• Covered Bridge Regatta schedule (pdf)
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SEATTLE –- Five Seattle Pacific crews will leave the state of Washington for the first time this season.

The Falcons visit Lowell, Oregon, just east of Eugene, for the 16th-annual Covered Bridge Regatta on Saturday, April 10. Many of the best collegiate crews from throughout the west are expected to compete.

SPU's five-boat fleet will row on the 2,000-meter Dexter Lake course. Racing begins at 7:25 a.m. with the first event involving a Falcons crew, the women's novice four, set to start several hours later, at 1:10 p.m. The final race for SPU is the women's varsity eight competition at 3:20 p.m. Among the 42 events on the schedule are numerous races for masters and juniors crews.

Spectators can watch the start of races from the causeway near the historic covered bridge that lends the event its name. Another excellent viewing location is from the Lowell Park marina at the finish area.

Rowing alongside SPU will be crews from Humboldt State, Lewis & Clark, Oregon, Pacific Lutheran, Portland State, San Diego State, Seattle University and Willamette.

The Falcons have boats entered in the women's varsity eight, varsity four and novice four competitions. The SPU men have crews in two separate varsity four races.


WE'RE NO. 5

Seattle Pacific' top women's boat is ranked No. 5 nationally in the among varsity eight crews in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) poll conducted by USRowing. The Falcons' lone eight-oared crew placed third in the varsity eight grand final at the 2009 NCAA Championships.


2009 COVERED BRIDGE RECAP

The Falcons thrived at last year's Covered Bridge Regatta, winning three races.

Team scores were compiled based on the competing school's finish in each race and the Falcons registered the second-highest total of 60 points. Humboldt State finished atop the team standings with 98 points. Willamette took third with 50 points and was followed by Lewis & Clark (16), Oregon (11) and Seattle University (3).

SPU had the fastest boat in the men's varsity four race, ending with a bit of open water ahead of runner-up Lewis & Clark's bow. SPU finished in 6-minutes, 56.97-seconds followed by Lewis & Clark in 6:59.29 and Humboldt State in 7:08.69.

The positions were reversed in the men's novice four event as Lewis & Clark posted a winning time of 7:15.50 followed by SPU in second at 7:22.61.

A pair of Falcons women's four-oared crews crossed the finish line first, including the varsity four that clocked a time of 8:14.53. SPU was an open water victor over Humboldt, which finished in 8:20.05.

SPU's most convincing winner was the second varsity four crew that was over 52 seconds faster than its nearest rival. The Falcons covered the 2,000-meter course in 8:19.54 and Humboldt was second in 9:12.19.

The Falcons finished a close second in the women's varsity eight competition. Willamette staged a five-seat win with a time of 7:16.37. SPU crossed the finish line second in 7:18.63, well ahead of the third-place time of 7:24.76 turned in by Pacific Lutheran.


RECAPPING LAST WEEK

Seattle Pacific parlayed an unexpected home-course advantage into wins in four of five races against crosstown rival Seattle University, Saturday (April 3) in the Raptor Cup on the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

SPU won all three women's races to record a 14-9 win in the team standings. The teams split the two men's events, giving the Redhawks a 7-6 edge in the team total.

The Falcons were scheduled to travel to Vancouver, Wash. for the annual National College Rowing Conference Invitational on Saturday. That regatta was canceled on Friday due to anticipated high winds and unpredictable water conditions on Vancouver Lake.

The SPU trailer was already loaded with SU's racing shells and the two Seattle schools decided to renew their dual series. The Raptor Cup had not been contested since 2002.

The Falcons women's varsity eight crew handily won with a time of 7:12.0. They crossed the line 51 seconds ahead of SU, which finished in 8:03.0.

SPU was a near 30-second victor in the women's varsity four competition with a winning time of 7:49.99. The Redhawks' second-place time was 8:19.56.

The novice fours staged the tightest women's race. The Falcons won by nine seconds, finishing in 8:25.87 to 8:34.95 for SU.

The fastest time of the day came in the men's novice four race that also produced the most lopsided margin. SPU completed the 2,000-meter course in 7:04.77 and the Redhawks finished in 8:14.64.

The one Seattle U victory came in the men's varsity four event. The Redhawks first-place time of 7:08.9 put them one boat-length ahead of SPU. The Falcons entered a lightweight four in the race that clocked a time of 7:11.84.


COACH JEFFERSON

SPU is in its 33rd season of intercollegiate crew competition, the 20th with Keith Jefferson at the helm. He took over the head coaching post prior to the 1990-91 season after serving as an assistant on the staff since 1987. Jefferson was an SPU oarsman from 1980 to 1983.

Last season, Jefferson directed the SPU women's eight to a bronze-medal performance at the NCAA Division II Championships.

Six rowers and sophomore coxswain Annie Mulder return from last year's bronze-medal varsity eight boat. The returning rowers are: Katie Degner, Katja Ibsen, Eleni Johnsen, Emily Pitts, Lacey Sheridan and Katy Stine.

On the men's side, SPU returns the bow pair from its varsity four crew that placed fourth at the 2009 Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference (NCRC) championships. Carter Swanson, now a senior, occupied the bow last season while sophomore David Peterson rowed in the No. 2 seat. Peterson will assume the stroke seat in the Falcons varsity eight boat and Swanson rows in the No. 7 position.


FIVE REGATTAS REMAINING

The Covered Bridge Regatta is the fourth of eight regattas on the 2010 schedule for the Seattle Pacific crews. The season concludes for the men at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, May 1-2 in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

The final regatta on the women's slate is the NCAA Championships, May 28-30, also on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova. The Falcons seek to make consecutive appearances in the NCAA Regatta for the first time in school history.

The SPU rowers visit Vancouver, Wash. next week for the annual National College Rowing Conference (NCRC) Championships on Vancouver Lake. The regatta is slated for Saturday, April 17.


2010 Covered Bridge Regatta Schedule (SPU races only)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Dexter Lake/Lowell, Oregon
(all races 2,000 meters)

1:10 p.m. -- Women's novice four
1:30 p.m. -- Women's varsity four
2:20 p.m. -- Men's varsity four (Final 1)
2:30 p.m. -- Men's varsity four (Final 2)
3:20 p.m. -- Women's varsity eight