Saturday, May 31
West Windsor, N.J.
5:00 AM PT
University of Washington
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Alika Jenner
UW Advances All Three Crews To NCAA Grand Finals
May 31, 2025 | Women's Rowing
WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The No. 3-ranked Washington women's rowing team had all three of its crews earn a spot in Sunday's grand finals, finishing in the top three of each of its semifinals Saturday, on day two of the NCAA Championships at Mercer Lake.
Washington was one of four programs to qualify for all three grand finals, alongside Stanford, Texas and Yale. One of those four will almost certainly win the NCAA Championship tomorrow.
Saturday's entire schedule was moved up a couple of hours and the time between races was shortened to try and avoid windy conditions that were anticipated later in the day. In fact, after the UW had completed its three semifinals, there was a weather stoppage.
Washington opened the morning with its I Eights semifinal, featuring a stacked field that included No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Texas.
Princeton, rowing from one of the outside lanes, was the very early leader over top-seeded Stanford, but by 500 meters, the Cardinal had moved to the front, followed by the Tigers and Texas, with Washington fourth. At 1,000 meters, Texas had moved in front of Princeton, with UW still fourth.
After the halfway point, Washington surged past Princeton and into a qualifying spot in third. Both the Huskies and Longhorns maintained contact with undefeated Stanford in the third 500.
Down the stretch, those top-three crews were comfortable in their places, with Rutgers moving past Princeton into fourth, but never really challenging UW.
Stanford won the race on 6:03.543 with Texas a little over four seconds behind. UW was another 2.6 seconds back of the Longhorns in third, nearly a length ahead of Rutgers.
Yale, Tennessee and Brown moved through to the grand final from the other I Eights semi.
Next, Washington competed in the second of the II Eights semifinals, with Princeton once again taking the early lead and with Washington in fourth at 500 meters, behind also Yale and Harvard.
In the second 500, Yale and UW also picked up the pace, with the Huskies crossing 1,000 meters in second place. At 1,500, the top-three remained the same, with Princeton leading the Huskies and Bulldogs.
In the final portion of the course, Princeton, UW and Yale were well ahead of the rest of the field and rowed to the finish in that order. Princeton won in 6:13.135, just over three seconds in front of the Huskies.
Stanford, Texas and Virginia finished in the top-three spots in the other II Eights semifinal.
Washington wrapped up the morning with the first of two A/B semifinals in the Fours. Yale led that race after 500 meters, but in the second 500, Washington had moved to the front of the pack.
Washington held off Yale and won its fours semifinal in a time of 7:00.329, about a half of a length ahead of the Bulldogs. Rutgers was third.
Texas, Stanford and Tennessee finished in the top-three spots in the other fours semifinal.
Here is the schedule (subject to change) for Sunday's grand finals, where the top six places in each event are determined. The NCAA champion is determined by a weighted points system that gives 22 points for first place in the fours, 44 in the II Eights and 66 in the I Eights, with decreasing points of one, two and three, respectively, for each place after first:
Note: UPDATED Sat. night at 5:00 p.m.
5:08 a.m. PT – Fours Grand Final
Entrants: Washington, Yale, Rutgers, Texas, Stanford, Tennessee
5:24 a.m. PT – II Eights Grand Final
Entrants: Stanford, Texas, Virginia, Princeton, Washington, Yale
5:40 a.m. PT – I Eights Grand Final
Entrants: Yale, Tennessee, Brown, Stanford, Texas, Washington
WASHINGTON LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Izzy Michaelson (Mukilteo, Wash.)
Stroke: Megan Lee (Natick, Mass.)
7: Sally Jones (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
6: Jess Weir (London, England, U.K.)
5: Sophie Houston (Sydney, Australia)
4: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
3: Cillian Mullen (Tacoma, Wash.)
2: Chloe Sheppard (Tewkesbury, England, U.K.)
Bow: Aisha Rocek (Como, Italy)
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Kit Green
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga.)
Stroke: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash.)
7: Olivia Hay (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Evan Park (Bend, Ore.)
5: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif.)
4: Emma Waters (Galway, Ireland)
3: Leah Nash (Chatham, Mass.)
2: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand)
Bow: Marilou Duvernay-Tardif (St. Jean-Baptiste, Que., Canada)
Varsity Four
Shell: Paula Mitchell
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke: Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga.)
