NCAA rowing: Huskies claim women’s national championship with perfect score

The Washington women have returned to the top of the collegiate rowing world as the top-ranked Huskies swept all three grand finals to win the NCAA Championship in Indianapolis on Sunday.

Washington scored the maximum 132 points to earn the overall title. Texas and Michigan came in second and third, the Longhorns with 125 points and the Wolverines with 119.

Two years ago at Mercer Lake in New Jersey, the Huskies became the first team to sweep all three NCAA finals and two years later, have done it again. Additionally, the Huskies broke the NCAA Regatta record in all three race categories, breaking their own record in the fours.

The victory was the fifth in NCAA rowing championship in UW history, and the12th overall, including seven national titles from the era prior to the NCAA regatta. It was also the Huskies’ second crown in the three-year tenure of coach Yasmin Farooq, who won it in 2017, her first year on Montlake. She also won the NCAA regatta as Stanford’s coach in 2009.

Gonzaga finished 20th.

At the Division II championships, also in Indianapolis, Western Washington placed third.

The eight-time national champions were led by a runner-up finish from the Varsity Four. The Vikings scored 22 team points. Central Oklahoma won the championship with a perfect score of 30 and Florida Tech was second with 23 points.