Sunday, May 19
Gold River, CA
9:00 AM
University of Washington
vs
Pac-12 Championships
Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures
UW Women Third At Final Pac-12 Rowing Championships
May 19, 2024 | Women's Rowing
GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Washington women's rowing team's long and successful run as member of the Pac-12 Conference came to a close Sunday, as the Huskies finished an excruciatingly close third at the final Pac-12 Championship Regatta at Lake Natoma.
With 35.5 total points, Washington finished just one-half of a point back of second-place California (36). Defending NCAA champ Stanford earned its third straight conference title, with 45.5 total points.
In the 37 years since the Pac-12 (Pac-10) first sponsored a women's rowing championship in 1987 (the 2020 regatta was canceled), Washington won the team championship a record 18 times.
Sunday, the Huskies showed continued improvement as they head towards the NCAA Championships, where they finished second last season. While the Cardinal won every women's scoring women's race, the Huskies beat California in two races, finishing in second place in both the second varsity eight and varsity four races (two of the three NCAA race categories). Cal had beaten Washington in both of those race categories last month in the UW-Cal Dual.
"The racing was excellent across the board," said UW head coach Yasmin Farooq. "We've made significant progress since the start of the season in all lineups.
"Congratulations to Stanford on winning the final Pac-12 rowing championship," Farooq continued. "There have been some epic races with the Cardinal and Cal in this race over the years, which have made for memorable caps to the season and excellent prep for NCAAs. Today was no different in that respect. Tough competition here has always been invaluable in helping us find even more speed as we head into the final two weeks of the season. I know every Woman of Washington who makes the NCAA squad will be inspired to give more."
Washington was also awarded the Pac-12 title in the women's novice eight, as the Huskies were the only program to field an entry in that race, which featured four fourth varsity crews racing as exhibitions.
Stanford, which swept the "Big Row" vs. California just two weeks ago, saw the Bears narrow the gap a bit in the varsity eight final on Sunday. The Cardinal won the feature race in a time of 6:26.550, about five-and-a-half seconds ahead of the second-place Bears. The Huskies, whose lineup saw significant changes since the Windermere Cup two weeks ago, was third, in 6:36.090.
In the second varsity eight race, Washington also had a new-look lineup. While the Cardinal led throughout, the Huskies maintained second position throughout the 2,000 meters, beating Cal's time by more than five seconds. Stanford won the 2V8+ race in 6:28.340, with Washington second, in 6:35.720. Cal's time was 6:41.110.
In April at the UW-Cal Dual, the Bears won the second varsity eight race over UW by three seconds.
"Going into the race our theme had been resilience, and we really showed that off today," said second varsity eight coxswain Carina Baxter, who in high school, competed for Capital Crew at the same facility as where Pac-12 were held. "The boat had been through a few changes in the last week and we took each one and only made the boat go faster.
"Throughout the race I could feel the legs only getting stronger, at no point did we let off the gas," Baxter continued. "Racing my last Pac12s on my home course was truly a full circle moment. Once we finished the race I looked over to my left and saw the docks and my old boathouse and I could feel the tears start to roll down my cheek. I had flashbacks to my first days starting as an eighth0grade rower where we would only make it up to the top of the 2k course in a practice, and to look now where I'm racing with a 'W' on my chest. I never thought I would be here, but being on this team had been a dream of mine since I was a freshman in high school. And to make my dream come true is everything I could ever ask for."
That race was similar to the varsity fours, where the Cardinal earned a comfortable win, but the Huskies rowed the entire course in front of California. Stanford's time of 7:11.830 was well ahead of the field.
However, the UW-Cal race for second was remarkable in that Washington led throughout and finished in second, more than four and a half seconds in front of Cal. In April, Cal won the varsity four race over UW by nearly 12 seconds.
Stanford also won the third varsity eight race, with Cal finishing just under six seconds back. Washington was third, another 1.8 seconds back.
The women's portion of the regatta opened with that novice race, and Stanford got its day off to a good start with an exhibition win from its fourth varsity crew, which finished in 6:43.020, ahead of second-place California and the UW fourth varsity in third, followed by the Husky freshmen.
"I'm so proud of our 3V8, 4V8 and Novice 8 performances," Farooq said. "Many of these women took their first-ever rowing strokes as Huskies. A number of them will be future NCAA rowers, and possibly future Olympians. Next year, they will play key roles in our expanded roster as we transition into the Big Ten.
"We're going to miss squaring off against Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington State in the conference championship" Farooq concluded, "but in the sport of rowing, cross-conference races during the regular season also play a valuable role in NCAA selection. Racing one another makes a lot of sense moving forward and we'll do our best to schedule these West Coast matchups in the years to come."
On Tuesday, the NCAA will announce the field for the 2024 NCAA Championships, which will be held May 31-June 2 at Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio, near Cincinnati. At NCAA, each of 22 teams competing for the Division I title race in first and second eights and in the four.
WASHINGTON WOMEN'S LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Cillian Mullen (Tacoma, Wash./Batavia (Ill.))
