Welcome to the home page for the 2008 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. Over 600 collegiate student-athletes converged on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. for three days of racing from Friday, May 30 to Sunday, June 1. Hosted by the University of California, in conjunction with the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, the three-day event crowned Brown the Division I team champion, its sixth all-time NCAA title; Western Washington the Division II team champion for the fourth-consecutive year; and Williams the Division III team champion for a third-consecutive year.

June 1 | Brown Captures Sixth NCAA Rowing Championship
Yale wins second-consecutive Division I Eights title and Western Washington gets fourth-straight Division II crown

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The 2008 NCAA Division I and II Rowing Championships concluded today with Brown earning its sixth NCAA Rowing team title at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. The three-day regatta was hosted by the University of California in conjunction with the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. The Brown Bears won the Division I Second Eights Grand Final to earn the bulk of their 67 points in the final team standings. Washington claimed the Division I Fours championship and Yale took its second consecutive Division I Eights title by edging out at-large Stanford in the final foot of the 2000-meter race.

Brown head coach John Murphy said, “This group really likes to race. They went out there and went after it. Not that the others didn’t, but I felt really good about them. I don’t think any of the championships we’ve won stand out above any of the others. Each one is unique and greatly appreciated on its own.”

Stanford led the I Eights Grand Final for all but one foot of the 2000-meter course out of lane six and turned in the best split time in the first 500-meters with a 1:36.46. The Bulldogs pushed hard for the final few meters to edge the Cardinal by just 0.90 seconds (6:34.05-6:34.95) in a photo finish. As one of only three teams to earn berths in each of the three Division I Grand Finals, Washington finished second overall in team points at 59 and won the Division I Fours Grand Final by clearing Virginia’s bow by 1.34 seconds (7:24.75-7:26.09).

Host California completed races in third place overall in the team standings (53 points) as the third team to put three boats in Grand Finals events. Yale came in fourth with 51 points; Virginia was fifth with 47 and Michigan State stood at sixth place with 38 points. Ohio State, Washington State, Harvard, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Princeton rounded out the team standings in that order.

In Division II races, Western Washington opened the day with a 13.41-second defeat of UC San Diego in the Division II Fours Grand Final, winning 7:57.54-8:10.95. Nova Southeastern registered a time of 8:25.10 to come in third. In the Division II Eights Petite Final, Mercyhurst took first (7:14.58) over Nova Southeastern (7:24.42). Western Washington claimed the Eights Grand Final with a time of 6:53.20, beating out UC San Diego once more by 13.48 seconds. The Tritons came in second with a time of 7:06.68.

Western Washington claimed its fourth-straight NCAA Division II title and now owns four out of the seven titles all-time. The Vikings earned 20 points with their two Grand Final wins. UC San Diego finished second with 15 points with Dowling (8) and Nova Southeastern (4) rounding out the final team standings.

Western Washington head coach John Fuchs said, “After the first heat, we felt like we had an advantage on the field, but you come to this event and you know everybody is going for it. We didn’t take anyone for granted. I think after the heats, we felt like if we raced our race, we would win.”

May 31 | Williams Wins Third Consecutive NCAA Division III Team Crown
The Ephs have won four of the seven NCAA Division III Rowing titles including the inaugural title in 2002

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Williams College took two out of the top three spots in the Division III Eights Grand Final to capture its third consecutive NCAA Rowing Division III Team Championship today by earning 25 points over Trinity (Conn.) in the final team standings today at the 2008 NCAA Division III Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma at Gold River, Calif. The Ephs have now won four of the seven NCAA Division III team titles including the inaugural crown in 2002.

Williams head coach Justin Moore said, “To watch these women overcome challenge over challenge over challenge and continue to come back with this as a goal, of winning a national championship, was just phenomenal; absolutely phenomenal.”

Williams put two boats into the Grand Final event with the top eight coming in second with a time of 7:00.60, just over three seconds shy of Trinity’s time of 6:57.01. The top Williams boat also registered the top time of the weekend among all Division III Eights by logging a 6:46. 84 in the first elimination heat on Friday. Puget Sound ties with Ithaca for third place with 15 points each, although Puget Sound completed the Grand Final with a better time. Bates, St. Lawrence and William Smith rounded out the final team standings.

In Division I action, Brown, California and Washington each secured a boat in all three Grand Finals heading into tomorrow. In the Division I Fours Repechage, Cal’s quartet edged out Brown’s by fifteen hundredths of a second in the morning’s most thrilling finish. Tomorrow’s Division I Eights Grand Final will showcase Yale out of lane one, Brown in two, California in three, followed by Washington, Michigan State and at-large eight Stanford. The Cardinal is the only at-large team represented in the Grand Final.

