A week after commencement, Yale women’s crew ended its season with a disappointing 11th place finish at the NCAA championship this weekend.

Although each of Yale’s boats made it to the semifinals, none made it to the Grand Final to race for the championship. The first varsity boat had competed in the Grand Final for the four years preceding this one, finishing in first place each of those years. After failing to qualify for a spot in the Grand Final by four seconds, the first varsity boat rowed well in the Petit Final, earning a second place finish.

The second varsity eight and the varsity four each finished sixth in their petit finals.

Overall, the Yale team earned 42 points, putting it in 11th place out of 16 teams. Brown won the championship with 85 points, edging out second place Stanford, also with 85 points, with a close victory in the first varsity race. Brown’s first varsity beat Stanford’s by only five one-hundredths of a second.

The Bulldogs did better at the Eastern Sprints on May 15th, with all three boats making their grand finals. The first varsity boat placed fourth, the second varsity placed second, and the varsity four placed third. This strong performance helped the team qualify for the NCAA competition.

Clarification: June 1, 2011

An earlier headline for this article stated that Yale women’s crew was the “defending champion.” It was the first varsity boat of Yale that was the defending champion.