Cougs fourth in NCAA rowing

With just 500 meters remaining in the varsity 8 grand final, it looked as if Washington State’s chance at fourth place had passed.

That’s when the Cougars kicked it into gear.

WSU stormed ahead of Ohio State, the team the Cougars needed to beat in the day’s final race to ensure a fourth-place team finish, in the final quarter of the race to finish fourth in both the race and the final standings at the NCAA Women’s Crew Championships in West Windsor, N.J.

WSU finished the 2,000-meter course in 6 minutes, 48.07 seconds, over a second ahead of Ohio State (6:49.32), to finish with 52 team points, beating OSU – which also had 52 points – in a tie-breaker for fourth, the best finish in WSU history.

Cal took the team title, winning a tiebreaker with Brown after both finished with 66 points.

Washington took seventh with 33 points, keeping the team’s streak of top-10 finishes intact. UW is one of only three schools to have finished in the top 10 every year since the NCAA began sponsoring women’s rowing in 1997.

•Western Washington swept all four of its races to win its second straight NCAA II title in West Windsor, N.J.