PORTLAND, Ore. – A league-high 12 Seattle Pacific student-athletes, including a trio of third-time honorees, were recognized for their scholastic excellence when the 2022 women's rowing All-Academic Team was announced Friday by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
 

SPU boasted more academic honorees than any other school. Central Oklahoma was the runner-up with 11 selections.
 
Five Falcons featured lofty grade point averages above 3.75, led by the 3.93 of Nicole Svoboda. The graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching had the fourth-highest GPA among conference competitors. She is a product of La Quinta (Calif.) High School.
 
 

A total of 19 student-athletes were honored by the GNAC for the second time and seven of those were from SPU. Three of those Falcons garnered conference academic acclaim for the third time: LeeAnn Arrington (Empire, Okla.), Jennifer Hoag (Normandy Park, Wash./Seattle Christian HS) and Danielle Johnson (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson HS).
 
Earning scholastic accolades for the second season from SPU were Svoboda, Jacinta Grandel (Palmer, Alaska), Macie Leach (Chico, Calif.) and Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS).
 
 

This is the third season the GNAC has sponsored rowing. A total of 39 student-athletes were named to the 2022 GNAC Rowing Academic Team.
 
The GNAC All-Academic Team recognizes excellence in the classroom while committing to the rigor of being part of a collegiate athletic program. Nominees must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or greater and must be in their second season at the current institution.
 
 

Three student-athletes from SPU's renowned nursing program were honored, including Elise Arkills (Tacoma, Wash./Curtis HS), Hoag and Leach.
 
Arkills is one of the Falcons' five first-year selections. She is joined on that list by Summer Frank (Rocklin, Calif.), Kalais Samuelson (Beaverton, Ore.), Sophie Sandahl (Coupeville, Wash./Oak Harbor HS) and Bella Sangston (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS).
 
Six of the Falcons academic honorees are graduates of high schools in the state of Washington.
 
Seventeen student-athletes from the Falcons 33-person roster were not eligible due to their first-year status.

JENNIFER HOAG INTERVIEW

The third-ranked Seattle Pacific rowing team returns to action this weekend at the WIRA Championships. The two-day regatta, conducted by the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association, takes place Saturday and Sunday on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.
 
Falcons on the 2022 GNAC Women's Rowing Academic Team
 
Name                    Academic Major              Year   GPA    Hometown
Elise Arkills           Nursing                      So.   3.47   Tacoma, WA
LeeAnn Arrington*       English                      Sr.   3.91   Empire, OK
Summer Frank            Special Education            So.   3.36   Rocklin, CA
Jacinta Grandel*        Apparel Design               Jr.   3.46   Palmer, AK
Jennifer Hoag*          Nursing                      Sr.   3.34   Normandy Park, WA
Danielle Johnson*       Mechanical Engineering       Sr.   3.82   Mill Creek, WA
Macie Leach*            Nursing                      Jr.   3.79   Chico, CA
Kalais Samuelson        Psychology                   Jr.   3.82   Beaverton, OR
Sophie Sandahl          Art History/Visual Studies   Jr.   3.55   Coupeville, WA
Bella Sangston          Psychology                   So.   3.63   Bellevue, WA
Nicole Svoboda*         Master of Arts in Teaching   Gr.   3.93   La Quinta, CA
Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza*  Chemistry                    Sr.   3.39   Vancouver, WA
 
      * repeat member of academic team