GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Oregon State women’s rowing won its second-consecutive West Coast Conference Championship in dominant fashion, sweeping all eight races across a two-day regatta at Lake Natoma.
“A tremendous performance from all our racers. Coming in as the top seed, we knew the target was on our backs and the athletes leaned into that pressure. They are well aware that pressure is a privilege,” Director of Rowing Michael Eichler said. “It was a great day for Beaver Nation – winning a championship is hard and doing it back-to-back is a testament to the athletes’ work ethic, focus and discipline.
“The 2V4+ set the tone for each day by winning their race and every boat was buoyed by their performance and executed exceptionally well. On to Georgia!”
As part of Saturday’s regatta, it was also announced that Lauren Garrett was named WCC Rower of the Year, Taylor Denger was Coxswain of the Year and Eichler earned Coach of the Year honors. For Eichler and Denger, the awards were their second in as many seasons.
Garrett, along with Giulia Clerici, Charlotte Lightfoot and Rhi Loughnan were named to the All-Conference team.
Racing began Friday with two heats each of the first and second varsity four as well as the first and second varsity eight, the top three teams from each heat advancing into Saturday’s grand final.
Racing in lane one during the first heat of the entire championship, the Beaver 2V4 won race number one of the weekend, posting a 7:34.751 to finish ahead of Washington State, San Diego and Creighton early Friday morning. The momentum of that win carried into the first varsity four’s matchup with San Diego, Saint Mary’s, Creighton and Santa Clara, the top four winning OSU’s second race in two tries.
According to the broadcast, the Beavers’ 7:29.784 in the first heat of first varsity four racing was the ninth-fastest in West Coast Conference Championship history.
Oregon State’s second varsity eight then punched its ticket to the Grand Final with an open water victory over Saint Mary’s, San Diego, Santa Clara and Creighton, crossing the finish line 6:53.823, before Friday racing concluded with another first place finish for the Beaver varsity eight, who rowed all 2,000 meters in 6:44.329.
Saturday’s competition began with another victory from the second four, winning with a 7:40.990, setting up the first four, who raced the course in 7:28.395, some 14 seconds ahead of Washington State and 20 ahead of third place Gonzaga, scoring the team’s first points of the day.
Next up, in the second varsity eight final, OSU bested Washington State, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Portland and San Diego to make it five wins in five races.
With a conference championship on the line and needing to finish better than Washington State and Gonzaga in the first varsity eight, Oregon State’s top boat left no doubt with an open water victory, posting a 6:45.796 that was some nine seconds faster than San Diego and 10 ahead of WSU.
Including last season, Oregon State has now won all 16 of its individual boat races across two West Coast Conference Championship appearances.
The 2026 NCAA DI Rowing Championship selection show will air Tuesday, May 19 at 2 p.m. PT on NCAA.com, with racing slated for May 29-31 in Gainesville, Ga., at Lake Lanier.
Lineups and results:
1V8+: Taylor Denger (C), Lauren Garrett, Quincey Ludwig, Giulia Clerici, Rhi Loughnan, Margo Calub, Linda Weitmann, Ashtyn Miller, Charlotte Lightfoot
2V8+: Grace Sansoterra (C), Marta Orefice, Reese Wyatt, Ariana Sutter, Katie Myers, Zoe Eberle, Tulla Angeley, Taylor Jones, Madison Ezzell
1V4+: Maggie Waltz (C), Ugne Šakickaite, Mekenzie Schockelt, Eileen Fierke, Isabella Mitchell
2V4+: Róisín Kruse (C), Vivian Strayer, Sophia Capouleas, Madeleine Griebel, Kiana Bakhshaee
Results (2V4 Heat I / Friday 8:30 official)
1. Oregon State – 7:34.751
2. Washington State – 7:43.437
3. San Diego – 8:12.040
4. Creighton – 8:31.145
Results (1V4 Heat I / Friday 9:00 official)
1. Oregon State – 7:29.784
2. San Diego – 7:51.708
3. Saint Mary’s – 8:05.643
4. Creighton – 8:19.663
5. Santa Clara – 8:28.525
Results (2V8 Heat I / Friday 9:30 official)
1. Oregon State – 6:53.823
2. Saint Mary’s – 7:10.517
3. San Diego – 7:19.718
4. Santa Clara – 7:23.270
5. Creighton – 7:47.600
Results (1V8 Heat I / Friday 10:00 official)
1. Oregon State – 6:44.329
2. Gonzaga – 6:53.029
3. Washington State – 6:54.321
4. Santa Clara – 7:07.422
5. Creighton – 7:09.012
Results (2V4 Grand Final / Saturday 8:15 official)
1. Oregon State – 7:40.990
2. Washington State – 7:51.045
3. Gonzaga – 7:55.229
4. San Diego – 8:07.261
5. Portland – 8:11.881
6. Saint Mary’s – 8:16.046
Results (1V4 Grand Final / Saturday 8:45 official)
1. Oregon State – 7:28.395
2. Washington State – 7:42.794
3. Gonzaga – 7:48.102
4. San Diego – 7:55.687
5. Saint Mary’s – 8:05.026
6. Portland – 8:08.460
Results (2V8 Grand Final / Saturday 9:15 official)
1. Oregon State – 6:57.200
2. Washington State – 7:03.594
3. Gonzaga – 7:13.380
4. Saint Mary’s – 7:20.400
5. Portland – 7:21.584
6. San Diego – 7:24.263
Results (1V8 Grand Final / Saturday 9:45 official)
1. Oregon State – 6:45.796
2. San Diego – 6:54.345
3. Washington State – 6:55.096
4. Gonzaga – 6:58.317
5. Sacramento State – 7:02.294
6. Saint Mary’s – 7:14.570
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