SATURDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 26 & 27 --
WIRA Championships
Lake Natoma • Gold River, Calif. • 8:00 a.m.
 
A pair of Seattle Pacific four-oared crews travel to Gold River, Calif. this weekend to compete at the two-day Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships. The regatta takes place Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27 on Lake Natoma, where the Falcons collected the men's varsity four silver medal last spring.
 
Racing begins at 8 a.m. both days on the 2,000-meter course the finishes at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center.
 
The Falcons feature an entry in both the men's and women's varsity four races. The women's race is set for 8:10 a.m. on Saturday as the second of two heats. From lane 3, SPU races against UC San Diego, Humboldt State, Portland State, Oregon, Chico State and Willamette. The Falcons hope to earn a berth into Sunday's 8 a.m. grand final.
 
The SPU men's varsity four rows in the second of two heats on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The 2013 runner-up Falcons are slated to start in lane 2, racing alongside Pacific Lutheran, Arizona State, Oregon, Loyola Marymount, Long Beach State and Western Washington. The men's grand final is Sunday at 9:50 a.m.
 
Petite and third finals for both genders in the varsity four category will be contested on Saturday afternoon.
 
WHAT'S WIRA?
The Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) is a western regional organization with membership comprised of approximately 28 rowing programs at all division levels, and representing colleges and universities in five western states. WIRA includes nearly every rowing program in the West outside of the Pac-12 Conference.
 
2013 WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
Seattle Pacific had its five-regatta winning streak snapped on April 26, 2013 as UC Santa Barbara edged ahead at the finish line to win by a deck in the men's varsity four grand final of the WIRA Championships on Lake Natoma.
 
The Falcons covered the 2,000-meter course in 6 minutes, 47.8 seconds, just 0.4 behind UCSB's winning time of 6:47.4. Those two had an open-water lead over the rest of the varsity four championship field. Host Sacramento State placed third (6:51.9) followed by Loyola Marymount (6:52.1) Lewis & Clark (6:56.6) and UC San Diego (7:11.2).
 
The lead pack of three boats broke from the field. The Falcons were in that group, but trailed by a boat length near the midway point. They started to sprint a bit earlier than usual and overcame the deficit to claim a one-seat advantage with an impressive surge.
 
Santa Barbara's last stroke pushed them across the finish line first, putting SPU in the silver medal position. The Falcons' top four-oared men's crew had finished first in each of their first five regattas this season.
 
Another SPU men's crew participated in the WIRA lightweight fours race, finishing fourth with a time of 7:19.4. California recorded a winning time of 6:59.5, Puget Sound was second (7:04.6), Arizona State third (7:14.3) and Western Washington fifth (7:25.8).
 
The lone SPU women's entry on Sunday took part in the high-level varsity four competition. Western Washington crossed the finish line first in 7:41.7, Humboldt State was second in 7:43.0 and UC San Diego third in 7:44.6.
 
The Falcons fourth-place time of 7:46.8 placed them well ahead of Arizona State (7:53.6) and Long Beach State (7:55.7).
 
FORMIDABLE FOUR
Seattle Pacific's men's varsity four crew was victorious in three of four regattas this season, including dual-race wins at Pacific Lutheran (Mar. 22) and versus Seattle University (April 5) on the Lake Washington Ship Canal home course.
 
On Mar. 29 at the Blue Heron Redwood Sprints in Eureka, Calif., the Falcons four handily defeated crews from Cal Maritime and Humboldt State.
 
The Falcons four finished fourth in their last outing, on April 12 at the Covered Bridge Regatta in Lowell, Ore.
 
COACH JEFFERSON
Keith Jefferson is in his 24th year as head coach of the Falcons crews. 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 the Falcons varsity four men were silver medalists at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships and placed fourth at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
SPU women's crews finished third in the second varsity four event and sixth among varsity eights at the 2013 WIRA Championships.
 
In 2012, Jefferson directed the men's novice four crew to a silver-medal performance at the WIRA Championships. In 2011 he coached the SPU women's varsity eight crew to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships with the Falcons eight winning the petite final. The men's varsity four boat raced to victory in the 2011 WIRA event and the second varsity four won at the NCRC Championships.
 
In 2010 SPU placed second in the team standings at the NCAA Regatta as the varsity eight and varsity four each placed fourth in their respective events. At the 2009 NCAA Championships, the Falcons rowed to a third-place performance in the women's varsity eight grand final.
 
RETURNING ROWERS
Three rowers return from the SPU varsity four men's boat that won the silver medal at the 2013 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships. The returning rowers are: Daniel Mudge, Matt Edel and David Sowers.
 
On the women's side, the Falcons return a trio of rowers from the last year's women's varsity eight crew that placed sixth at WIRA. Back in the top boat Sarah Grace, Baylee O'Camb and Emma Bolton.
 
THE SCHEDULE
The WIRA Championship is the sixth of 10 potential regattas on the 2014 schedule for the Seattle Pacific crews. The season could conclude for the men at the Dad Vail Regatta on May 9-10 in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
The Falcons seek to return to the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships for the first time since 2011. The 2014 NCAA Regatta is schedule for May 30 – June 1 in Indianapolis, Ind.
 
NEXT REGATTA
The Seattle Pacific crews take part in the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference (NCRC) Championships on Saturday, May 3 on Dexter Lake in Lowell, Ore.
 
 
WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
(2,000-meter races with SPU entries only)
April 26-27, 2014
Lake Natoma/Gold River, Calif.
 
Saturday, April 26
8:00 a.m. –- Women's varsity four (2 heats)
8:20 a.m. -- Men's varsity four (2 heats)
2:20 p.m. – Men's varsity four (third final)
3:10 p.m. – Women's varsity four (third final)
4:20 p.m. –- Men's varsity four (petite final)
4:30 p.m. –- Women's varsity four (petite final)
 
Sunday, April 27
8:00 a.m. –- Women's varsity four (grand final)
9:50 a.m. – Men's varsity four (grand final)
 
 
SPU CREW LINEUPS
Women's Varsity Four
cox – Amy Dominguez (So./San Marcos, Calif.)
stroke – Anne Philpot (So./Owasso, Ok.)
3 – Baylee O'Camb (Sr./Rescue, Calif.)
2 – Sarah Grace (So./Kent, Wash.)
bow – Alexis Krueger (Fr./Bainbridge Island, Wash.)
 
 
Men's Varsity Four
cox – Cielo Prischak (So./Santa Barbara, Calif.)
stroke – Daniel Mudge (Jr./Vancouver, Wash.)
3 – Matt Edel (Sr./Portland, Ore.)
2 – David Sowers (Sr./Olympia, Wash.)
bow – Soren Stevenson (Fr./Grants Pass, Ore.)