington Win Team Trophies at 2011 NCAA Championships

May 29, 2011

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Division I team championship came down to 0.05 seconds. Brown University won the team trophy by virtue of its varsity eight finish over Stanford University, while Western Washington University won its seventh-consecutive team championship Sunday at the 2011 NCAA Championships.

Princeton University walked away with the varsity eight trophy and a fourth-place team finish, while Brown edged out Stanford for the team points trophy in a tiebreaker. Both crews ended the weekend with 85 points, followed by University of California – Berkeley with 83 points in third.

“We had hoped for this,” said Brown head coach John Murphy, of his team’s performance. “It’s about as tough a group of opponents that we’ve ever faced. I’m very pleased, to say the least. The level of competition here is unbelievable. That final race was, well, when the announcer was silent, we knew it was close and we just had to wait. The effort that everybody made in that race was incredible.”

This marks the seventh overall team championship win for Brown, and the second time that the Bears’ varsity eight finish won a tiebreaker.

The Princeton varsity eight, which went 13-0 on the regular season, won its opening heat Friday and finished second to USC in Saturday’s semi en route to its win in the final. Princeton returned five rowers from last year’s varsity eight that won bronze at the 2010 NCAA Championships.

In the final, all six crews were within half a boat length crossing the 500-meter mark. Princeton led from the start, with Cal in second through the third quarter of the race. Brown and Stanford put on the pressure in the sprint, forcing Cal into fourth. Princeton clocked a 6:27.12 at the line, with Brown in a 6:28.62 and Stanford in a 6:28.67.

“It’s pretty fantastic; it’s a great way to end four years,” said Princeton senior and stroke seat Lauren Wilkinson. “We executed our race plan. Our goal from the beginning was to leave nothing on the course, and that’s what we did. I thought our team stayed pretty internal.”

In the DI second eights final, Stanford led by a boat length at the 500-meter mark, with Brown and Cal close behind. The Cardinal crew continued to lead over the halfway point, rowing at 36 strokes per minute.

Stanford’s crew of coxswain Tiffany Dao, Susan Bryukhanov, Erin Radigan, Michelle Vezie, Julia Thompson, Kristy Wentzel, Sarah Bolmer, Daphne Martchenko and Marielle Higgins crossed the line first in a 6:26.76, followed by second place Brown with 6:29.41. Cal crossed third with a time of 6:31.70.

Virginia was first out of the blocks in the DI fours final, with Cal a close second crossing over the 500-meter mark. Cal kicked it in to take the lead in the second quarter of the race and continued to under-stroke the Cavaliers to the line for the win.

The Cal crew of coxswain Lynn Anderson, Charlotte Palmer, Becca Lindquist, Kyndal Mancho and Catherine Shannon posted a 7:09.60, with Virginia in a 7:11.39. USC held off Washington, crossing the line in third with a time of 7:12.73.

In Division II competition, Western Washington once again ruled the water. The Vikings took the team point trophy with a total of 20 points. The DII fours were the first crews of the day to cross the line. Western dominated the race with more than a boat length of open water on Humboldt State University for the win.

Western’s crew of coxswain Kelsey McFarland, Kelsey Baker, Mariana Cains, Alyssa Dewey and Lauren Fleming posted a 7:50.72, with Humboldt in a 7:56.16 and Mercyhurst College in third with an 8:03.91.

In the DII eight final, Western gained open water early and led from wire to wire for a nearly eight-second win in a 6:50.46. Mercyhurst crossed second with 6:58.25, followed by Humboldt in a 7:01.87.

“When we started the warm up, we were ready to go,” said coxswain Sam Oberholzer. “The start felt solid. We knew what we wanted and the goal we had in mind was very clear. The last thing I said to them before we started was to trust the race plan.”

Rowing in the Western eight was Oberholzer, Casey Mapes, Carson MacPherson-Krutsky, Jean Piette, Siri Carlson, Megan Northey, Stephanie Bluhm, Katie Woolsey and Kate Berni.

For championship information and complete results, visit http://www.ncaa.com/championships/rowing/d1.

Check out photos from the 2011 NCAA Championships at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usrowing/.

Highlights of the Divisions I, II and III Women’s Rowing Championships will appear on the 2011 CBS Sports Presents Championships of the NCAA (spring seasonal show), set to air Sunday, June 19 at 4 p.m. EDT.

2010 WOMEN’S ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
LAKE NATOMA
GOLD RIVER, CALIF.

DIVISION I TEAM STANDINGS
1. Brown University, 85
2. Stanford University, 85
3. University of California – Berkeley, 83
4. Princeton University, 72
5. University of Southern California, 72
6. University of Virginia, 69
7. Michigan State University, 55
8. University of Washington, 54
9. University of Wisconsin, 44
10. The Ohio State University, 44
11. Yale University, 42
12. Washington State University, 39
13. University of Michigan, 33
14. Harvard University, 17
15. Clemson University, 12
16. Dartmouth University, 10

DIVISION I FIRST EIGHTS FINAL
1. Princeton, 6:27.12
2. Brown, 6:28.62
3. Stanford, 6:28.67
4. California, 6:30.06
5. Southern California, 6:30.19
6. Michigan State, 6:36.12

DIVISION I SECOND EIGHTS FINAL
1. Stanford, 6:26.76
2. Brown, 6:29.41
3. California, 6:31.70
4. The Ohio State, 6:33.42
5. Virginia, 6:37.20
6. Southern California, 6:37.83

DIVISION I FOURS FINAL
1. California, 7:09.60
2. Virginia, 7:11.39
3. Southern California, 7:12.73
4. Washington, 7:17.51
5. Wisconsin, 7:17.74
6. Stanford, 7:18.08

DIVISION II TEAM STANDINGS
1. Western Washington University, 20
2. Mercyhurst College, 13
3. Humboldt State University, 12
4. Nova Southeastern University, 5

DIVISION II EIGHTS FINAL
1. Western Washington, 6:50.46
2. Mercyhurst, 6:58.25
3. Humboldt State, 7:01.87
4. Nova Southeastern, 7:13.65

DIVISION II FOURS FINAL
1. Western Washington, 7:50.72
2. Humboldt State, 7:56.16
3. Mercyhurst, 8:03.91

DIVISION III TEAM STANDINGS
1. Williams College, 19
2. Bates College, 16
3. Wellesley College, 14
4. Ithaca College, 12
5. William Smith College, 9
6. Trinity College, 8

DIVISION III EIGHTS FINAL
1. Williams I, 6:54.43
2. Bates I, 7:01.31
3. Wellesley I, 7:02.23
4. Ithaca, 7:09.99
5. William Smith I, 7:14.04
6. Williams II, 7:16.56

USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing’s official suppliers include Boathouse Sports, Filippi, Croker Oars, Rudy Project, Concept2, Nielsen Kellerman, PowerHTV and Ludus Tours. USRowing also receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation and its corporate sponsors, ANXeBusiness Corp and Voxer. For more information, visit www.usrowing.org. USRowing has joined forces with Team Arnstein to help ensure the U.S. Team's success leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games under a new corporate sponsorship campaign, The Row to London. For more information, please visit www.teamarnstein.com.

-30-

Allison Frederick

Press Releases