The Washington State University women's rowing team concluded racing at the Lake Natoma Invitational last Sunday morning in Gold River, Calif.

After finishing fifth among a nine-team field in competition Saturday, WSU was placed into Group B to compete against No. 10 Brown and Texas, Sunday morning. The Cougar team finished second in Group B with 13 points, just four points back to first-place Brown.

The Cougars'varsity four grabbed a first-place finish in Group B action, while WSU's varsity eight and second varsity eight each took second-place finishes in their Group B Finals.

"We raced well and finished this regatta strong," Head Coach Jane LaRiviere said at the conclusion of the regatta. "It was a tough field and we competed respectably in all events. We will move forward as a team and continue to improve."

After grabbing second-place finishes in both the morning and afternoon races during Saturday's competition, the Cougars' varsity eight (bow - Jennifer Hale, Hannah deVos, Allie Reilly, Liz England, Lisa Roman, Katie Dick, Emily Starkel, Kayla Wakulich, coxswain - Rachel Johnson) competed in the Group B Final Sunday morning against Brown and Texas. The Cougar eight clocked a time of 6:43.6, seven seconds back to Brown, and six seconds ahead of Texas. 

Washington State's second varsity eight (bow - Liana DeMaris, Elise Jones, Mollie McCabe, Alison Smith, Alex Waddell, Jess Munro, Sarah Powell, Kendall Boliba, coxswain - Heidi Kim) had a similar outcome, finishing the course in 6:55.29 for a second-place finish behind Brown in the Group B Final. However, the Cougars closed the gap on Brown from their previous race. After finishing seven seconds behind the Bears Saturday afternoon, WSU finished just five seconds back during Sunday morning's session.

The Cougars'varsity four (bow - Carly Johnson, Mickey Aylard, Gina Head, Ashlee Bonahoom, coxswain - Emily Boquet), after securing a first-place finish against Brown Saturday afternoon, garnered the top spot Sunday morning in the Group B Final over Brown and Texas. The varsity four finished in a time of 7:29.0, while Brown finished over eight seconds back and Texas finished nearly 19 seconds behind the Cougars.

In the novice eight event, WSU (bow - Johanna Walther, Andi Yoxsimer, Megan McDonald, Courtney Hammer, Carter Marks, Erin Schuster, Noel Christiansen, Kellen Srb, coxswain - Raeanne Marks) secured a second-place finish in Saturday's heat to qualify for the Grand Final Sunday morning. In the Grand Final the Cougars'eight finished in a time of 6:58.8, eight seconds ahead of Texas to secure a third-place finish behind No. 8 California and No. 11 Wisconsin.

The Cougar crew finished in second-place in Group B action with 13 points. Defending NCAA Team Champion, Brown, led Group B, finishing with 17 points. The WSU team returns to the Palouse to prepare for a dual meet with Gonzaga, scheduled for Saturday, April 21 at Silver Lake in Medical Lake, Wash. The time is to be determined.