• DAD VAIL RESULTS

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Seattle Pacific's varsity eight crew rowed to a second-place performance in Friday's heats to earn a berth into the grand final championship race at the Dad Vail Regatta on the Schuylkill River.
 
The Falcons top boat is their only crew that traveled across the country to participate in the historic, 80th-annual rowing event. First contested in 1934, the Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate regatta in North America, with over 100 colleges and Universities from the U.S. and Canada participating.
 
Seeded fourth in the eight-boat field for NCAA Division II eight-oared crews, SPU battled top seed Barry down the entire length of the 2,000-meter course before finishing five seats back in second place.
 
The Falcons were not flustered despite having to re-start the race. All four crews got off the line, but the race was immediately halted and the crews called back. They turned around and, after the next race want off, aligned back into the starting blocks to begin again.
 
"What I've gathered is that Barry jumped the start" second-year SPU coach Andrew Derrick explained. "There was some confusion with the horn and light system here. It made a preliminary sort of noise before the beep went off the horn, and it was an unintentional go.
 
"Our crew handled the re-start really well and it maybe even helped them because they put down two pretty good starts in a row."
 
Barry, from Miami Shores, Florida, broke in front early and gained a three-quarter length lead before SPU challenged that deficit. The Falcons closed the gap to just one seat by the 1,500-meter mark before Barry sprinted to the finish line, crossing in 6-minutes, 46.60-seconds.
 
SPU's second place time of 6:49.03 was the fourth-fastest overall among the heat competitors. Regatta host, Jefferson, placed third in 6:58.89 and Assumption was fourth at 7:07.73.
 
"They went out there and really got after it. They did a great job really hanging right there with Barry for the whole course," said Derrick. "They really deserve to take some confidence from this. They flew a long way and using borrowed equipment can always be a little nerve-wracking. But they did a great job and are really showing that they can hang with some of the best teams in the country for Division II."
 
Second-seeded UC San Diego won the other heat in 6:45.65, followed by Mercyhurst (6:46.35), Humboldt State (6:52.30) and Nova Southeastern (7:04.84).
 
The grand final for Division II varsity eights is slated for Saturday at 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time. The field features heat winners Barry and UC San Diego along with Seattle Pacific, Jefferson, Mercyhurst and Humboldt State.
 
The Falcons varsity eight is directed by sophomore coxswain Jacqueline Kemp. Chloe Remley occupies the stroke seat alongside rowers Kaitlin Dickinson, Gillian Edgar, Suzanne Stafford, Natalie Beall, Samantha Kimmel, Megan Chalfant and Amanda Larsen.
 
That crew likely needs to be one of the first two across the finish line in Saturday's grand final to keep alive its hopes of an NCAA Championships invitation. SPU has not participated at the national regatta since 2011.
 
"Tomorrow is going to be quite a race. There are a lot of teams that are all going to be neck-and-neck and there's only a couple (NCAA) spots to go around. It's going to be great racing."
 
The national championship field will be comprised of four teams, each of them required to field one boat of eight rowers and one boat of four rowers. In addition, two at-large crews from institutions not represented in the team competition are selected to compete for the varsity eight championship.
 
SPU is out of the running for the team competition as its four-oared entry is ranked too low. But the Falcons are still in contention to receive an invitation for their top crew.
 
The 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships will take place May 25-27 in Sarasota, Florida.
 
"They've got a lot to be proud of," Derrick said of his top crew. "Whether we accomplish all of our goals tomorrow or not, they've just done an incredible amount in a very short time. We have four novices in the boat and the other four are second-year rowers. I'm incredibly proud of them."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
Dad Vail Regatta
Friday, May 11, 2018
Schuylkill River / Philadelphia, Pa.
(2,000-meter races)
 
RESULTS
 
Division II Varsity Eight
Heat I
1, Barry, 6:46.60
2, Seattle Pacific, 6:49.03
3, Jefferson, 6:58.89
4, Assumption, 7:07.73
 
Heat II
1, UC San Diego, 6:45.65
2, Mercyhurst, 6:46.35
3, Humboldt State, 6:52.30
4, Nova Southeastern, 7:04.84
 
      SPU varsity eight lineup:  cox–Jacqueline Kemp, stroke-Chloe Remley, 7-Kaitlin Dickinson, 6-Gillian Edgar, 5-Suzanne Stafford, 4-Natalie Beall, 3-Samantha Kimmel, 2-Megan Chalfant, bow-Amanda Larsen.
 
 
SATURDAY, MAY 12 SCHEDULE (SPU race only)
 
1:20 p.m. PDT – NCAA Division II varsity eight grand final
(Barry, UC San Diego, Mercyhurst, Seattle Pacific, Humboldt State, Jefferson)