The Bulldogs came to the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships with an undefeated dual race season and a boatload of confidence, and left with a gold medal in the Division I first varsity eight final. Yale made program history on Melton Hill Lake in Oakridge, Tenn., with it’s first-ever NCAA Championships event win.

Senior coxswain Emily Cleveland described crossing the finish line as one of the most rewarding moments of her life. “My teammates and I worked so hard for four years towards that common goal, winning a national championship, that it was almost unbelievable actually to have done it,” said Cleveland.

“Coming into NCAAs, we had the confidence of just having won Eastern Sprints,” said senior Rachel Jeffers, team captain and stroke seat of the varsity eight. Jeffers is also a two-time All-American and won bronze in the U.S. women’s four at the 2006 World Championships. “We didn’t know exactly what to expect. We just came in thinking let’s go as fast as we can from point A to point B. I think that worked well for us.”

After winning the second heat and semifinal, the Yale crew was focused and relaxed. “We don’t have an elaborate race plan; there are no secrets to what we do,” said Head Coach Will Porter. “Our known tendency is to get off the mark quickly. In every single race of the year, this crew led.”

Every single race until the grand final of the national championships, that is. A port-side bobble in the fifth stroke allowed the other crews to jump ahead at the start and put extra pressure on the Yale eight to play catch-up.

“We didn’t have the best start,” said Jeffers. “It was like, heads up-okay, now we’re going, let’s do this.”

“It didn’t work out quite the way we planned and practiced,” Cleveland said. “But everyone immediately ratcheted up the focus for the next stroke and recommitted to getting our bow out front.”

In the last 500 meters of the race, Ohio State made a strong push, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the surging Yale crew. The Bulldogs crossed the line three seats ahead, clocking a 6:37.08 and claiming their title. Ohio State finished second in a 6:38.77, followed by a close race for third between Southern California (6:39.45) and Brown (6:39.55). Virginia clocked a 6:41.50, almost a length ahead of Princeton (6:45.38).

In his 10th year at Yale and eighth season as varsity women’s head coach, Porter couldn’t have hoped for a more successful conclusion for this year’s team.

“It was pretty much a dream season,” said Porter. “The high points just kind of kept building upon themselves with this crew. We beat some pretty tough teams. Princeton, Brown, and Harvard were some of the toughest competition for us. I’m very proud of them. Going undefeated and winning the national championship is hard to do; they put their mark in history.”