BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's rowing team begins competition at the 2022 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships Friday at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.
 
The Vikings enter the six-team regatta as the top-seeded team out of the West following a late-season surge that included Varsity 8+ victories at the WIRA and GNAC Championships. The two-day NCAA II Championships are part of the three-day NCAA Rowing Championships in Florida.
 
WWU is an eight-time national champion (2015-11, 2017) and has advanced to the national finals in 18 of 20 seasons that the NCAA II Rowing Championships dating back to 2002.
 
Joining the Vikings in the national regatta are two additional West Region programs, the University of Central Oklahoma and Seattle Pacific University, who both earned at-large berths to show the strength of the region. WWU won the GNAC Championships team title on May 14 on Dexter Lake with SPU and UCO finishing just behind the Vikings.
 
Also competing in the national championships will be Embry Riddle (FL), Mercyhurst and Jefferson. Each team will field a Varsity Four and Varsity Eight entry in the regatta. Racing begins this Friday (May 27) with the Division II eights heats at 11:24 am ET/8:24 am PT followed by the fours at 11:48 am ET/8:48 am PT. WWU will race in the second heat in both events on Friday (detailed schedule below).
 
A new format for 2022 has the DII Championships shortened to two days, with the repechage being held Friday afternoon starting at 5:12 pm ET/2:12 pm PT. The winner of each of the two heats in both the eights and fours advance directly to Saturday's grand final scheduled to begin at 11 am ET/8 am PT.
 

2022 NCAA DIVISION II ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Western Washington	West
Mercyhurst	East
Embry-Riddle (FL)	South
Central Oklahoma	At-Large
Thomas Jefferson	At-Large
Seattle Pacific	At-Large

 
This year marks the Vikings return to the national championship regatta after a two-year hiatus. The 2020 championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and WWU had a limited schedule in 2021 that didn't result in a trip to the altered four-team national regatta.
 
WWU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships in 18 of the 20 years of the event (18 of 19 in full seasons) and 19 total times to the national rowing regatta (was a combined championship prior to 2002). The Vikings are eight-time national champions, winning seven consecutive titles from 2005-11 and again in 2017. In 17 trips to the DII Rowing Championships, Western has taken home the gold (8 times) or silver (4 times) medal 12 times and finished on the podium (top three) in every trip to nationals (five 3rd-place finishes). WWU has had its Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ reach the grand finals every time on the national stage.
 
Central Oklahoma has won the last three national titles (2018, 2019, 2021) with the Vikings winning its eighth title in 2017.
 
More information on the 2022 NCAA Rowing Championships, which includes the Division I, II and III races, can be found online via at ChampionshipRowing.com. The 2022 NCAA Rowing Championships is hosted by the University of Central Florida and Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy. The championship regatta will feature a live webcast online at NCAA.com.
  Teams will be scored based on placing in the Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ race as follows. Ties for team awards will be broken by the place finish in the eights. The top scoring team will be awarded the 2022 NCAA Division II national championship trophy:
 

Place	Varsity 8+	Varsity 4+
1st	18	12
2nd	15	10
3rd	12	8
4th	9	6
5th	6	4
6th	3	2

  Here is a look at the boat lineups for the Vikings at the 2022 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships. The Vikings will be debuting two new Vespoli shells during the championship regatta:
 

Varsity Eight	Varsity Four
Cox – Adele Houston	Cox – Claudia Webster
Stroke – Haley Moss	Stroke – Emma Clark
7 – Lindsey Froelich	3 – Paige Donner
6 – Morgan MacIntyre	2 – Reed Chesnek
5 – Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks	Bow – Kristina De Koster
4 – Maddie Bangasser
3 – Yuki Saburi
2 – Olivia Pells
Bow – Sarah Ernst

  Here is a look at the schedule for the NCAA II Rowing Championships event schedule that will be held over two days May 27-28 (Friday-Saturday) at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. The Grand Final for the eights and fours will consist of four boats each, with the petite final two boats:
 

Friday, May 27
Event	Time (ET/PT)	Lane Assignments
Varsity 8+ - Heat 1	11:24 am/8:24 am	2. Central Oklahoma 3. Mercyhurst 4. Seattle Pacific
Varsity 8+ - Heat 2	11:36 am/8:36 am	2. Embry-Riddle 3. Jefferson 4. Western Washington
Varsity 4+ - Heat 1	11:48 am/8:48 am	2. Seattle Pacific 3. Embry-Riddle 4. Jefferson
Varsity 4+ - Heat 2	12:00 pm/9:00 am	2. Western Washington 3. Central Oklahoma 4. Mercyhurst
Eights Repechage	5:24 pm/2:24 pm	TBD
Fours Repechage	5:36 pm/2:36 pm	TBD
Saturday, May 28
Fours Petite Final (Places 5-6)	11:00 am/8:00 am	TBD
Fours Grand Final (Places 1-4)	11:12 am/8:12 am	TBD
Eights Petite Final (Places 5-6)	11:48 am/8:48 am	TBD
Eights Grand Final (Places 1-4)	12:00 pm/9:00 am	TBD
Awards Ceremony	1:00 pm/10:00 am

  Here is a look at the national champion and runner-up from each of the 19 years that the NCAA Division II has crowned a national title dating back to 2002. WWU won seven consecutive national titles from 2005-11 and returned to the top of the podium in 2017.
 

