Women's Varsity 8 Boat Finishes Sixth at NCAA Championships

2017 Jun 7

Rachelle Flowers was a member of the Wesleyan University women's Varsity 8 boat that competed in the V8 Grand Final at the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Rowing Championships, and finished sixth overall in the six-boat field.

Williams won the title with a time of 6:35.379, followed by Bates in second (6:37.652) and Wellesley in third (6:38.842). Rounding out the field was Ithaca in fourth (6:39.114), Rochester Institute of Technology in fifth (6:40.072), and Wesleyan in sixth (6:47.274).

Wesleyan reached the Grand Final by placing third overall in their first heat on Day 1 with a time of 6:33.806. It was good enough to place them in the Varsity 8 Repechage later in the day, in which the Cardinals led the whole way and won the event, earning a spot in the Grand Final with a mark of 6:42.191.

Wesleyan excelled once again in 2017, making its mark as one of the top programs in Division III as the Varsity 8 boat earned its second consecutive at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the national poll for most of the year, and won all three regattas they competed in during the fall, including the Head of the Charles and the Head of the Fish. Additionally, Wesleyan's Varsity 8 defeated Williams in its head-to-head matchup for the first time since 1999.