NSU’s women’s rowing team won its first NCAA Division II National Championship on June 2 in Indianapolis, beating Barry University in the varsity-4 and varsity-8 grand finals.
Though the team started strong by winning the varsity-4 race, Assistant Coach Rachel Sander said she went “back into jitters mode” when the varsity-8 race started, as winning would secure the championship.
“All the coaches were just thrilled realizing what had just been accomplished and that history had just been made,” Sander said of the varsity-8 win. “Realizing we were bringing the championship to NSU was pretty exhilarating.”
Sander said the win was the culmination of the senior athletes’ experiences, as they did not reach the championships their first year.
“Every year, they got better and better,” Sander said, “and to have that culmination of winning was kind of the end of their story of coming in and having their sights set on a goal and working away at it, regardless of the obstacles they had in front of them.”
