• VIDEO: JENNIFER  HOAG

SUNDAY, MARCH 24
WSU Regatta, 9:00 a.m.
Wawawai Landing / Colton, Wash.
 
SEATTLE – A massive challenge awaits the Seattle Pacific rowers, who travel across the state to compete in a five-team regatta hosted by Washington State University on Sunday, March 24. Racing begins at 9 a.m. at the Wawawai Landing course on the Snake River.
 
The Falcons are the only NCAA Division II competitors in a field that features four high-caliber Division I teams. Joining SPU and host WSU are Gonzaga, Oregon State and Loyola Marymount. The regatta was originally scheduled for Spokane, Wash., but was moved due to prolonged winter weather conditions.
 
Three Seattle Pacific crews will compete, with one of them racing twice.
 
FALCONS FLEET
SPU's top boat will race at 11:15 a.m. against varsity eights from all four other schools. Washington State is ranked 15th nationally and Oregon State is 21st in the NCAA Division I rankings. The Falcons are the seventh-ranked crew in Division II.
 
Seven crew members return from last season's varsity eight, including junior coxswain Jacqueline Kemp. The six veteran rowers are Chloe Remley, Gillian Edgar, Suzanne Stafford, Megan Chalfant, Brooklyn Liberato and Kaitlin Dickinson.
 
Two different coxswains will direct SPU's second varsity crew, which will race twice. Returning sophomore Cecilia Krause will cox the crew in the first race, at 10:15 a.m., versus opposing third-varsity boats.
 
The second varsity races at noon against novice boats from Gonzaga, Oregon State and WSU with freshman LeeAnn Arrington at the helm. Emily Geringer will assume the bow seat, replacing Lakyn Coppedge, who rows in the first race.
 
The Falcons varsity four makes its 2019 debut under the direction of coxswain Roxy Ruther. The quartet of rowers are Amanda Larsen, Samantha Kimmel, Jenifer Hoag and Talia Ferguson.
 
SPU's four races at 11:30 p.m. versus LMU and two Gonzaga crews.
 

QUOTING COACH ANDREW DERRICK
"The goal is to race really fast teams and to race them well. We want our team to come off the water and know that they have learned how to push themselves a little bit harder.
 
"The goal may not be to put our bow ball across the line first, these are really good teams. That might not be the barometer of success. We talked a lot about how to measure success this weekend, both in terms of margins and in terms of individual accomplishments. We're excited to see what we can do.
 
"It's a high pressure situation against probably the best teams we're going to face all season. Now some of our Division two rivals don't seem maybe quite as scary when we're facing some really good competition from the West Coast Conference and Pac-12 Conference.
 
"It's a venue we've never been to, we've never raced at. I think that there's a huge amount of growth opportunity."
 
DIRECTIONS TO WAWAWAI LANDING
From Highway 195 (North or South), turn west on Wawawai Road at the blinking yellow light...travel on Wawawai Road for 10 miles, the road will end at a stop sign...turn right and drive six miles down into the canyon...go past the county park on the right and over the railroad tracks...the boathouse is a cinderblock building on the right...park on the side of the road or in the parking lot south of the boathouse.
 
FALCON FAST FACTS
Twelve Falcons made their Olympic-style competitive debut in an SPU shell on March 9. Nine of those 12 participated in a head race for the Falcons on Nov. 4, 2018 … The roster includes 34 student-athletes, forming the largest women's rowing in Coach Andy Derrick's tenure … The roster is equally divided between 17 returnees and 17 novices. Many of those are true novices who had no prior rowing experience before joining the SPU squad … The Falcons hail from eight different states with 19 of them calling Washington their home. California is next with six, three are from Oregon and Idaho two. One student-athlete comes from each of Connecticut, Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
 
LAST REGATTA
Seattle Pacific crews crossed the finish line first in all six races on March 9 in a successful start to the 2019 spring rowing season at the PLU Invitational on American Lake. Seven opposing boats were left in their wake as the Falcons three eight-oared boats each registered a pair of open-water victories in the dual format.
 
SPU's top boat labored in its first race of the day, eventually pulling away from host Pacific Lutheran to win by just over a boat length. They covered the 2,000-meter course in 7-minutes, 16.3-seconds and the Lutes crossed in 7:21.7.
 
Into much stronger headwinds than the first race, the Falcons varsity eight clocked a time of 7:25.3 to defeat Puget Sound by 19 seconds. The Loggers finished in 7:44.1.
 
The second varsity eight crew made a pre-planned change of coxswains between races. That yielded the same result -- a convincing victory.
 
Cecilia Krause directed the crew to a 21-second win over Pacific Lutheran in the early session. The Falcons time was 7:36.5 and PLU's was 7:57.5.
 
Roxy Ruther took the helm for the next race and Seattle Pacific crossed the finish line 25 seconds in front of Puget Sound. The Falcons winning time was 7:55.4 and UPS finished in 8:20.9.
 
For the first time under Coach Andrew Derrick, the Falcons fielded a third varsity eight boat.
That crew also switched coxswains between races, giving two freshmen a chance to steer the boat in their respective maiden voyages.
 
LeeAnn Arrington coxed the early race against two other crews. SPU recorded a winning time of 7:36.8 followed by Pacific Lutheran in 7:54.6 and Puget Sound in 9:02.5.
 
