BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The tradition continues for the Western Washington University women’s rowing program.

For the 17th time in the last 18 years, the Vikings will compete for the NCAA Division II national title at the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida. The three-day regatta will be held May 25-27 at Nathan Benderson Park with the University of Central Florida and the Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Association serving as hosts. Teams from NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III will be part of the three-day event that will crown national champions each level.

“We are honored to be selected and it is a pretty big accomplishment for us this year,” said 20th-year head coach John Fuchs. “We will do our best to represent.”

WWU was selected as the At-Large team in the four-team regatta for the 2018 championships, with Central Oklahoma (West), Florida Tech (South) and Mercyhurst (East) claiming the three spots dedicated to the regions that make up NCAA Division II rowing. Western won the 2017 NCAA II Championships team title, the eighth national championship in program history, beating Central Oklahoma by one point, 17-16.

WWU’s late-season surge included a strong performance at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships April 28-29 in Gold River, California to help solidify the at-large team bid.

Racing at the NCAA Championships is set to begin on Friday, May 25 with the Division II heats in the eights and fours scheduled to begin at 11:24 am ET/8:24 am PT. Each of the four teams selected to the championships will race an eight and four-oared boat, while UC San Diego and Barry also had their eights selected to participate in the championships. More information on the NCAA Rowing Championships can be found via the official regatta information page provided by host University of Central Florida.

In addition to WWU’s national championship in 2017 with a one-point victory over Central Oklahoma, the Vikings won seven consecutive titles from 2005-2011.