7: Isabel van Opzeeland (Hoofddorp, Netherlands)
6: Nikki Martincic (Newtown, Australia)
5: Jess Weir (London, England, U.K.)
4: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand
3: Olivia Hay (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Angharad Broughton (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.)
Bow: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Kit Green
Cox: Carina Baxter (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge)
Stroke: Elena Collier-Hezel (Buffalo, N.Y./Park School/Michigan)
7: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
6: Caitlin Bentley (Johannesburg, South Africa)
5: Grace Vander Griend (Bellingham, Wash/Sehome)
4: Abby Adebiyi (London, England, U.K.)
3: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif./El Dorado/UCSB)
2: Cait Whittard (St. Catherines, Ont., Canada)
Bow: Christiana Congdon (Stonington, Conn./St. Paul's)
Varsity Four
Shell: Wendell S. Sykes
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
Stroke: Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga./Cambridge)
3: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C., Canada/Claremont)
2: Caitlin Hane (Irvine, Calif./University)
Bow: Grace Epp (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Elisabeth Wu (Seattle, Wash./Shorecrest/Wisconsin)
Stroke: Carmel Bollag (Seattle, Wash./University Prep)
7: Allison Jakeway (Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada)
6: Cami Martin (Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale)
5: Sofie Sand (Rochester, Wash./Rochester)
4: Margaret Young (San Anselmo, Calif./Archie Williams)
3: Brianna Hoffman (Poulsbo, Wash./North Kitsap)
2: Alex Dessart (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville)
Bow: Eliza Perry (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome)
Fourth Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Olivia Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Danielle Lohrenz (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka)
7: Isabelle Tinsley (Venice, Fla./College of Florida Collegiate School)
6: Jane Cox (Poway, Calif./Academy of Our Lady of Peace)
5: Briana Hopper (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names/Cornell)
4: Zoë Bischoff (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
3: Scout Wilson (San Antonio, Texas/United World)
2: Maddie Ohm (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township)
Bow: Luella Bowersock (Austin, Texas/Austin)
Novice Eight
Shell: Jenni Vesnaver Hogan
Cox: Perry McLoughlin (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber)
Stroke: Fiona Rosales (Oakland, Calif./School for the Arts)
7: Lita Howard (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
6: Cora Madison (Kirkland, Wash./International Comm.)
5: Kalee Verd (Olympia, Wash./Olympia)
4: Isabella Crosby (University Place, Wash./Curtis)
3: Hannah Nowers (Palmer, Alaska (Palmer)
2: Kate Russ (Plano, Texas (Plano East)
Bow: Ella Jones (West Seattle, Wash./West Seattle)
With 35.5 total points, Washington finished just one-half of a point back of second-place California (36). Defending NCAA champ Stanford earned its third straight conference title, with 45.5 total points.
In the 37 years since the Pac-12 (Pac-10) first sponsored a women's rowing championship in 1987 (the 2020 regatta was canceled), Washington won the team championship a record 18 times.
Sunday, the Huskies showed continued improvement as they head towards the NCAA Championships, where they finished second last season. While the Cardinal won every women's scoring women's race, the Huskies beat California in two races, finishing in second place in both the second varsity eight and varsity four races (two of the three NCAA race categories). Cal had beaten Washington in both of those race categories last month in the UW-Cal Dual.
"The racing was excellent across the board," said UW head coach Yasmin Farooq. "We've made significant progress since the start of the season in all lineups.
"Congratulations to Stanford on winning the final Pac-12 rowing championship," Farooq continued. "There have been some epic races with the Cardinal and Cal in this race over the years, which have made for memorable caps to the season and excellent prep for NCAAs. Today was no different in that respect. Tough competition here has always been invaluable in helping us find even more speed as we head into the final two weeks of the season. I know every Woman of Washington who makes the NCAA squad will be inspired to give more."
Washington was also awarded the Pac-12 title in the women's novice eight, as the Huskies were the only program to field an entry in that race, which featured four fourth varsity crews racing as exhibitions.
Stanford, which swept the "Big Row" vs. California just two weeks ago, saw the Bears narrow the gap a bit in the varsity eight final on Sunday. The Cardinal won the feature race in a time of 6:26.550, about five-and-a-half seconds ahead of the second-place Bears. The Huskies, whose lineup saw significant changes since the Windermere Cup two weeks ago, was third, in 6:36.090.
In the second varsity eight race, Washington also had a new-look lineup. While the Cardinal led throughout, the Huskies maintained second position throughout the 2,000 meters, beating Cal's time by more than five seconds. Stanford won the 2V8+ race in 6:28.340, with Washington second, in 6:35.720. Cal's time was 6:41.110.
In April at the UW-Cal Dual, the Bears won the second varsity eight race over UW by three seconds.
"Going into the race our theme had been resilience, and we really showed that off today," said second varsity eight coxswain Carina Baxter, who in high school, competed for Capital Crew at the same facility as where Pac-12 were held. "The boat had been through a few changes in the last week and we took each one and only made the boat go faster.
