SARASOTA, Fla. – Competing in its sixth-straight NCAA Championship, No. 17 Washington State rowing finished 14th, as all three boats finished ahead of their seeds, Saturday at the final day of the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships held at Nathan Benderson Park under wet and windy conditions.

Finals competition was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was moved to Saturday afternoon due to inclement weather in the forecast. The Cougars competed in the semifinals Saturday morning before moving on to the finals Saturday day afternoon.

"The Cougs rocked it today; it was our best race of the season and you always hope that will happen at the NCAA Championships." WSU head coach Jane LaRiviere said. "This is a special group of seniors. They were determined, and our talented group of underclassmen responded"

"I'm super proud of all three boats for exceeding their seedings," LaRiviere added. "That is what you plan and prepare for, but ultimately the team has to believe. And they did that today."

Coming into the championships ranked second, California dethroned Washington to capture the national championship with 130 points, two more than the 2017 Champion, Washington. Stanford made it three Pac-12 schools in the top four, finishing fourth with 104 points, while Texas was third with 115. Virginia, also with 104 points, finished fifth, as Stanford finished higher in the varsity eight race. 

The Cougars finished with 57 points, just three behind Indiana in 13th and five ahead of Wisconsin in 15th, earning 14th for the second-straight year. WSU entered the championships ranked 17th in the country, seeded 15th in the varsity eight, 15th in the second varsity eight and 12th in the varsity four and finished 14th in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight and 11th in the varsity four, bettering its seed in each event.

The varsity four (coxswain-Chloe White, Jenna Kennedy, Renee Kemp, Grace Arnis, bow-Sophia Rogers)  was the only boat to advance to the A/B semifinals for a chance at the grand or petite finals. WSU raced in the second heat of the semifinal race against California, Texas, Yale, Stanford and Indiana, with the top-three advancing to the Grand Final and the others to the Petite Final. The Cougars came out right behind Stanford and Indiana, holding sixth-place. Stanford pulled away after the first 500 meters, while the Cougars held close to the Hoosiers throughout. WSU finished sixth with a time of 7:26.845, right behind Indiana in fifth at 7:26.260. Cal, Texas and Yale advanced to the Grand Final finishing first (7:03.710), second (7:10.008) and third (7:14.616), respectively. 

The crews returned in the afternoon to a rainy and windy course for their fourth races in less than 20 hours. The Cougar four jumped out to fifth early, challenging Indiana for fourth. By the 1,500-meter mark, Indiana held a four-second lead. WSU finished in fifth with a time of 7:25.947, four seconds behind Indiana with a time of 7:21.549 and eight seconds ahead of Iowa in at 7:33.197. With an 11th-place overall finish, the Cougars picked up 12 points. The 11th-place finish marked the varsity four's best finish since 2015 when it came in seventh.

The varsity eight (coxswain-Jenna Mangiagli, stroke- Emily Morrow, Jess Brougham, Lisa Gutfleisch, Lucie Weissova, Kamila Ondrackova, Ivy Elling Quaintance, Kristel Tohu, bow-Paige Danielson) competed in the second C/D semifinal for a chance at either the C Final (13th-18th) or D Final (19th-22nd). WSU raced against Brown, UCF, Navy and Rhode Island, as the top-three moved on to the C Final. Brown jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to finish first with a time of 6:38.881. WSU held off UCF for second with a time of 6:41.411, while UCF finished third with a time of 6:43.663.

In the afternoon, WSU got off to a slow start in the C Final, as it had its second shot of the day against Brown. WSU was fourth through 500 meters and third through 1,000 before catching Wisconsin at the 1,500-meter mark to place second in a time of 6:32.274, just three seconds behind Brown in first at 6:29.626. Wisconsin was third with a time of 6:34.924. The varsity eight picked up 27 points for WSU.

