TACOMA, Wash. — A tough weekend of racing on the East Coast has earned the Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing team's varsity eight boat well deserved recognition at home, earning Northwest Crew of the Week accolades on Monday afternoon.

The Lutes varsity eight boat of Riah Heil, Makayla Hall, Hannah Miyasaki, Natalie Gregory, Kat Judd, Tate Trahan, Adia Carei, Kennadi Jones, and coxswain Louisa Compton competed in four races against some of the best crews in NCAA Division III on Lake Quinsigamond outside Worcester, Massachusetts. 
 
The Lutes opened the weekend on Saturday battling for the Barbara Grant Donahue Cup. PLU's varsity eight finished fourth in that race, clocking a season-best time of seven minutes, 4.5 seconds, finishing ahead of Clark University and Simmons University in a tough field that included second-ranked Williams College.

PLU closed the day by outlasting a fresh Mount Holyoke College varsity eight, edging the Lyons by almost five seconds, finishing the 2,000-meter race in 7:14.12. 
 
On Sunday, the Lutes placed fourth in 7:37, finishing behind boats from eighth-ranked Bates College, fourth-ranked Wellesley University, and host Worcester Polytechnical Institute. The PLU 1V8+ capped off the weekend with an 8.7-second win over Clark in the B Finals.

The Lutes gear up for the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Championship held on Saturday on Vancouver Lake outside Portland.