3: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C. Canada)
2: Madeleine Parker (Napier, New Zealand)
Bow: Violet Holbrow Brooksbank (Monmouth, Wales, U.K.)
Washington was one of four programs to qualify for all three grand finals, alongside Stanford, Texas and Yale. One of those four will almost certainly win the NCAA Championship tomorrow.
Saturday's entire schedule was moved up a couple of hours and the time between races was shortened to try and avoid windy conditions that were anticipated later in the day. In fact, after the UW had completed its three semifinals, there was a weather stoppage.
Washington opened the morning with its I Eights semifinal, featuring a stacked field that included No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Texas.
Princeton, rowing from one of the outside lanes, was the very early leader over top-seeded Stanford, but by 500 meters, the Cardinal had moved to the front, followed by the Tigers and Texas, with Washington fourth. At 1,000 meters, Texas had moved in front of Princeton, with UW still fourth.
After the halfway point, Washington surged past Princeton and into a qualifying spot in third. Both the Huskies and Longhorns maintained contact with undefeated Stanford in the third 500.
Down the stretch, those top-three crews were comfortable in their places, with Rutgers moving past Princeton into fourth, but never really challenging UW.
Stanford won the race on 6:03.543 with Texas a little over four seconds behind. UW was another 2.6 seconds back of the Longhorns in third, nearly a length ahead of Rutgers.
Yale, Tennessee and Brown moved through to the grand final from the other I Eights semi.
Next, Washington competed in the second of the II Eights semifinals, with Princeton once again taking the early lead and with Washington in fourth at 500 meters, behind also Yale and Harvard.
In the second 500, Yale and UW also picked up the pace, with the Huskies crossing 1,000 meters in second place. At 1,500, the top-three remained the same, with Princeton leading the Huskies and Bulldogs.
In the final portion of the course, Princeton, UW and Yale were well ahead of the rest of the field and rowed to the finish in that order. Princeton won in 6:13.135, just over three seconds in front of the Huskies.
Stanford, Texas and Virginia finished in the top-three spots in the other II Eights semifinal.
Washington wrapped up the morning with the first of two A/B semifinals in the Fours. Yale led that race after 500 meters, but in the second 500, Washington had moved to the front of the pack.
Washington held off Yale and won its fours semifinal in a time of 7:00.329, about a half of a length ahead of the Bulldogs. Rutgers was third.
Texas, Stanford and Tennessee finished in the top-three spots in the other fours semifinal.
Here is the schedule (subject to change) for Sunday's grand finals, where the top six places in each event are determined. The NCAA champion is determined by a weighted points system that gives 22 points for first place in the fours, 44 in the II Eights and 66 in the I Eights, with decreasing points of one, two and three, respectively, for each place after first:
Note: UPDATED Sat. night at 5:00 p.m.
5:08 a.m. PT – Fours Grand Final
Entrants: Washington, Yale, Rutgers, Texas, Stanford, Tennessee
5:24 a.m. PT – II Eights Grand Final
Entrants: Stanford, Texas, Virginia, Princeton, Washington, Yale
5:40 a.m. PT – I Eights Grand Final
Entrants: Yale, Tennessee, Brown, Stanford, Texas, Washington
WASHINGTON LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Izzy Michaelson (Mukilteo, Wash.)
Stroke: Megan Lee (Natick, Mass.)
7: Sally Jones (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
6: Jess Weir (London, England, U.K.)
5: Sophie Houston (Sydney, Australia)
4: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
3: Cillian Mullen (Tacoma, Wash.)
2: Chloe Sheppard (Tewkesbury, England, U.K.)
Bow: Aisha Rocek (Como, Italy)
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: Kit Green
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga.)
Stroke: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash.)
7: Olivia Hay (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Evan Park (Bend, Ore.)
5: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif.)
4: Emma Waters (Galway, Ireland)
3: Leah Nash (Chatham, Mass.)
2: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand)
Bow: Marilou Duvernay-Tardif (St. Jean-Baptiste, Que., Canada)
Varsity Four
Shell: Paula Mitchell
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke: Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga.)
3: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C. Canada)
2: Madeleine Parker (Napier, New Zealand)
Bow: Violet Holbrow Brooksbank (Monmouth, Wales, U.K.)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
COX
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
COX
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
COX
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
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