Joïe Zier, a junior at the University of Washington and an Orcas High School alum, took first place with her rowing team in the NCAA Women’s National Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida on May 30. Zier rows in the second seat of the UW 2nd Varsity eight. The team took the win after a gusty sprint in the last 300 meters of the race, coming from third position taking over Texas then Stanford by three seats.

The 2V win along with a UW Varsity 4 win set up a show-down finale between Texas, Stanford and UW for the team national championship. A 3-way points tie earned UW a team bronze after a 3rd place varsity finish and the tie-breaker set by the varsity boat finish order. Texas finished first with Stanford second. Prior to the NCAA Championships, Zier earned a PAC-12 Championship in the second seat of the 2V at Lake Natoma in Sacramento and won races against UCLA, USC, Washington State and Oregon State at Lake Las Vegas.