Brown is looking to capture its second-consecutive team championship and sixth NCAA rowing title overall. California will be trying to win its third championship in four years.

In Division II, Dowling and Philadelphia earned spots in tomorrow’s Eights Grand Final by coming in first and second respectively in today’s repechage, 7:13.25 and 7:18.82. UC San Diego and Nova Southeastern will join Western Washington in tomorrow’s Division II Fours Grand Final. Racing will begin at 9:15 a.m. (PT) with Division II Fours and concludes with the Division I Eights Grand Final at 11:30 a.m. (PT).

May 30 | Defending Champs Off To Strong Starts at NCAA Championships
Brown, Western Washington and Williams lead the way on the first day at Lake Natoma

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The defending champions in each division came out of the gates churning today at the 2008 NCAA Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Six-time Division I champion Brown registered top times in both the Eights (6:23.12) and Second Eights (6:44.46) events; and crossed the finish line third in the first heat of the Division I Fours.

Yale won the first heat of Division I Eights and host California notched the best mark in the third heat. Virginia and Washington each had the best times in the two Division I Fours heats, 7:27.07 and 7:31.66 respectively. In the afternoon, USC came out of the Division I Eights Repechage with a time of 6:40.77 to earn a spot in tomorrow’s semifinal. Joining the Trojans are Yale, Cal, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Washington State, Brown, Michigan State, Virginia, Washington and Michigan.

Western Washington showed why it is shooting for a fourth-consecutive Division II title, putting more than 15 seconds (6:54.29 – 7:12.00) between itself and second place in the second heat of Division II Eights. The Vikings fared no different in the Division II Fours event, outpacing the other three boats by more than five boat-lengths at the finish. Division II Eights and Fours will run repechages tomorrow morning.

Williams’ top Eight made short work of its Division III opponents in the first heat of Division III Eights. The Ephs showed that they are deep enough to field two boats in tomorrow’s (May 31) Grand Final, as their second Eight edged Puget Sound’s top boat by just over a second, 6:49.54 to 6:50.95. The two wins by the Ephs give them two boats in the Grand Final, racing out of lanes two and three. Joining the Ephs are Trinity (Conn.), Puget Sound, Ithaca and Coast Guard. The Division III Eights Grand Final begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. (PT).

May 29 | **SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT** Parts of the the California Interstate 5 will be closed for construction, affecting traffic on racing days. Please click on the link to find alternative routes for access to Lake Natoma.

May 29 | Crews Converge On Natoma For NCAA Championships
Over 600 Division I, II and III student-athletes will compete in the annual regatta on Lake Natoma

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – A congregation of over 600 student-athletes from Divisions I, II and III women’s rowing teams will participate in the 2008 NCAA Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. Hosted by the University of California in conjunction with the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, racing will begin on Friday, May 30 and conclude Sunday, June 1 with the crowning of team champions from each division.

A total of 31 institutions are represented at these championships, including the defending team champion from each division. Brown won its sixth overall Division I title in 2007 by edging out Virginia at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Western Washington will have its sights set on a fourth consecutive Division II championship when racing begins; and three-time Division III champion Williams returns to a stacked Division III field.

Joining Brown in the Division I team championship are California, Harvard, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Washington Sate, Wisconsin and Yale. Clemson, Michigan, Stanford and USC were selected as the four at-large Division I eights that will participate in the championships

The Division II team championship will be up for grabs between Western Washington, Dowling, UC San Diego and Nova Southeastern. The four teams will be joined by at-large eights from Mercyhurst and Philadelphia.

Defending champion Williams received the automatic bid into the Division III championship and will face Bates, Ithaca, Puget Sound, St. Lawrence, Trinity (Conn.), and William Smith in defense of its title. At-large Division III eights were selected from Coast Guard and Washington (Md.).

Check Natoma08.com for links to results and heat sheets during the championships.

Tickets may be purchased on-site/walk-up at the Nimbus Flats Park entrance and at the remote parking entrance at the following times:

5:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Friday (May 30)
5:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Saturday (May 31)
5:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Sunday (June 1)

Three-Day Passes | Adult: $25 | Youth/Senior: $10
Individual Day Passes | Adult: $10 | Youth/Senior: $5

**ALL TICKETS AT WILL CALL CAN BE PICKED UP WITH A VALID PHOTO ID AT THE NIMBUS FLATS PARK LOT**