• PLU INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE   |   • 2019 SPU SCHEDULE
     • VIDEO: CHLOE  REMLEY

SATURDAY, MARCH 9
PLU Invitational
American Lake / Lakewood, Wash.
 
SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific begins its 42nd season of intercollegiate women's rowing competition on Saturday, March 9, embarking on a short trip down Interstate 5 to Lakewood, Wash. for the PLU Invitational. A trio of SPU eight-oared crews will take to the waters of American Lake, each racing twice.
 
The regatta starts at 8:45 a.m. and the first race involving SPU is the varsity eight event at 8:50 a.m. The Falcons final race is for third varsity eights, at 11:25 a.m. There are 22 races overall with the final event slated for 12:05 p.m.
 
Five Northwest colleges will participate. Joining Seattle Pacific are host Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound, Seattle University and Western Washington.
 
FALCONS FLEET
Three women's boats will represent Seattle Pacific at the PLU Invitational, a varsity eight, second varsity eight and third varsity eight.
 
SPU's top eight-oared boat will race at 8:50 a.m. against Pacific Lutheran and again at 10:45 a.m. versus Puget Sound. The Falcons NCAA Division II rival, Western Washington, will compete against those Division III opponents in the opposite order.
 
Six crew members return from last season's varsity eight, including junior coxswain Jacqueline Kemp. The five veteran rowers are Chloe Remley, Gillian Edgar, Suzanne Stafford, Megan Chalfant and Kaitlin Dickinson.
 
The Falcons second varsity eight features five returning rowers and three novices. Two different coxswains will direct the crew. Returning sophomore Cecilia Krause will cox the second varsity in the early race and sophomore novice Roxy Ruther will take over for the second session.
 
The second varsity races at 9:10 a.m. against Pacific Lutheran before returning to the starting line for an 11:05 a.m. race against Puget Sound.
 
For the first time under Coach Andrew Derrick, the Falcons will field a third varsity eight crew. Their maiden voyage begins at 9:30 a.m. in a three-crew race, against Puget Sound and the PLU novice boat. At 11:25 a.m., SPU's third varsity battles Puget Sound again.
 
A pair of novice coxswains will take turns helming the third boat, freshmen LeeAnn Arrington and Keely Long.
 


QUOTING COACH ANDREW DERRICK
"Overall training has been pretty good, some ups and downs. We've challenged ourselves with a higher volume and the athletes are doing a really good job. We certainly have some days that are not 100 percent. Really, that's why we race, to figure out which one's more accurate."
 
On cancellation of the February 16 Gonzaga Dual in Seattle due to snow:
"We missed the scrimmage with Gonzaga a few weeks ago and that was disappointing, but the road conditions just didn't make it safe for them to come over. It was the exact right call, but we missed out on the opportunity to go up against a really good, tough competitor. Now we get the opportunity to do it just a few weeks later and we'll see where we're at. The team is very much excited and itching to get to compete against somebody else."
 
On the dual racing format for this week's regatta:
"There is first and last. There is no silver medal. It requires some toughness and sometimes the first crew to blink is the loser. It's a little bit different of an animal just to go one-on-one. You always hope to have your best piece, but sometimes it's good enough to just be better than the other guy. At the end of the day, we're trying to separate the difference between those two things."
 
DIRECTIONS TO AMERICAN LAKE
The PLU Invitational venue at American Lake can be accessed from Harry Todd Park. Here are the directions:
• From I-5 either direction take exit 123 Thorne Lane.
• Turn west and proceed on Thorne until it curves to the left (south).
• Immediately turn right (which is still Thorne).
• It will begin to curve left (south) again and will become Woodlawn.
• The park is on your right, proceed to the main parking lot entrance at the break in the chain link fence.
 
FALCON FAST FACTS
If the projected boatings hold up, 12 Falcons will make their Olympic-style competitive debut in an SPU shell on Saturday. 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 YEAR
Seattle Pacific's varsity eight and open four crews each got wins over Pacific Lutheran boats in their second race of the day March 10, 2018 in the season-opening PLU Invitational on American Lake.
 
