Varsity Four Captures a Top-10 Finish at the NCAA Championship, Cougs Finish 15th Overall

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Washington State rowing team put forth strong showing on the final day of the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championships at Nathan Benderson Park to earn a 15th-place finish as a team. WSU's first varsity four took second in the 1V4 petite final Sunday, May 30, while both varsity eight boats each finished third in their C finals to help the Cougars.

Sunday's performance helped the Cougars place eighth overall in the first varsity four, while the first and second varsity eight boats claimed 15th place overall at the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championship. Washington State picked up 55 points on Sunday to end the NCAA Championship in 15th as a team. The first varsity eight picked up 24 points, while the second varsity eight claimed 16 points and the varsity four added 15 points.

"We train all year to have our best performance on the Sunday of the NCAA Championships, and I think the team really pulled through with that today," said WSU rowing head coach Jane LaRiviere. "I saw complete races from all of our boats. To have the varsity four finish eight is great. This is just a special team and it's been a really fun year. It's a really solid example of good things coming out of challenging times. COVID presented challenges all season, but this team kept their heads on straight, kept coming to practice, and did everything the coaches asked them to do."

The varsity four boat kicked it into high gear over the final 1,000-meters in the 1V4 petite final to claim a second-place finish with a time of 7:23.997. WSU sat in fifth at the 1,000-meter mark, but then passed three boats overall the final 1,000 meters claim second in the 1V4 petite final and eighth overall at the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championship. The eighth-place finish marks the seventh time in program history that the 1V4 boat has posted a top-10 finish at the NCAA Rowing Championship.

"To be honest, in the first 1,000-meters I was a little bit nervous but watching them I knew they were going to have a second gear, but I didn't know it was going to be so quick," said LaRiviere on the varsity four's performance. "Kudos to them, I think it is a great accomplishment anytime we can have a top-10 finish at NCAA's."

WSU's second varsity eight got the day started with a third-place finish in the 2V8 C final against Duke, Princeton, Tennessee, Alabama and Navy, clocking in at 6:46.502. The first varsity eight took on SMU, Wisconsin, Duke, Tennessee and Navy in the 1V8 C final and claimed third place with a time of 6:35.798.

Texas captured the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championship via a tiebreaker over Stanford and Washington, as all three teams concluded the event with 126 total points. The Longhorns won the tiebreaker over the Huskies and Cardinal thanks to its win in the first varsity eight grand final. Washington captured the second varsity eight and varsity four titles.

For more information on the Washington State rowing team, follow @WSUCougarRowing on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Second Varsity Eight - C Final

1) Duke - 6:43.416
2) Princeton - 6:45.472
3) Washington State - 6:46.502 (Cate Field, Hana Anderson, Madeleine Bingham, Ilaria Macchi, Sue Yu, Sydney Wick, Cierra Bird, Molly Miller; Coxswain: Makenna Price)
4) Tennessee - 6:48.972
5) Alabama - 6:51.030
6) Navy - 7:08.572

First Varsity Eight - C Final
1) SMU - 6:31.478
2) Wisconsin - 6:33.822
3) Washington State - 6:35.798 (Emma Barrett, Renee Kemp, Samantha Schmidt, Abigail Linnenkohl, Caitlin Donaldson, Jessica Norris, Lucy Climer-Kennedy, Kateryna Maistrenko; Coxswain: Ainsley Tiernan)
4) Duke - 6:37.250
5) Tennessee - 6:38.956
6) Navy - 6:44.316

Varsity Four - Petite Final
1) Rutgers - 7:21.861
2) Washington State - 7:23.997 - (Grace Trujillo, Maddy Pollard, Laurita Nemeraviciute, Isabella Cristelli; Coxswain: Paloma Probart)
3) Duke - 7:24.967
4) California - 7:25.365
5) Syracuse - 7:26.863
6) Brown - 7:29.597