After coming into the race ranked No. 14 overall, the UW women rowers defied expectations by advancing all their boats to the finals.

“Nobody expected us to come here and be the number two team in the nation,” said coach Bob Ernst.

Despite the low expectations, the women’s crew boats had some outstanding performances at NCAA’s Women’s Rowing Championships held in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

The varsity eight boat finished fifth, but the women’s four boat won its event, and the JV eight finished third. These finishes were enough to earn the UW 59 points and a second place finish overall, the Dawgs’ best finish since 2002.

“We were fourth best in the Pac-10s and second best in the country,” Ernst said. “You have to give the players a lot of credit for that.”

After a battle with Virginia, UW varsity fours were able to complete an undefeated season and win a national title. The UW led for the first 1,000 meters, but Virginia took a small lead slightly after the halfway point.

“For a while there, we were down, but I think that each of us in the boat knew that we had enough in us to eke out a win and cross the finish line first,” said junior Rachel Powers.

The team rallied and recaptured the lead with 100 meters to go, winning by two seats. The win was the UW’s fourth NCAA four-person boat title.

The varsity eight race was very close, as Yale and Stanford were neck-and-neck the whole way. With 250 meters to go, Yale surged to take the race, becoming the first back-to-back varsity eight winner since the UW managed the same feat in 2001 and 2002.

“The season had a lot of ups and downs,” sophomore Kayleigh Mack said. “It was really hard, but we pulled together as a team, and I am very happy about it.”

The UW displayed a huge improvement at the NCAA meet, after finishing a disappointing fourth place in the Pac-10 finals on the same course last week.

“After [the] Pac-10s, none of us were sure if we were going to be invited to the NCAA,” Powers said. “Once we got the invitation, we made a collective decision that we were going to show everyone that we belonged there. Winning the second place trophy is incredible. I’m so proud of all the girls on our team.”