OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Falcons pushed hard to make a final impression Friday, leaving it to the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships committee to determine if they will be permitted to pull another oar this season.
 
Seattle Pacific won the open fours event and registered necessary second-place showings in the two featured 2,000-meter races at the UCO/SPU/Barry Tri-Duel on the Oklahoma River in the final regular-season regatta.
 
"We made a strong case to hopefully get one of those spots to Indianapolis. We'll have to wait for Monday," said third-year SPU coach Andrew Derrick.
 
The fifth-ranked Falcons are seeking their first NCAA Championships appearance since 2011 and on Friday dashed any dreams No. 7 Barry had of overtaking them in the rankings.
 
The six-team NCAA Division II field will be announced Monday afternoon. The top-ranked team from each of the three regions earn automatic invitations and those will likely be Central Oklahoma, Florida Tech and Jefferson.
 
In addition, three teams will receive at-large berths and Seattle Pacific is in a promising position to be one of those. Each of the six teams will race both a varsity eight and varsity four crew on Eagle Creek in Indianapolis, Ind. from May 31-June 2.
 
Derrick previously helmed the Central Oklahoma program, guiding the Bronchos to five consecutive nationals appearances from 2012-16.
 
He hopes the Falcons will start their own NCAA streak this year.
 
"They did what they could do. My attitude is to be excited for them to get to sit down as a team and watch the selection show and have a reasonable expectation that they might hear their name.
 
"It's been a while since we at Seattle Pacific have heard our name called and these athletes have never gotten to be a part of it. So, I'm really excited for them to see some of their hard work pay off."
 
While dispatching Barry, from Miami, Florida, by an impressive open-water margin in the varsity eight race, SPU also narrowed the gap on its top-ranked opponent. The Falcons finished five seats back of defending national champion UCO. The two-second differential nearly cut in half the 4.28-second deficit from their only prior meeting this season, on April 28 in Gold River, California.
 
The host Bronchos crossed the line first Friday in the eight-oared event, clocking a time of 7:05.80 into the head current and a cross wind that gusted up to 30 miles per hour. Seattle Pacific's runner-up time was 7:07.79 and Barry was a distant third, in 7:18.32.
 
"Our eight has found a little bit of extra speed," Derrick exclaimed. "As it stands now, all of the eights are going to be very, very tight in Indianapolis. It's going to come down to who has a good day on the day."
 
Central Oklahoma was dominating in the four-oared event, crossing the finish line in 7:53.90 with a wealth of open water ahead of the Falcons varsity. The second-place time was 8:19.90 and Barry trailed SPU by over 32 seconds, and UCO by nearly a minute, with a mark of 8:52.70.
 
Sophomore coxswain Cecilia Krause coaxed an impressive late sprint out of the SPU open four. That surge helped the Falcons sail past UCO en route to a first-place time of 8:23.23. The Bronchos were seven seats back in 8:26.40.
 
"They're a scrappy, aggressive group. They rowed through UCO late in the piece, which is always great," Derrick said of his open-four crew. He praised the performance of all of his rowers, who developed a deep fleet of SPU boats.
 
"We're incredibly proud of our entire group. A lot of them won't get to make the trip to Indianapolis if we are selected, but they have done so well, with the second varsity at WIRAs, the open four today, the third varsity here-and-there when they've raced. They have done a phenomenal job of pushing so hard and working so hard, which has been a big part of our success as a program this year."
 
This weekend's races were originally scheduled for Saturday, but were moved ahead by a day due to severe thunderstorms that are expected in the Oklahoma City vicinity after Friday.
 
The weather wasn't the only obstacle facing the Falcons, according to Derrick.
 
"Tough conditions and the team had some tough travel circumstances yesterday, but I was really proud of the way they practiced this morning. They stayed really flexible not knowing exactly what the race schedule was going to be like.
 
"They showed up and they took care of what they needed to take care of. It was a good day."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
UCO/SPU/Barry Tri-Duel
Friday, May 17, 2019
Oklahoma River / Oklahoma City, Okla.
(2,000-meter races)
 
Varsity Eights
1, Central Oklahoma, 7:05.80
2, Seattle Pacific, 7:07.79
3, Barry, 7:18.32
       SPU lineup: cox-Jacqueline Kemp, stroke-Chloe Remley, 7-Gillian Edgar, 6-Megan Chalfant, 5-Suzanne Stafford, 4-Julienne Renne, 3-Shelby Janes, 2-Amanda Larsen, bow-Kaitlin Dickinson.
 
Varsity Fours
1, Central Oklahoma, 7:53.90
2, Seattle Pacific, 8:19.90
3, Barry, 8:52.70
        SPU lineup:  cox–Roxy Ruther, stroke-Jennifer Hoag, 3-Samantha Kimmel, 2-Katy Beth Smith, bow-Talia Ferguson.
 
Open Fours
1, Seattle Pacific, 8:23.23
2, Central Oklahoma, 8:26.40
        SPU lineup:  cox–Cecilia Krause, stroke-Madison Simmons, 3-Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate, 2-Danielle Johnson, bow-Gracie Hoidal.
 
 
UP NEXT
NCAA Rowing Championships Selection Show
Monday, May 20, 2:00 p.m. PDT