SARASOTA, F.L. – In their final race of the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships and the 2017-2018 season, the Mercyhurst Lakers pulled a win in the Petite Final against Barry University.

Mercyhurst took off in the first 500m with an aggressive start and continued to pull away through the second 500m. In the third 500m the Lakers dominated the race with open water between them and Barry and pushed into a sprint for the last 500m finishing with a time of 7:05.9. Barry finished second with 7:13.1.

Overall, Mercyhurst finished fifth in the eight, fourth in the four, and fourth as a team amongst DII competition. In the Grand Finals for DII, Western Washington took gold in the four with Central Oklahoma coming second and FIT third. In the eights, UCO (6:45.8) walked away with gold with UC San Diego (6:51.35) coming second, FIT (6:51.70) in third, and Western Washington (6:51.79) in fourth. Central Oklahoma took home the Team Championship title while Western Washington is this year's National Runner-up.

"This year's team had a lot of character and I am proud for them to finish their championship experience on a high note. The women's trust in their training and in their teammates brought them to a level no one else expected" said head coach Adrian Spracklen. "Thank you to the seniors who invested themselves in their team, and to all other coming back next year, prepare to make the 2019 even better."