SARASOTA. Fla. – Washington and California, the top two women's rowing teams in the Pac-12 and in the nation, battled down to the wire at the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships, finishing first and second in all three grand finals, but the Golden Bears won two out of those three to earn the national title.

Washington's second varsity eight, dominant throughout the weekend, won its grand final, but Cal took the varsity eight and the varsity four to earn the team crown with 130 points to the Huskies' 128. Texas (115 points) was third and another Pac-12 team, Stanford (104), earned fourth place.

"What a great team effort," UW head coach Yasmin Farooq said. "Every single boat stepped up in the final. The varsity laid down a blistering start and threw down the gauntlet after finishing behind Cal in the semi. For both of those crews to face one another twice in the same day at the national championship made it an epic race. Congrats to Cal for a fantastic win. We definitely threw everything we had at them."

"The varsity four and the varsity eight were both such good races," said UW senior Karle Pittsinger, the four-seat in the second varsity eight. "It was a testament to some great racing with Cal and all of the boats. It's great to see how competitive the NCAA Championships are, and there's no doubt in my mind that we poured every bit out there today."

Due to a storm headed towards the Gulf Coast, the entire schedule of finals was moved from Sunday to Saturday, meaning that all of the teams rowed both in semifinals in the morning and finals in the afternoon.

After an early morning of semifinal races, it became clear that the championship would likely come down to the two old rivals, as Cal and the UW dominated the semis and, along with Texas, were two of only three teams to send all three of their boats to grand finals.

It was also apparent that the winner of the varsity eight grand final, which was run before the 2V8 and the V4, would be very difficult to overtake, thanks to the higher number of points given to the top race and to the likelihood that the two teams would finish in the top-two spots in all three finals.

In that varsity eight race, Washington rowed aggressively and held the lead as the two boats crossed the 500 and 1,000-meter marks. But Cal made its move in the third 500 and crossed the finish line in 6:14.857, ahead of Washington's time of 6:16.535.

Washington gave itself a chance at the team title when the second varsity eight earned the most comfortable victory of any of the finals. The UW boat, coxed by Marley Avritt and stroked by Brooke Pierson, went wire-to-wire and won in 6:21.081, more than six seconds ahead of Cal (6:27.201).

"The 2V simply dominated the weekend," Farooq said. "That group has been pushing the varsity eight all year, and it was really wonderful to see them get to spread their wings here and become national champions."

Heading into the varsity four final, Washington needed to finish two or more spots higher than Cal to win the title, as even a Husky win with the Bears second would result in a tie in the points, which would favor the Bears thanks to their higher finish in the varsity eight.

Very early on, Cal set took a narrow lead, but by 500 meters, the Huskies had drawn even as the two boats raced side-by-side nearly the whole way. While the outcome with regard to first and second was in doubt throughout, it was also clear that the UW and Cal would again finish in the top two spots, ruling out the possibility of UW winning the overall crown.

In the end, the Bears won the race with a blistering time of 7:00.798. Washington was second in 7:01.626. Both times were faster than the NCAA Regatta record of 7:07.103, set last year by the Huskies.

"The varsity fours race is one of the best races I have ever seen at the NCAAs," Farooq said. "Those women rowed out of their minds. It was the final race of the regatta and they were literally stroke for stroke with Cal for the final 1,500 meters of that race. They gave the finish-line crowd the best show of the day.

"I'm so proud of this team and what they have accomplished this year," Farooq concluded. "We worked hard for this finish and it really makes you appreciate everything it takes to win a team national championship."

Earlier in the day, Washington finished second to Cal in its varsity eight semifinal, crossing the finish line 1.2 seconds behind the Golden Bears. Meanwhile, the Huskies raced to clear, open-water victories in the second varsity eight and varsity four semis.

The Huskies added to their legacy of NCAA successes with their 22nd straight top-10 finish (in 22 all-time NCAA Championship regattas), their fourth runner-up finish, their 11th top-four and their 13th boat championship (in the second varsity eight).

WASHINGTON'S NCAA LINEUPS

VARSITY 8+ (I EIGHTS)
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Phoebe Marks-Nicholes (Sr., Seattle, Wash./Ballard)
Stroke: Chiara Ondoli (Sr., Angera, Italy)
7: Elise Beuke (Jr., Sequim, Wash./Sequim)
6: Marlee Blue (Jr., Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
5: Sofia Asoumanaki (Fr., Athens, Greece)
4: Brooke Mooney (Sr., Peru, Vt./Vermont Academy)
3: Tabea Schendekehl (So., Dortmund, Germany)
2: Valentina Iseppi (So., Gardone Riviera, Italy)
Bow: Anna Thornton (Jr., Nottingham, U.K.)

