The Washington women’s rowing team won its second consecutive Big Ten Conference championship on May 17, taking first place in six of seven grand finals. The Huskies finished ahead of Rutgers and Ohio State in overall points at the regatta held in Indianapolis.
This victory marks Washington’s continued success since joining the conference, as they became only the second program to sweep all seven grand finals last year. This year, they narrowly missed repeating that achievement by finishing second in one event but still secured the team title with a total of 350 points.
“We didn’t come here to defend a championship — we came here to make every one of our boats go as fast as possible, recognizing there would be strong competition to help drive us,” said Yasmin Farooq, head coach for Washington. “Winning six of seven events and earning a second-place finish in the seventh reflects the depth and competitiveness of this team. I’m beyond proud of all seven performances.”
Jess Weir, who rowed in the varsity eight boat, said: “We did exactly what we wanted to do today. After the heat, we figured out what we needed to do in order to take that next step, and make a statement. We definitely implemented it in today’s racing. The boat atmosphere was electric and all of us had a blast coming down the course. The next step is NCAA’s and this weekend helped prepare us for some competitive racing.” Senior Jordan Freer also reflected on her experience: “It was an incredible day to be a Washington rower and to get to watch our teammates succeed and push the level of racing across all categories today… When you’re surrounded by people who you believe to be capable of absolutely anything, you begin to believe the same of yourself and everything becomes possible – and you want to give it all to one another.” Freer added: “I am so grateful for this team and the privilege it has been to race four conference championships with Washington… Nothing we have achieved this season would have been possible without the work of absolutely every member of this team for every moment of the year… With them, anything is.”
Farooq said about her team’s approach: “With so many new people on the roster this year, our focus from day one was development — not just how we row, but who we are and why we row… Alum Blake Nordstrom’s philosophy of ‘Extend Yourself’ has been at the heart of our approach, and this team lived it daily.” She continued: “I’m especially proud of how our upperclassmen embraced the freshmen, and how the freshmen stepped fully into our culture… Today’s results reflect the collective commitment of this group.”
As Big Ten champions, Washington secured an automatic berth into their 29th consecutive NCAA Championships appearance later this month at Lake Lanier in Gainesville. Six Huskies were named All-Big Ten selections across first- or second-team honors while Margaret Young received recognition for sportsmanship.
