The Washington women's rowing team's postseason success continued today as four Huskies earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association first-team All-American and
Yasmin Farooq was named Division I National Coach of the Year, the CRCA announced.
Elise Beuke,
Katy Gillingham,
Brooke Pierson and
Karle Pittsinger – all underclassmen from the state of Washington – earned All-America.
In her first season, Farooq led Washington to the first-ever sweep at the 21-year old NCAA Championships, where the UW won all three grand finals to earn the program's fourth-ever NCAA crown. Farooq, who also won the title as coach at Stanford in 2009, was the first coach ever to win at two different schools, and the first to win in her first season in charge of the winning team.
Farooq, a 2014 inductee into the National Rowing Foundation Hall of Fame (thanks also in part to having twice served as the U.S. Olympic Team coxswain), was also the CRCA Coach of the Year in 2009.
She shared the Division I Coaching Staff Award with assistants
Josh Gautreau,
Melisa Ongun,
Colin Sykes and
Haley Yeager.
Beuke, a sophomore from Sequim, Wash., rowed in the seven seat in the Huskies' varsity eight. As a freshman in 2016, she earned a third-place finish at NCAAs as part of the UW's second eight. Gillingham, a sophomore from Seattle, rowed in the five seat in the UW's champion varsity eight. The Holy Names Academy graduate was the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in 2016.
Pierson is a junior from Oak Harbor, Wash. She was the six-seat in the Husky varsity eight in 2017 after having rowed in the NCAA third-place second eight in 2016. Pittsinger, from Lake Chelan, Wash., competed in the Washington second varsity eight at NCAA Championships as the four-seat rower.
Beuke, Pierson and Pittsinger (as well as junior
Jessica Thoennes) are all currently competing at the U.S. National Team Under-23 Selection Camp.