• RESULTS
       • VIDEO: Danielle  Johnson
       • PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific placed third in the featured women's race Sunday morning, trailing only two crews from event host University of Washington at the 40th-annual Head of the Lake Regatta.
 
The three-mile (4,800-meter) head races started in Lake Union and proceeded east through the Montlake Cut with teams taking off in intervals, one-after-another.
 
Two other Falcons crews competed with their No. 2 boat racing to a runner-up result in the women's second varsity eight competition. That race was also won by a Husky crew.
 
SPU's third entry, comprised of seven novice competitors along with one experienced rower and a veteran coxswain, made its maiden voyage. The Falcons finished sixth in the race for third varsity crews.

DANIELLE JOHNSON INTERVIEW
 
"It was a great morning of racing," said Andrew Derrick, who begins his fourth season as SPU head coach. "We definitely made some mistakes and didn't necessarily take our best strokes. But we were aggressive and now we have a good starting point and some things to work on.
 
"We're excited to see what we can do over the next several months of winter training."
 
Varsity Eight Recap
 

For the second straight year Seattle Pacific's top crew was the leading non-NCAA Division I finisher in the collegiate races. The Division II Falcons clocked a time of 18-minutes, 8.99-seconds in the championship eight event.
 
Only a pair of crews from national champion Washington bested SPU. The Huskies' varsity boat finished first in 17:04.77 and their second varsity was second in 17:22.88.
 
SPU had a healthy 30-second margin ahead of fourth-place Portland, a Division I competitor. The Pilots time was 18:39.46.
 
Pacific Lutheran placed fifth (18:58.22), Seattle University sixth (19:22.01) and UC Davis seventh (20.01.67).
 
SPU started one spot behind its scheduled starting position after arriving late to the queue.
 
"If we're not watching our clocks really well, we can get a little left behind and it's hard to catch up in the chute," Derrick described about the varsity eight boat's delayed start.
 
"They actually didn't have a great race, but the margins were a little improved from last year which is encouraging. They got a little rattled by starting out of order and that threw them off, which they need to be able to overcome. But Roxy Ruther did a great job so some of the impressive margins that they had is thanks to the coxswain."
 
Second Varsity Recap
The Falcons No. 2 boat replicated last year's second-place performance at the Head of the Lake, but this time raced up a level. They competed in the race for second varsity eights.
 
Washington was a convincing winner with a time of 18:04.60. SPU was a distant second in 18:48.64, but well ahead of the rest of the field.
 
Coxed by LeeAnn Arrington, the Falcons were assigned the fourth, and last starting position, and needed to pass two crews en route to the second-place showing.
 
"I was really pleased with the second varsity, but not surprised. That's a good group and it was fun to see them race today," said Derrick.
 
"I'm really excited to see some of those athletes who were novices last year kind of step up this fall. I'm really happy for them to get some of that positive feedback."
 
Portland posted a third-place time of 19:27.49 and a club crew from Washington State was fourth in 20:37.07.
 
Third Varsity Recap
 

A group of 13 novices just joined the team a couple weeks ago. Many of them had no prior experience in the sport and just recently learned how to row.
 
Coach Derrick sent seven of those novices out on the water in third varsity boat, seeking to help them gain experience. Only veteran coxswain Cecilia Krause and No. 6 seat Katy Beth Smith were included to steady the shell.
 
"We had one experienced rower and an experienced coxswain in there and they did a great job of providing some stability and some leadership. I wouldn't say that the novice group stuck to the race plan per se, but they got strokes underneath their belt. They've got a lot more race experience than they did yesterday, so we're going to keep moving forward.
 
"That group raced with less than 10 days on the water and we know that they have a really high ceiling and really high potential."
 
That predominantly novice entry finished a distant sixth in the six-boat field with a time of 22:53.14.
 
British Columbia was the leading third varsity crew with a winning time of 18:15.00. Western Washington crews finished two-three with times of 18:49.93 and 19:18.58. Pacific Lutheran placed fourth (21:17.11) and Seattle University fifth (21:50.80).
 
Head Racing Details
Instead of traditional Olympic-style racing, with boats lining up side-by-side on a 2,000-meter course, Sunday utilized a head race format, covering more than double that distance (4,800 meters).
 
Head races are time trials, processional events that start with boats in a single-file line with a rolling start at 15-second intervals. Passing is allowed and the order of finish is determined by each crews' elapsed time from start to finish.
 
The course started in the northeast corner of Lake Union heading east beneath the University Bridge. Crews rowed into Portage Bay and through the Montlake Cut to Lake Washington where the course took a sharp turn back toward Husky Stadium and UW's Conibear Shellhouse.
 
Ideal Conditions
Sunday morning's weather was wonderful, sunny with temperatures in the high 40s and a slight breeze.
 
"Having good water and good weather in our sport is always a huge factor. It's great for athlete attitudes and all of that," Derrick said.
 
"But the reality is, it's great to take away the factors that can be used as excuses. It makes for more accurate results as we compare times. Everyone had great water and there wasn't a big shift in winds or anything like that."
 
Up Next for SPU Rowers
The SPU women will complete the early portion of the 2019-20 schedule on Saturday, Nov. 9 with a scrimmage against Seattle University. Racing will take place in the morning on the Lake Washington Ship Canal that runs along the north edge of the SPU campus.
 
The primary collegiate rowing season is in the spring and the Falcons will announce that schedule when it is finalized.
 
NCAA ROWING
Head of the Lake Regatta
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Montlake Cut / Seattle, Wash.
(3-mile course from Lake Union into Lake Washington)
 
WOMEN'S RESULTS (SPU races only)
 
Championship Eight
1, Washington 1V, 17:04.77
2, Washington 2V, 17:22.88
3, Seattle Pacific 1V, 18:08.99
4, Portland 1V, 18:39.46
5, Pacific Lutheran 1V, 18:58.22
6, Seattle University 1V, 19:22.02
7, UC Davis 1V, 20:01.67
 
       SPU Varsity lineup:  cox–Roxy Ruther, stroke-Megan Chalfant, 7-Gillian Edgar, 6-Chloe Remley, 5-Shelby Janes, 4-Julienne Renne, 3-Suzanne Stafford, 2-Jennifer Hoag, bow-Kaitlin Dickinson.
 
Collegiate Second Varsity Eight
1, Washington 3V, 18:04.60
2, Seattle Pacific 2V, 18:48.64
3, Portland 1V, 19:27.49
4, Washington State club, 20:37.07
 
       SPU Second Varsity lineup:  cox–LeeAnn Arrington, stroke-Amanda Larsen, 7-Samantha Kimmel, 6-Brooklyn Liberato, 5-Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate, 4-Anna White, 3-Haley Thompson, 2-Danielle Johnson, bow-Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza.
 
Collegiate Third Varsity Eight
1, British Columbia 1V, 18:15.00
2, Western Washington 1V, 18:49.93
3, Western Washington 2V, 19:18.58
4, Pacific Lutheran 2V, 21:17.11
5, Seattle University 2V, 21:50.80
5, Seattle Pacific 3V, 22:53.14
 
       SPU Third Varsity lineup:  cox–Cecilia Krause, stroke-Emma Chilcote, 7-Lydia Huizenga, 6-Katy Beth Smith, 5-Kalais Samuelson, 4-Macie Leach, 3-Rachel Hollenbeak, 2-Kendal Tillett, bow-Katie Honsinger.