It takes a powerfully efficient women's crew about five strokes and 20 seconds to sprint 100 meters. After 37 races by 31 teams in three days, that's the equation Yale needed Sunday at the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships.
Yale's late rally in the 2,000-meter varsity eight grand final overcame a surprising Stanford boat and allowed the Bulldogs to claim their second consecutive women's Division I varsity eight title at Lake Natoma in 6 minutes, 34.05 seconds.
Stanford (6:34.95) finished second in the regatta's concluding race at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. Brown (6:35.25) was third.
Brown, which won the second varsity eight and finished third in the varsity four, won its second consecutive team title and sixth in the 12 years of the NCAA competition with 67 points. Washington (59) finished second in the team standings and Cal (53) was third.
The Bears were top-seeded and their varsity eight boat included Elena Humphreys and Candice Rediger, who both attended Rio Americano High School. Cal (6:36.21) finished fourth in the varsity eight grand final.
The Bears' varsity grand final boat included four seniors.
"It was definitely our most aggressive race of the weekend," said Humphreys, a junior. "It was good for us; we went out with a bang, but it wasn't like we wanted to go out."
The varsity eight grand final, the last of 10 final-day races, began evenly with all six boats within one length early in the race.
"Brown and Yale have been battling it out all season; we lost to them twice," said Yale sophomore Mia Kanak. "So in the last 700 meters I was telling my girls, 'it's us and them. Don't let them do this to you again.' "
Washington assumed the first sustained but slim margin before Stanford powered to the front. The Cardinal finished third in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships but weren't awarded a team berth. Stanford's varsity eight boat competed as an at-large selection and rowed in the outside lane.
Stanford maintained its unexpected margin until Yale neared the conclusion of its strong sprint in lane 1.
"We knew it was going to be a very tight race," said Yale coach Will Porter, whose team also finished third in second varsity eights and sixth in the varsity four grand final. "We had to be patient and just keep working until we got an opening, and then we took advantage of it.
"We really had to fight down the entire course to get this. Stanford was upset about not being selected as a team. They went out and showed that on the water. As far we're concerned, we could have done a little more early, but we stayed composed through the middle so we could finish like we did."
In Division II competition, Western Washington dominated, winning the varsity eight by nearly 13 seconds in 6:53.20. UC San Diego (7:06.68) was second with Dowling (7:10.19) third.
Western Washington, which claimed its fourth consecutive team title, also captured the varsity four. UCSD was second with Nova Southeastern third.