The afternoon featured another matchup with UPS, and another victory. Keely Long directed the Falcons to a lopsided victory as they crossed in 8:21.9, well ahead of the Loggers, who finished in 9:14.5.
 
COACH DERRICK
Former University of Washington standout Andrew Derrick is in his third year as the women's rowing coach at Seattle Pacific. He assumed the helm of the program in October 2016, returning to Seattle where he was a four-year UW letterman and helped the freshman crew to the 2001 national championship. Derrick rowed in the bow seat for the Huskies' national runner-up varsity eight boats in 2003 and 2004.
 
Derrick's crews improved dramatically from his first to the next, highlighted by a win over Western Washington in the Falcon Regatta on April 14, 2018.
 
A 2004 graduate with a bachelor's degree in history, Derrick remained at UW to earn his master's in intercollegiate athletic leadership in 2008. He was named a to the All-Pac-10 Team as well as earning all-conference academic honors three years in a row.
 
Derrick, 35, came to SPU after a five-year stint as the head coach at Central Oklahoma. The former UCO assistant was promoted to head coach in 2011 and directed the team to the NCAA Championship Regatta in each of his five seasons. The Bronchos were national team runners-up in 2016 after placing third in 2015. Their varsity eight and varsity four crews each won silver medals at the 2016 NCAA championships.
 
THE SCHEDULE
SPU has eight regattas on its 2019 spring schedule with a ninth requiring qualification, the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., May 31 through June 2.
 
Highlighting the schedule is a return trip to the San Diego Crew Classic on April 6-7, the May 4 Windermere Cup on Seattle's Montlake Cut and a May 18 clash of Division II powers in Oklahoma City against host Central Oklahoma and Barry.
 
The WIRA Championships are set for April 27-28 in Gold River, Calif.
 
NEXT REGATTA
The Seattle Pacific crews remain in Seattle to compete in the Husky open on Saturday, March 30. Racing begins at 8 a.m. in the Montlake Cut.
 
 
WSU REGATTA SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 24
Wawawai Landing/Colton, Wash.
(all races 2,000 meters, only events with SPU women's entries listed)
 
10:15 a.m. – Third varsity eight (OSU/WSU/GU/SPU2v)
11:15 a.m. – Varsity eight (SPU/LMU/GU/WSU)
11:30 a.m. – Varsity four (SPU/LMU/GU/GU2v)
12:00 p.m. – Novice eight (OSU/WSU/GU/SPU2v)
 
 SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS
 
Varsity Eight
cox – Jacqueline Kemp (Jr./Burien, WA/homeschool)
stroke – Chloe Remley (Jr./San Diego, CA/High Tech HS)
7 – Gillian Edgar (Jr./Seattle, WA/King's HS)
6 – Megan Chalfant (So./Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS)
5 – Suzanne Stafford (So./Clackamas, OR/Clackamas HS)
4 – Julienne Renne (Jr./Bellingham, WA/Woodinville HS)
3 – Shelby Janes (Jr./Stanwood, WA/Academy Northwest HS)
2 – Brooklyn Liberato (So./Mount Vernon, WA/Mount Vernon HS)
bow – Kaitlin Dickinson (Jr./Monroe, WA/Monroe HS)
 
Varsity Four
cox – Roxy Ruther (So./Torrance, CA/homeschool)
stroke – Amanda Larsen (Jr./Eugene, OR/Willamette HS)
3 – Samantha Kimmel (So./Woodinville, WA/Bellevue Christian HS)
2 – Jennifer Hoag (Fr./Normandy Park, WA/Seattle Christian HS)
bow – Talia Ferguson (So./Coeur d'Alene, ID/Charter Academy HS)
 
Second Varsity Eight (in third varsity race)
cox – Cecilia Krause (So./Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury HS)
stroke – Madison Simmons (So./Corona, CA/Santiago HS)
7 – Gracie Hoidal (Sr./Everett, WA/Cascade HS)
6 – Katy Beth Smith (Jr./Lynnwood, WA/Kamiak HS)
5 – Haley Thompson (Fr./Tacoma, WA/Science & Math Institute)
4 – Anna White (So./Meridian, ID/Meridian Medical HS)
3 – Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate (Jr./Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS)
2 – Danielle Johnson (Fr./Mill Creek, WA (Jackson HS)
bow – Lakyn Coppedge (Jr./Las Cruces, NM/Mesilla Valley Christian HS)
 
Second Varsity Eight (in novice race)
cox – LeeAnn Arrington (Fr./Empire, OK/Empire HS)
stroke – Madison Simmons (So./Corona, CA/Santiago HS)
7 – Gracie Hoidal (Sr./Everett, WA/Cascade HS)
6 – Katy Beth Smith (Jr./Lynnwood, WA/Kamiak HS)
5 – Haley Thompson (Fr./Tacoma, WA/Science & Math Institute)
4 – Anna White (So./Meridian, ID/Meridian Medical HS)
3 – Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate (Jr./Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS)
2 – Danielle Johnson (Fr./Mill Creek, WA (Jackson HS)
bow – Emily Geringer (So./Gig Harbor, WA/Gig Harbor HS)