• Day 2 - April 29 WIRA Results (pdf)

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – An unorthodox finish didn't affect the outcome for the Falcons first-year crew.

Seattle Pacific rowed to a silver-medal performance in the men's novice four event and the eighth-ranked varsity eight women finished fourth in their grand final race on Sunday at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships on Lake Natoma.

For the second straight day, the first-year Falcons men eclipsed their season-best time. They posted a mark of 7:00.5 in Saturday's novice four semifinal to improve their previous best by 16 seconds. During the grand final Sunday SPU shaved off another 11 seconds, completing the 2,000-meter course in 6-minutes, 48.8-seconds.

Orange Coast College was in front by two seats before the Falcons drew even at the midway mark. Those two leaders, with lengths of open water on the rest of the field, battled deck-to-deck until OCC reclaimed the lead with 250 meters to row.

While straining to make up the three-seat deficit, SPU had its momentum halted near the finish when an oar got stuck too long in the water, known as "catching a crab" in rowing terminology. A few out-of-rhythm strokes finally carried the Falcons across the finish line more than a boat length behind the Orange Coast crew, whose winning time was 6:44.1.

"It was rather dramatic racing for the men's novice four," described SPU coach Keith Jefferson. "Only a few feeble, disjointed strokes got them across the line finally, but it only really cost them a second or two and wasn't a factor in their placement at all.

"To have all this happen and still pull a 6:49 speaks well of the heart they showed."

Despite the mishap at the end, SPU still finished with open water in front of third-place Western Washington (6:54.0). Loyola Marymount was fourth (6:57.3) followed by UC Davis (7:03.2) and Saint Mary's (7:04.1).

The Falcons four continued a streak of top-two finishes in every race this season. They have registered three wins and four second-place efforts.

The women's varsity eight grand final race featured four of the nation's top-eight ranked crews in the NCAA Division II coaches poll.

Defending national champion Western Washington raced to an impressive winning time of 6:45.9. The second-ranked Vikings beat No. 1 Humboldt State (6:48.6) by a length. UC Santa Barbara was third (6:58.9) followed by SPU (7:06.8), Puget Sound (7:10.6) and No. 7 UC San Diego (7:12.6).

The near six-second gap ahead of San Diego solidified the Falcons position as the third-best Division II crew in the West.

"Obviously we wanted to be a little bit tighter with the other two, but our goal today was to finish well ahead of UCSD and we did that," Jefferson said.

Along with the nation's top four teams, two additional varsity eight crews receive at-large invitations to the NCAA Championships that are scheduled for May 25-27 in West Windsor, N.J.

The SPU women hope to make a convincing case to receive one of those at-large berths when they row against nearly all of the other contenders in two weeks.

The Seattle Pacific women's varsity eight and men's novice four crews will embark on a cross-country trek to Philadelphia for the 74th-annaul Dad Vail Regatta. The Falcons are expected to encounter most of East Coast and Southern rowing powers, May 11-12 on the Schuylkill River.

Jefferson said that the 2,400-mile trip will determine if his Falcons are worthy of a women's varsity eight NCAA invitation.

"At Dad Vail, rowing side-by-side with the other crews will really tell us quite frankly if we even deserve to go to the NCAAs. Those two at-large eight spots are up for grabs. Given that we've got quite a few crews in the running, we have to go out to Dad Vail and see if we can get a little bit closer to seven minutes."

The Falcons women came away with medals in their last two trips to Philadelphia. They collected the silver last spring after winning the bronze in 2010.

The men's novice four crew could mount the awards platform again in two weeks according to Jefferson.

"They're in good medal contention for Dad Vail. At this point in the season it's mostly the refinement stuff that we need to get out of novices, just rowing clean for more strokes. They seem to have the power and the application of power together."

SPU had a third crew competing at the WIRA Championships. On Saturday afternoon, the Falcons rowed in the petite final of the women's varsity four event and clocked a second-place time of 8:12.0. UC Santa Barbara won that race in 8:14.3.

NCAA ROWING
Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Lake Natoma/Gold River, Calif.
(2,000-meter races with SPU entries)

GRAND FINAL RESULTS

Men's Novice Four
1, Orange Coast, 6:44.1; 2, Seattle Pacific, 6:48.8; 3, Western Washington, 6:54.0; 4, Loyola Marymount, 6:57.3; 5, UC Davis, 7:03.2; 6, Saint Mary's, 7:04.1.

     SPU lineup: cox-Mackenzie Oscar, stroke-Thomas Taylor, 3-Matt Edel, 2-Emerson Morris, bow-Daniel Mudge.


Women's Varsity Eight
1, Western Washington, 6:45.9; 2, Humboldt State, 6:48.6; 3, UC Santa Barbara, 6:58.9; 4, Seattle Pacific, 7:06.8; 5, Puget Sound, 7:10.6; 6, UC San Diego, 7:12.6.

     SPU lineup: cox-Annie Mulder, stroke-Katy Stine, 7-Baylee O'Camb, 6-Rachel Murphy, 5-Samantha Storz, 4-Jacky Neumiller, 3-Emily Scrabeck, 2-Katarina Krueger, bow- Kindra Fish.