May 31, 2009

Courtesy of Villanova

CHERRY HILL, N.J.—Western Washington had a winning margin of more than four seconds in the Grand Final of the Division II Eights on Sunday morning and won its fifth consecutive title at the 2009 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships at Cooper River Park.  The Vikings finished with 18 points atop the team standings, as the team also took second in the Division II Fours.  

In the Eights race, Western Washington pulled out to a winning lead in the second 500 meters.  The Vikings were less than half a second off the pace set by Mercyhurst in the first 500 meters but pulled out to a nearly four-second margin by the midway point of the race.  Western Washington crossed the finish line in a time of 6:52.60, while the Lakers had a time of 6:57.22.  Seattle Pacific (7:00.22) and Philadelphia University (7:05.70) finished third and fourth, respectively.  

Nova Southeastern enjoyed a comfortable winning margin in the Division II Fours to win its first individual championship.  The Sharks led Mercyhurst and Western Washington by nearly three seconds after just 500 meters and held on to the margin to eventually win by 3.70 seconds with a time of 7:53.64.  The Vikings were second in 7:57.34 and the Lakers took third in 7:57.70.  

Mercyhurst earned four team points for a third-place finish in the Fours race and nine points for its finish in the Eights competition to finish second in the team standings with 13 points.  Nova Southeastern was third with 11 points and Philadelphia University had eight team points and finished fourth.  

The two at-large teams in the championship, Dowling and Seattle Pacific, were not eligible to receive team points.  Dowling won the Petite Final of the Division II Eights with a time of 7:11.38, coming in just over five seconds ahead of Nova Southeastern.  

Western Washington has now won five of the eight Division II Rowing Championships since the events inception in 2002.  The Vikings have won nine individual championships.  

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
Western Washington    18
Mercyhurst    13
Nova Southeastern    11
Philadelphia University    8