• PHOTO GALLERY (Day 3/June 2)       |     • PHOTO GALLERY (Day 2/June 1)
    • PHOTO GALLERY (Day 1/May 31)       |     • PHOTO GALLERY (practice day/May 30)
    • FINAL NCAA RESULTS (pdf)
    • VIDEO: COACH ANDREW DERRICK    |    • VIDEO: VARSITY 8 FINISH

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – "Our day is coming."
 
Seattle Pacific coach Andrew Derrick repeated that phrase twice to his team on Sunday, immediately after completing an eventful weekend of competition at the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships.
 
His Falcons emerged onto the national scene, finishing fourth in the Division II team standings and gaining a glimpse into the potential of a program that had not even participated in the NCAA regatta since 2011.
 
A pair of fourth-place finishes in grand final races on the last day of the NCAA regatta at the Eagle Creek Reservoir propelled SPU to the lofty team point total.
 
"I see great things in the future for our program. We're putting all the pieces into place," exclaimed Derrick, who just completed his third season at the helm. "The most important piece is the athletes and the culture and they are doing a great job building the foundation of a championship program."
 
SPU compiled 15 points, getting nine by virtue of a fourth-place performance in the varsity eight grand final and adding seven for a similar result by the varsity four.


 
The Falcons were passed by Western Washington toward the end of the varsity eight race with just a bow-ball being the difference between the Northwest rivals when they crossed the finish line.
 
Sunday marked the first time an SPU four-oared crew has advanced into the grand final.
 
Central Oklahoma swept both races to tally the maximum 30 points and claim its second straight team title. Varsity eight runner-up Florida Tech was third in the fours to collect 23 points and edge Western Washington. The Vikings 22-point total was earned by having their four-oared boat finish second and the varsity eight place third.
 
The Falcons fourth-place standing put them ahead of fifth-place Jefferson (8 points) and UC San Diego in sixth (7).
 
Seattle Pacific took part in the overall team competition for just the second time in school history, following a second-place effort in 2010.
 
This year's foray into the national finals bodes well for the Seattle Pacific crews, which return nearly intact next season.
 
Of the 16 SPU student-athletes who traveled to Indianapolis, only one is not eligible to return next year. Senior coxswain Jacqueline Kemp, who directs the varsity eight, will graduate next week.
 
"It's obviously really exciting that we're not battling graduation this year going into next," Derrick said. "As long as they stay hungry and they stay fit and they remember today and remember what they want, there are great things in the future. Hopefully the near future."
 
Eight members of the Falcons NCAA travel party were juniors, including spares Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate and Katy Beth Smith.
 
Varsity Eight
Central Oklahoma and Florida Tech streaked off the starting line and never looked back, leaving SPU and Western to battle for third place in the race for varsity eights.
 
FIT led for the opening 800 meters before the defending champion Bronchos' strong surge put them in front for good. UCO covered the 2,000-meter course in a speedy time of 6-minutes, 33.01-seconds for an open-water victory and Florida's runner-up time was 6:37.08.
 
The Falcons rowed in third for the opening half of the race, leading WWU by as many as six seats. The Vikings utilized a strong third-quarter to edge ahead of their rival. They held off SPU's impressive late sprint to claim third place in a photo finish.
 
Western's third-place time was 6:43.50 and the Falcons crossed in 6:43.65.
 
"The mental side of their rowing was the most impressive," Derrick described of his varsity eight. "We do not match up on paper, erg score-wise, to a lot of these teams all that favorably. But they continuously found a way to show up each and every weekend and we competed."
 
All eight SPU rowers can come back next season, including stroke Chloe Remley. She was joined in the crew by Gillian Edgar, Megan Chalfant, Suzanne Stafford, Julienne Renne, Shelby Janes, Amanda Larsen and Kaitlin Dickinson.

 

Varsity Four
The Falcons four expended a great deal of energy in Friday's heats, Saturday's repechage and the first half of Sunday's final, leaving little in the tank for the last 1,000 meters.
 
Central Oklahoma rowers left little doubt about the winner of the varsity four championship, utilizing a stellar start to propel them to an open-water victory with a time of 7:27.02.
 
A tighter battle ensued for the remaining three places.
 
Florida Tech tried to keep pace with UCO and held an advantage of several seats over the rest of the field at the 500-meter mark with WWU in third and the Falcons trailing by nearly a boat length.
 
SPU staged an impressive second quarter, the fastest in the field, to regain contact and move into third place. Second-place FIT was just two seats in front of the Falcons with Western trailing by three additional seats.
 
The Vikings surged just past the midway mark, racing past SPU and Florida Tech. Those places held through the final 500 meters and Western clocked a second-place time of 7:31.08. Florida Tech was third in 7:32.88 and SPU fourth in 7:37.85.
 
Derrick admitted that his four-oared crew posed somewhat of a puzzle for him, trying to figure out how they were producing such positive results.
 
"They don't have the erg scores or the size. They exceeded their seed. They're a bit of a head-scratcher, but that just means that all the credit goes to them. We did the best we could with them, but ultimately what it came down to, for 2,000 meters they found a way to make it happen.
 
"I had a pretty good sense of where the eight's mindset was coming into this weekend. I wasn't sure about the four. But I think the heat (race Friday) really turned a corner for them, getting a chance to get a race under their belt and see some success. They really started to believe that they could do it and we saw that on Saturday."
 
The Falcons varsity four, coxed by sophomore Roxy Ruther, was comprised entirely of underclassmen. Sophomores Brooklyn Liberato, Samantha Kimmel and Talia Ferguson rowed alongside freshman Jennifer Hoag.
 
Derrick hopes the Falcons can build for the future off the grand finals appearances for both crews this season after battling all year to earn the at-large NCAA invitation.
 
"They showed up and they competed and we're incredibly proud of what they did and what they accomplished. We would have loved to see some results come out a little bit more favorably near the end, but that's just a testament to the fact that they're competitors.
 
"We over-performed everyone's expectations going into the season and they've got everything to be proud of. We'll be back."
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Eagle Creek Reservoir / Indianapolis, Ind.
(2,000-meter races)
 
DIVISION II WOMEN'S RESULTS
 
Final Team Standings
1, Central Oklahoma, 30
2, Florida Tech, 23
3, Western Washington, 22
4, Seattle Pacific, 15
5, Jefferson, 8
6, UC San Diego, 7
 
Varsity Eights
Grand Final
1, Central Oklahoma, 6:33.01
2, Florida Tech, 6:37.08
3, Western Washington, 6:43.50
4, Seattle Pacific, 6:43.65
 
Petite Final
1, Jefferson, 6:42.13
2, UC San Diego, 6:46.04
 
     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
Grand Final
1, Central Oklahoma, 7:27.02
2, Western Washington, 7:31.08
3, Florida Tech, 7:32.88
4, Seattle Pacific, 7:37.85
 
Petite Final
1, UC San Diego, 7:40.84
2, Jefferson, 7:51.99
 
      SPU lineup:  cox–Roxy Ruther, stroke-Brooklyn Liberato, 3-Samantha Kimmel, 2-Jennifer Hoag, bow-Talia Ferguson.