The second varsity eight (coxswain-Ellie Burg, stroke- Emily Thomson, Taija Thompson, Emma Gribbon, Jessica Norris, Rosalina Torcivia, Kateryna Maistrenko, Colombe de Rouvroy, bow-Jasmine Brake) also raced in its respective second C/D semifinal. WSU was pitted against Wisconsin, Northeastern, Rhode Island and Jacksonville. The Badgers jumped out to an early lead and remained there to take first and one of the spots in the C Final with a time of 6:45.172. The Cougars jumped out to second and remained there throughout the race to finish three seconds behind Wisconsin in a time of 6:48.422. Northeastern also advanced to the C Final, finishing third with a time of 6:57.327.

Following a delay due to an equipment issue for Wisconsin, WSU's second varsity eight took to the water for the C Final. WSU once again got off to a little bit of a slow start, jumping out to fourth in the six-boat race. The Cougars had moved to second by the 1,500-meter mark, right behind Wisconsin. The Badgers used a final push to take first with a time of 6:32.724, followed by the Cougars in at 6:34.977. USC was third with a time of 6:36.419. USC had previously defeated WSU in the second varsity eight at the Pac-12 Championships. WSU's second varsity eight earned 18 points for the finish.

This wraps up the 2018 rowing season, as WSU head coach, Jane LaRiviere, led Washington State to its 12th NCAA Championship in her 16-year tenure. 

2018 NCAA ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nathan Benderson Park – Sarasota, Fla.
May 25-27, 2018
Friday, May 25 – Day Two

Final Team Standings
1. California, 130
2. Washington, 128
3. Texas, 115
4. Stanford, 104
5. Virginia, 104
6. Ohio State, 101
7. Michigan, 95
8. Yale, 93
9. Princeton, 92
10. Brown, 70
11. Iowa, 69
12. Southern California, 67
13. Indiana, 60
14. Washington State, 57
15. Wisconsin, 52
16. Syracuse, 52
17. Navy, 31
18. Gonzaga, 30
19. Northeastern, 26
20. UCF, 22
21. Rhode Island, 14
22. Jacksonville, 6

Division I Eights
C/D Semifinals 2
1.    Brown, 6:38.881
2.    Washington State, 6:41.411
3.    UCF, 6:43.663
4.    Navy, 6:44.868
5.    Rhode Island, 6:56.811

C Final
13. Brown, 6:29.525
14. Washington State, 6:32.274
15. Wisconsin, 6:34.924
16. Syracuse, 6:36.499
17. Gonzaga, 6:42.241
18. UCF, 6:46.069

Washington State Varsity Eight Lineup
coxswain-Jenna Mangiagli 
stroke- Emily Morrow
7-Jess Brougham 
6- Lisa Gutfleisch 
5-Lucie Weissova
4- Kamila Ondrackova 
3- Ivy Elling Quaintance 
2- Kristel Tohu 
bow- Paige Danielson 

Division I Second Varsity Eights
C/D Semifinals 2
1.    Wisconsin, 6:45.172
2.    Washington State, 6:48.422
3.    Northeastern, 6:57.327
4.    Rhode Island, 7:08.812
5.    Jacksonville, 7:31.722

C Final
13. Wisconsin, 6:32.724
14. Washington State, 6:34.977
15. USC, 6:36.419
16. Indiana, 6:38.329
17. Northeastern, 6:46.379
18. Navy, 6:56.584

Washington State Second Varsity Eight Lineup 
coxswain- Ellie Burg 
stroke- Emily Thomson 
7-Taija Thompson 
6- Emma Gribbon 
5- Jessica Norris 
4- Rosalina Torcivia 
3- Kateryna Maistrenko 
2- Colombe de Rouvroy 
bow-Jasmine Brake

Division I Varsity Fours
A/B Semifinal 2
1.    California, 7:03.710
2.    Texas, 7:10.008
3.    Yale, 7:14.616
4.    Stanford, 7:17.881
5.    Indiana, 7:26.260
6.    Washington State, 7:26.845

Petite Final
7.    Virginia, 7:14.594
8.    Stanford, 7:19.281
9.    Brown, 7:20.449
10.    Indiana, 7:21.549
11.    Washington State, 7:25.947
12.    Iowa, 7:33.197

Washington State Varsity Four Lineup
coxswain-Chloe White
4- Jenna Kennedy 
3- Renee Kemp 
2-Grace Arnis 
bow-Sophia Rogers