SPU's top eight-oared crew lost by just over a boat-length to Puget Sound in its initial race of the 2018 campaign. The winning varsity eight time was 7-minutes, 10.6-seconds and the Falcons finished in 7:15.5. They were back on the water 90 minutes later and gained a measure of redemption by out-rowing Pacific Lutheran. SPU clocked a time of 7:16.7 to win convincingly over the Lutes, who had a time of 7:22.5.
 
In the varsity four competition, SPU placed second in its opening race with a time of 8:28.9. That was well off the winning time of 8:17.2 turned in by one Puget Sound crew and far ahead of the 8:48.1 of the second UPS entry. The second time out of the chute produced an impressive 14-second victory over a pair of Puget Sound fours. The Falcons registered a time of 9:04.1. The second-place time was 9:18.4 and third was 9:37.0.
 
SPU's second eight covered the course in 7:41.8 on its first try, finishing behind UPS (7:23.2) and ahead of the PLU third varsity (7:47.4). In the second session, the Falcons' time of 7:49.7 put them over a boat-length behind PLU (7:42.5).

 

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 travel to Spokane, Washington to compete in the Gonzaga Invitational. Racing is slated for Sunday, March 24 on Silver Lake.
 
PLU INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 9
American Lake/Lakewood, Wash.
(all races 2,000 meters, only events with SPU entries listed)
 
8:50 a.m. – Women's varsity eight (SPU vs. Pacific Lutheran)
9:10 a.m. – Women's second varsity eight (SPU vs. Pacific Lutheran)
9:30 a.m. – Women's third varsity eight (SPU vs. UPS, PLU novice)
10:45 a.m. – Women's varsity eight (SPU vs. Puget Sound)
11:05 a.m. – Women's second varsity eight (SPU vs. Puget Sound)
11:25 a.m. – Women's varsity four (SPU vs. Puget Sound)
 
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS
 
Women's Varsity Eight
cox – Jacqueline Kemp (Jr./Burien, WA/homeschool)
stroke – Megan Chalfant (So./Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS)
7 – Gillian Edgar (Jr./Seattle, WA/King's HS)
6 – Julienne Renne (Jr./Bellingham, WA/Woodinville HS)
5 – Suzanne Stafford (So./Clackamas, OR/Clackamas HS)
4 – Chloe Remley (Jr./San Diego, CA/High Tech 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)
 
Women's Second Varsity Eight
cox – Cecilia Krause (So./Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury HS)
   (2nd flight) – Roxy Ruther (So./Torrance, CA/homeschool)
stroke – Amanda Larsen (Jr./Eugene, OR/Willamette HS)
7 – Samantha Kimmel (So./Woodinville, WA/Bellevue Christian HS)
6 – Jennifer Hoag (Fr./Normandy Park, WA/Seattle Christian HS)
5 – Talia Ferguson (So./Coeur d'Alene, ID/Charter Academy HS)
4 – Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate (Jr./Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS)
3 – Katy Beth Smith (Jr./Lynnwood, WA/Kamiak HS)
2 – Haley Thompson (Fr./Tacoma, WA/Science & Math Institute)
bow – Gracie Hoidal (Sr./Everett, WA/Cascade HS)
 
Women's Third Varsity Eight
cox – LeeAnn Arrington (Fr./Empire, OK/Empire HS)
   2nd flight – Keely Long (Fr./Lomila, CA/Valley Christian HS)
stroke – Madison Simmons (So./Corona, CA/Santiago HS)
7 – Katy Graham (Jr./Seattle, WA/Ballard HS)
6 – Anna White (So./Meridian, ID/Meridian Medical HS)
5 – Lakyn Coppedge (Jr./Las Cruces, NM/Mesilla Valley Christian HS)
4 – Larissa Schuermyer (Sr./Portland, OR/Douglas HS)
3 – Clara Ingraham (So./Seattle, WA/Ballard HS)
   2nd flight – Emily Geringer (So./Gig Harbor, WA/Gig Harbor HS)
2 – Danielle Johnson (Fr./Mill Creek, WA (Jackson HS)
bow – Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza (Fr./Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS)