• FALCON REGATTA RESULTS (pdf)   |    • VIDEO: SAMANTHA  KIMMEL
• VIDEO: VARSITY 8 RACE                   |    • VIDEO: VARSITY 4 RACE 
• VIDEO: OPEN 4 RACE

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific women's varsity eight crew defeated Western Washington to claim second place behind top-ranked Central Oklahoma, which won all three races Saturday in the inaugural Falcon Regatta on the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
 
UCO went wire-to-wire to win the featured race of eight-oared varsity crews. The Bronchos posted a speedy time of 6:30.3 over the 2,000-meter course that started in Lake Union. The boats raced westbound, traveling under the Fremont Bridge at the midway point before finishing on the north side of the SPU campus.
 
The Falcons broke free from Western at the 500-meter mark and finished with an open-water advantage with a second-place time of 6:42.0. The Vikings' third-place time was 6:47.3.

WATCH THE VARSITY EIGHT RACE


"It was a great race. We had three boats pretty even off the start and then Central Oklahoma surged ahead," described second-year SPU coach Andrew Derrick, who had high praise for his former team. He coached at Central Oklahoma from 2011-16.
 
"UCO just looks great, they look in top form. We were really fortunate to have them in our regatta. We tried to stay with them as they were inching away, but we were able to not totally break contact with them for a while. That helped us get up and out."
 
Out-racing perennial national title contender WWU for second place reversed the result from two weeks ago when the Vikings won by a boat length over SPU in the Husky Open, March 31 on the Montlake Cut.
 
 "Western was two lanes away so I'm not sure how much we knew exactly where they were today. I do know that the girls were excited for another chance to race them after the Husky Open," Derrick said.
 
"We talked about last time and just really tried to focus on the few parts of the race that we let them walk all over us. The girls did a great job of hanging tough, especially late in the race, which is where we struggled in the Husky Open."
 
SPU, in pursuit of its first NCAA Rowing Championships appearance since 2011, was ranked No. 7 in this week's Division II coaches poll topped by Central Oklahoma with WWU at No. 5. The Vikings are the defending national team champion and placed second in the varsity eight race won by Central Oklahoma at the 2017 NCAA regatta.
 
The Falcons varsity eight is directed by sophomore coxswain Jacqueline Kemp and includes Chloe Remley in the stroke seat along with rowers Kaitlin Dickinson, Gillian Edgar, Suzanne Stafford, Megan Chalfant, Samantha Kimmel, Natalie Beall and Amanda Larsen.

VIEW INTERVIEW WITH SAMANTHA KIMMEL

 
"I sure hope this gives them the confidence to know that we can race just about anyone. We just have to be our best," Derrick exclaimed. "The biggest thing is that it shows that we have the potential to qualify for the national championship and really put the program way back up on the map.
 
"But there's still a lot of racing to go and results going a different way in two weeks down in Sacramento can flip-flop it very quickly. We need to be ready to go at the WIRA Championships and then ready to go all the way out to Philadelphia for the Dad Vail Regatta."
 
Saturday morning's other two races were tight affairs with Central Oklahoma emerging victorious by less than a second in both. The winning time in the varsity four event was 7:21.4 and Western was second in 7:22.3. The Falcons were a distant third in 7:58.2.
 
Derrick was encouraged with the performance of all three of his crews.
 
"As far as the racing goes, I'm really excited. We definitely have a few things to still figure out.
 
"Our varsity four was struggling all week in practice so their race result was not totally surprising. But we showed that we've got some speed in the program and we've got to find some combinations."
 
The varsity four boat was steered by freshman coxswain Cecilia Krause with Gracie Hoidal, Hannah Hutchinson, Lakyn Coppedge and Brooklyn Liberato pulling oars.
 
WATCH THE VARSITY FOUR RACE


The first race of the day was for open fours and UCO clocked a winning time of 7:41.5. SPU was one-half second back in 7:42.0. The Vikings crossed the line several lengths back with a time of 7:55.7.
 
"That was a great race, less than a second," Derrick said of the close finish. "I would really like to see that boat learn to practice that hard and that would help up sort out the people in the right seats. But when push-came-to-shove and race day was on, they did a great job."
 
The Falcons open four, their second best four-oared boat, is coxed by former SPU soccer standout Simon Herzberg. The crew is comprised of rowers Alex Archambault, Haley Thompson, Madison Simmons and Jenafer Johanson.

WATCH THE OPEN FOUR RACE

 
Derrick was thrilled with maiden voyage of the Falcon Regatta and hopes it will become an annual affair.
 
"It was a huge success. We had hundreds of fans on the shore and it got really loud. It was so much fun to see and so cool that everyone can just wake up, roll down the hill and still be standing on campus to cheer us on."
 
The SPU crews will see Western Washington again in two weeks at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships in Gold River, California. That two-day regatta, which serves as the West Coach championships, is slated for April 28-29 on Lake Natoma.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
Falcon Regatta
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Lake Washington Ship Canal / Seattle, Wash.
(2,000-meter races)
 
RESULTS
Varsity Eight
1, Central Oklahoma, 6:30.3
2, Seattle Pacific, 6:42.0
3, Western Washington, 6:47.3
 
Varsity Four
1, Central Oklahoma, 7:21.4
2, Western Washington, 7:22.3
3, Seattle Pacific, 7:58.2
 
Open Four
1, Central Oklahoma, 7:41.5
2, Seattle Pacific, 7:42.0
3, Western Washington, 7:55.7
 
 
Seattle Pacific Boatings
Varsity eight:  cox–Jacqueline Kemp, stroke-Chloe Remley, 7-Kaitlin Dickinso, 6-Gillian Edgar, 5-Suzanne Stafford, 4-Megan Chalfant, 3-Samantha Kimmel, 2-Natalie Beall, bow-Amanda Larsen.
 
Varsity four:  cox–Cecilia Krause, stroke-Gracie Hoidal, 3-Hannah Hutchinson, 2-Lakyn Coppedge, bow-Booklyn Liberato.
 
Open four:  cox–Simone Herzberg, stroke-Alex Archambault, 3-Haley Thompson, 2-Madison Simmons, bow-Jenafer Johanson.
 
 
NEXT SPU REGATTA
Seattle Pacific at WIRA Championships
April 28-29, 2018
Lake Natoma / Gold River, Calif.