SECOND VARSITY 8+ (II EIGHTS)
Shell: Jean LaFramboise
Cox: Marley Avritt (So., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Brooke Pierson (Sr., Oak Harbor, Wash./West Potomac (Va.))
7: Katy Gillingham (Jr., Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
6: Carmela Pappalardo (So., Salerno, Italy)
5: Karle Pittsinger (Sr., Lake Chelan, Wash./Lake Chelan)
4: Julia Paulsen (Sr., Seattle, Wash./The Bush School)
3: Jennifer Wren (Jr., Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet)
2: Jessica Thoennes (Sr., Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista)
Bow: Calina Schanze (Jr., Behlendorf, Germany)

VARSITY 4+ (FOURS)
Shell: Erin O'Connell '96
Stroke: Anna Porteous (Sr., Kingston upon Thames, U.K.)
3: Sara Clark (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar)
2: Klara Grube (Fr., Lübeck, Germany)
Bow: Skylar Jacobson (So., Lakewood, Wash./Steilacoom)
Cox: Madison Mariani (Jr., Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si)

UW's All-Time NCAA Team Finishes
2018: 2nd
2017: 1st
2016: 5th
2015: 4th
2014: 7th
2013: 6th
2012: 7th
2011: 8th
2010: 10th
2009: 7th
2008: 2nd
2007: 10th
2006: 7th
2005: 9th
2004: 5th
2003: 3rd
2002: 2nd
2001: 1st
2000: 2nd
1999: 3rd
1998: 1st
1997: 1st

UW's All-Time NCAA Event Champions

Fours (stroke to bow, coxswain)

1999 (Erin Becht, Anna Mickelson, Kara Nykrein, Kellie Schenk, Mary Whipple)
2000 (Lauren Estevenin, Carrie Stasiak, Heidi Hurn, Adrienne Hunter, Anne Heisburg)
2001 (Margherita Pallottino, Yvonne Stenken, Kattie Baurichter, Teegan Simonson, Maili Barber)
2008 (Rachel Powers, Jennifer Park, Charlene Franklin, Adrienne Martelli, Maggie Cheek)
2017 (Valentina Iseppi, Valerie Vogt, Julia Paulsen, Sophia Baker, Marley Avritt)

Second Eights (coxswain, stroke to bow)
2002 (Anne Hessburg, Jenni Vesnaver, Jessica Harm, Shannon Oates, Erin Becht, Sanda Hangan, Margherita Pallottino, Erin Curry, Mandy Nelson)
2017 (Isabella Corriere, Marlee Blue, Margaret Phillips, Carmela Pappalardo, Phoebe Spoors, Karle Pittsinger, Bella Chilczuk, Anna Thornton, Calina Schanze)
2018 (Marley Avritt, Brooke Pierson, Katy Gillingham, Carmela Pappalardo, Karle Pittsinger, Julie Paulsen, Jennifer Wren, Jessica Thoennes, Calina Schanze)

First Eights (coxswain, stroke to bow)
1997 (Alida Purves, Sabina Telenska, Denni Nessler, Kelly Horton, Katy Dunnet, Annie Christie, Jan Williamson, Tristine Glick, Kari Green)
1998 (Missy Collins, Sabina Telenska, Denni Nessler, Kelly Horton, Katy Dunnet, Annie Christie, Rachel Dunnet, Vanessa Tavalero, Kari Green)
2001 (Mary Whipple, Lauren Estevenin, Nicole Borges, Anna Mickelson, Rika Geyser, Adrienne Hunter, Carrie Stasiak, Nicole Rogers, Annabel Ritchie)
2002 (Mary Whipple, Lauren Estevenin, Annabel Ritchie, Anna Mickelson, Heidi Hurn, Adrienne Hunter, Carrie Stasiak, Kara Nykreim, Yvonneke Stenken)
2017 (Phoebe Marks-Nicholes, Chiara Ondoli, Elise Beuke, Brooke Pierson, Katy Gillingham, Brooke Mooney, Tabea Schendekehl, Jessica Thoennes, Annemieke Schanze)

All-Time NCAA Rowing Team Championships
Brown – 7
Washington – 4
California – 4
Ohio State – 3
Virginia – 2
Stanford – 1
Harvard – 1

All-Time NCAA Rowing Event (V8+, 2V8+, V4+) Championships
Brown – 14
Washington – 13
Virginia – 9
California – 7
Ohio State – 6
Yale – 4
Princeton – 3
Michigan – 2
Stanford – 2
Clemson – 1
Harvard – 1
Minnesota – 1
USC – 1

UW's Pre-NCAA (NCRC) Women's National Championships

Varsity Eight*
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1987
1988
* V8+ winner was considered national champion prior to NCAA regatta

Junior Varsity Eight
1981
1982
1983
1987
1989
1994

Varsity Four
1987