"Throughout the race I could feel the legs only getting stronger, at no point did we let off the gas," Baxter continued. "Racing my last Pac12s on my home course was truly a full circle moment. Once we finished the race I looked over to my left and saw the docks and my old boathouse and I could feel the tears start to roll down my cheek. I had flashbacks to my first days starting as an eighth0grade rower where we would only make it up to the top of the 2k course in a practice, and to look now where I'm racing with a 'W' on my chest. I never thought I would be here, but being on this team had been a dream of mine since I was a freshman in high school. And to make my dream come true is everything I could ever ask for."
That race was similar to the varsity fours, where the Cardinal earned a comfortable win, but the Huskies rowed the entire course in front of California. Stanford's time of 7:11.830 was well ahead of the field.
However, the UW-Cal race for second was remarkable in that Washington led throughout and finished in second, more than four and a half seconds in front of Cal. In April, Cal won the varsity four race over UW by nearly 12 seconds.
Stanford also won the third varsity eight race, with Cal finishing just under six seconds back. Washington was third, another 1.8 seconds back.
The women's portion of the regatta opened with that novice race, and Stanford got its day off to a good start with an exhibition win from its fourth varsity crew, which finished in 6:43.020, ahead of second-place California and the UW fourth varsity in third, followed by the Husky freshmen.
"I'm so proud of our 3V8, 4V8 and Novice 8 performances," Farooq said. "Many of these women took their first-ever rowing strokes as Huskies. A number of them will be future NCAA rowers, and possibly future Olympians. Next year, they will play key roles in our expanded roster as we transition into the Big Ten.
"We're going to miss squaring off against Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington State in the conference championship" Farooq concluded, "but in the sport of rowing, cross-conference races during the regular season also play a valuable role in NCAA selection. Racing one another makes a lot of sense moving forward and we'll do our best to schedule these West Coast matchups in the years to come."
On Tuesday, the NCAA will announce the field for the 2024 NCAA Championships, which will be held May 31-June 2 at Harsha Lake in Bethel, Ohio, near Cincinnati. At NCAA, each of 22 teams competing for the Division I title race in first and second eights and in the four.
WASHINGTON WOMEN'S LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Cillian Mullen (Tacoma, Wash./Batavia (Ill.))
7: Isabel van Opzeeland (Hoofddorp, Netherlands)
6: Nikki Martincic (Newtown, Australia)
5: Jess Weir (London, England, U.K.)
4: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand
3: Olivia Hay (Auckland, New Zealand)
2: Angharad Broughton (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.)
Bow: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Kit Green
Cox: Carina Baxter (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge)
Stroke: Elena Collier-Hezel (Buffalo, N.Y./Park School/Michigan)
7: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
6: Caitlin Bentley (Johannesburg, South Africa)
5: Grace Vander Griend (Bellingham, Wash/Sehome)
4: Abby Adebiyi (London, England, U.K.)
3: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif./El Dorado/UCSB)
2: Cait Whittard (St. Catherines, Ont., Canada)
Bow: Christiana Congdon (Stonington, Conn./St. Paul's)
Varsity Four
Shell: Wendell S. Sykes
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
Stroke: Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga./Cambridge)
3: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C., Canada/Claremont)
2: Caitlin Hane (Irvine, Calif./University)
Bow: Grace Epp (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Elisabeth Wu (Seattle, Wash./Shorecrest/Wisconsin)
Stroke: Carmel Bollag (Seattle, Wash./University Prep)
7: Allison Jakeway (Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada)
6: Cami Martin (Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale)
5: Sofie Sand (Rochester, Wash./Rochester)
4: Margaret Young (San Anselmo, Calif./Archie Williams)
3: Brianna Hoffman (Poulsbo, Wash./North Kitsap)
2: Alex Dessart (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville)
Bow: Eliza Perry (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome)
Fourth Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Olivia Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Danielle Lohrenz (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka)
7: Isabelle Tinsley (Venice, Fla./College of Florida Collegiate School)
6: Jane Cox (Poway, Calif./Academy of Our Lady of Peace)
5: Briana Hopper (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names/Cornell)
4: Zoë Bischoff (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
3: Scout Wilson (San Antonio, Texas/United World)
2: Maddie Ohm (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township)
Bow: Luella Bowersock (Austin, Texas/Austin)
Novice Eight
Shell: Jenni Vesnaver Hogan
Cox: Perry McLoughlin (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber)
Stroke: Fiona Rosales (Oakland, Calif./School for the Arts)
7: Lita Howard (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
6: Cora Madison (Kirkland, Wash./International Comm.)
5: Kalee Verd (Olympia, Wash./Olympia)
4: Isabella Crosby (University Place, Wash./Curtis)
3: Hannah Nowers (Palmer, Alaska (Palmer)
2: Kate Russ (Plano, Texas (Plano East)
Bow: Ella Jones (West Seattle, Wash./West Seattle)
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