UW women finish third; WWU second in Division II

INDIANAPOLIS — Senior coxswain Anne Hessburg stepped off the makeshift dock at Eagle Creek Reservoir, her purple visor tucked low, her eyes down while she made her way across the gravel entryway.

As Washington's varsity rowers solemnly lifted their varsity-eight boat out of the water, Harvard celebrated a few feet away.

The dominance of the Huskies and Brown had ended.

Harvard captured the varsity-eight title on the way to winning the team competition yesterday in the finals of the NCAA women's rowing championships.

Harvard's victory in the final race, coupled with the Huskies' fourth-place finish, gave the Crimson 59 points. Defending team champion Brown was second at 57. The Huskies, who needed a first or second in the eight to win the team title, were third at 55.

In the Division II meet, Western placed second for the second straight year and earned runner-up finishes in both the varsity eight and varsity four. UC Davis won the team title.

Washington, NCAA champion in the varsity eight four times including the previous two, finished in 6 minutes, 30.07 seconds. That was 0.53 seconds behind third-place Stanford and well behind winner Harvard (6:26.92) and runner-up Michigan (6:28.58).

"I'm really proud of our performance," Hessburg said. "I thought we went out there and raced our hearts out.

"I'm overwhelmed with emotion right now, just finishing off four years of my rowing career. I was hoping for better than fourth, but I think we raced our hearts out."

For the first time in the seven years women's rowing has been an NCAA sport, the team title didn't go to Brown or Washington.

"It has been Brown and us, and I'd like to continue that way," Washington coach Jan Harville said. "But you don't see too many other sports where it's just one or two teams forever."

Harville, Harvard's Liz O'Leary and other coaches saw the end of the Washington-Brown domination in the team competition as evidence that more schools are reaching higher levels in women's crew.

"Look at who didn't make the final in the varsity eight," Harville said of Brown. "Look at all the schools that started programs in the last 10 years that are lining up here for awards. That's a huge change."

Washington won the petite final and was second in the junior-varsity eight. Harvard led halfway through the 2,000-meter varsity-eight final, and Michigan and Stanford pushed in front of Washington the third 500.

Western's varsity eight trailed UC Davis throughout the race. Its time of 6:56.60 was almost five seconds behind.

NCAA WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Eagle Creek, Indianapolis, Ind.

DIVISION I FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1, Harvard 59. 2, Brown 57. 3, Washington 55. 4, Michigan 51. 5, California 43. 6, Virginia 41. 7, Princeton 38. 8, Ohio State 38. 9, Stanford 33. 10, Yale 27. 11, Michigan State 16. 12, Washington State 10.

VARSITY EIGHT

Grand Final — 1, Harvard 6:26.92. 2, Michigan 6:28.58. 3, Stanford 6:29.54. 4, Washington 6:30.07. 5, Virginia 6:31.49. 6, USC 6:38.33.

Petite Final — 1, Brown 6:20.01. 2, Princeton 6:23.48. 3, Ohio State 6:23.95. 4, California 6:24.97. 5, Yale 6:26.13. 6, Texas 6:28.65.

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT

Grand Final — 1, Brown 6:35.03. 2, Washington 6:38.57. 3, California 6:39.67. 4, Princeton 6:41.99. 5, Harvard 6:42.43. 6, Ohio State 6:43.80.

Petite Final — 1, Virginia 6:38.28. 2, Yale 6:40.05. 3, Michigan 6:40.32. 4, Michigan State 6:40.92. 5, Washington State 6:43.58. 6, Stanford 6:45.60.

VARSITY FOUR

Grand Final — 1, Brown 7:18.83. 2, California 7:21.43. 3, Michigan 7:24.83. 4, Ohio State 7:30.02. 5, Yale 7:32.51. 6, Harvard 7:34.79.

Petite Final — 1, Washington 7:38.02. 2, Virginia 7:39.05. 3, Michigan State 7:40.01. 4, Washington State 7:43.04. 5, Princeton 7:45.09. 6, Stanford 7:56.00.

DIVISION II FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. UC-Davis 59; 2. Western Washington 57; 3. Mercyhurst 55; 4. Florida Institute of Technology 51.

FIRST VARSITY EIGHT

Petite Final — 1: Florida Institute of Technology, 07:07:87; 2: Rollins College, 07:09:92.

Final 1 — University of California, Davis, 06:51:74; 2: Western Washington, 06:56:60; 3: Humboldt State, 07:00:58; 4: Mercyhurst College, 07:11:03. University of California at Davis 6:51.74.

VARSITY FOUR

Final 1 — University of California, Davis, 07:47:03; 2: Western Washington, 07:59:42; 3: Mercyhurst College, 08:11:83.