Oregon State women’s rowing won its second-consecutive West Coast Conference Championship on May 16, sweeping all eight races over two days at Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.
The victory highlights the team’s consistent performance and continued dominance in conference competition. Winning back-to-back championships underscores the athletes’ discipline and work ethic as they prepare for national events.
Director of Rowing Michael Eichler said, “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.” Eichler added, “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!”
During Saturday’s regatta, Lauren Garrett was named WCC Rower of the Year, Taylor Denger received Coxswain of the Year honors, and Eichler earned Coach of the Year recognition. Both Denger and Eichler have now won these awards two years in a row. Garrett joined Giulia Clerici, Charlotte Lightfoot, and Rhi Loughnan on the All-Conference team.
Racing began Friday with heats for both varsity four boats as well as first and second varsity eights; Oregon State advanced through each round with leading times. The Beavers’ time of 7:29.784 in one heat marked one of the fastest performances in conference history according to event broadcasts.
Oregon State has now claimed victory in all 16 individual boat races across its last two championship appearances. The team will await selection for nationals during an NCAA.com broadcast scheduled for May 19 at 2 p.m., with national racing set to take place May 29-31 at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia.