YEAR	CHAMPION	POINTS	RUNNER-UP	POINTS	SITE
2021	Central Oklahoma	20	Mercyhurst	15	Sarasota, FL
2020	No Championship – COVID 19
2019	Central Oklahoma	30	Florida Tech	23	Indianapolis, IN
2018	Central Oklahoma	18	Western Washington	14	Sarasota, FL
2017	Western Washington	17	Central Oklahoma	16	West Windsor, NJ
2016	Barry	20	Central Oklahoma	15	Gold River, CA
2015	Barry	20	Mercyhurst	15	Gold River, CA
2014	Humboldt State	16	Nova Southeastern	15	Indianapolis, IN
2013	Nova Southeastern	20	Barry	15	Indianapolis, IN
2012	Humboldt State	20	Western Washington	13	West Windsor, NJ
2011	Western Washington	20	Mercyhurst	13	Gold River, CA
2010	Western Washington	20	Seattle Pacific	11	Gold River, CA
2009	Western Washington	18	Mercyhurst	13	Cherry Hill, CA
2008	Western Washington	20	UC San Diego	15	Gold River, CA
2007	Western Washington	20	UC San Diego	11	Knoxville, TN
2006	Western Washington	20	Barry	15	West Windsor, NJ
2005	Western Washington	20	Mercyhurst	12	Gold River, CA
2004	Mercyhurst	18	Humboldt State	17	Gold River, CA
2003	UC Davis	20	Western Washington	15	Indianapolis, IN
2002	UC Davis	50	Western Washington	45	Indianapolis

  WWU assistant coach Courtney Moeller will lead the Viking contingent in Florida. Moeller is in her seventh season as a full-time member of the coaching staff after a standout career that helped lead the Vikings to their first national championship as the stroke in the Varsity Four in 2005. Moeller also serves as the program director for Whatcom Rowing Association in Bellingham.
  The Western Washington University rowing program was well represented on the 2022 GNAC Women's Rowing Team. The GNAC champion Vikings had five first-team selections and three special award winners on the second edition of the all-conference awards after the sport was added by the GNAC in 2020. Senior Adele Houston was voted the Coxswain of the Year and was also a First Team All-GNAC selection. She was joined on the All-GNAC First Team by seniors Haley Moss and Maddie Bangasser, junior Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks and sophomore Morgan MacIntyre. WWU's five All-GNAC selections consisted of members of the Varsity 8+ lineup that won gold medals at the WIRA and GNAC Championships. Bangasser became a two-time selection also earning All-GNAC honors during the abbreviated 2021 season. Additionally, Sarah Ernst was selected as the GNAC Freshman of the Year rowing in the bow of the eight throughout her first collegiate season and 24th-year head coach John Fuchs was voted the Coach of the Year.
  The Varsity Eight continued its late-season surge by being selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Crew of the Week for the second consecutive week. The Vikings eight-oared entry in the Opening Day Regatta on Montlake Cut placed 2nd in the Cascade Cup behind the University of Washington second varsity boat. WWU finished in a time of 6:54.456 for a slight open-water advantage over Seattle Pacific University for the silver medal. Members of the crew included Adele Houston (coxswain), Lindsey Froelich, Morgan MacIntyre, Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks, Maddie Bangasser, Yuki Saburi, Olivia Pells, Sarah Ernst and Paige Donner. WWU earned a GNAC Crew of the Week award five times during the 2022 season:
 

Dates	GNAC Crew of the Week
Feb. 28-Mar. 6	Western Washington Varsity 8+
March 7-13	Cal Poly Humboldt Varsity 8+
March 21-27	Central Oklahoma Varsity 8+
March 28-April 3	Western Washington Varsity 4+
April 4-10	Western Washington Varsity 4+
April 11-17	Cal Poly Humboldt Varsity 4+
April 25-May 1	Western Washington Varsity 8+
May 2-8	Western Washington Varsity 8+

WWU had eight team members earn GNAC All-Academic honors in 2022, led by a 4.00 from Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks (Political Science) and by five rowers that earned their third GNAC All-Academic Award of their career, including seniors Maddie Bangasser, Lilly Bjork, Ella Brinkman, Kiana Doyle and Haley Moss. Ruhlin-Hicks and Bangasser were also selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 team.
  Western Washington University has combined for 11 team national championships, with rowing winning eight of those titles (2005-11, 2017). WWU also won team championships in 1998 (Softball, NAIA) and 2012 (Men's Basketball). Additionally, the women's basketball team (2022), Women's Soccer (2019) and Volleyball (2018) earned national runner-up honors in recent years.
  More information on the WWU Rowing program, including a details schedule, roster and quick facts can be found online at WWUVikings.com/RowViks and via social media on Twitter (@WWU_Rowing), Instagram (@wwuwomensrowing) and Facebook (@WWURowing).
  Led by head coach John Fuchs (24th season), WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won eight NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings won the 2017 NCAA II title, placed 2nd in 2018 and 3rd in 2019. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 18 of the last 21 seasons, taking home the gold (8 times) or silver (4 times) medal 12 times in the 19 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011. In 17 trips to the NCAA Rowing Championships dating back to 2002, WWU has had its Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ reach the grand finals every time. The Vikings added the 2022 GNAC Rowing Championships team and V8+ titles to its trophy case this season, in addition to the WIRA V8+ Gold Medal.