The Vikings are back on top. On Friday, May 29, on the 2,000 meters of Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia, top-ranked Western Washington powered to 30 points to win the 2026 NCAA Division II women’s rowing championship — sweeping both events to finish clear of Humboldt (20) and Seattle Pacific (17) and claim the program’s tenth national title, its first since 2024.
When the stakes are highest and the water is fastest, this is still the standard in DII rowing.
The most decorated program on the water
Make no mistake about who owns this sport. With this title, Western Washington now holds ten DII rowing championships — more than any school in the history of the event. That includes a staggering run of seven straight from 2005 to 2011, a stretch of dominance few programs in any sport ever touch. It’s also the tenth of fourteen national titles in WWU history across all sports — but rowing is where the Vikings have built their dynasty.
A clean sweep on a compressed stage
Inclement weather squeezed the whole regatta into a single Friday, heats and grand finals alike — and the No. 1 Vikings handled the chaos like champions, winning both the Varsity 8+ and the Varsity 4+ to lock up a perfect-looking points haul.
The Eight rallies home
Western’s eight-oared boat — steered by coxswain Janisa Cook and led by senior bow Lex Clark and GNAC co-rower of the year Taylor Wall — flew off the line to a three-second lead in the grand final. Humboldt and Seattle Pacific clawed back, trimming the margin to under a second by the 1,500-meter mark, but the Vikings dug in down the stretch and powered away to win by more than three seconds in 6:41.526.
The Four overcomes Humboldt
The Varsity 4+ had to chase. Cal Poly Humboldt had posted the fastest heat time by two seconds, but Western answered in the final — coxswain Malea Moy, sophomore stroke seat Isabelle Mullick and freshman Sofia Scicchitano grabbing a two-second lead in the opening 500 meters. Jefferson closed late, narrowing it to half a boat length, but the Vikings finished strong to win in 7:41.584 and complete the sweep.
Still the Vikings’ water
Ten banners. A record that stands alone in DII. A No. 1 team that proved it, sweeping both boats on an Olympic course against a stacked field. Western Washington came to Georgia chasing history and rowed away with it.
Go Vikings. 🚣 Fire up the champs and fuel their NIL on RallyFuel.
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