SATURDAY, MARCH 20
PLU Invite
American Lake / Lakewood, Wash. / 9:00 a.m.
     • Webcast -- http://www.golutes.com/YouTube
 
SEATTLE – The Falcons' extended dry spell ends this weekend!
 
Seattle Pacific crews will finally return to the water for their first competition in over a year at the PLU Invite on Saturday, March 20. Racing begins at 9 a.m. on American Lake in Lakewood, Washington.
 
That is the same venue and regatta as the last competition for the SPU women's rowing team, on March 7, 2020. A week after that event, the remainder of the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID outbreak that also eliminated fall racing.
 
Along with numerous individuals racing for the first time as Falcons, Saturday's season-opener marks the debut of head coach Caitlin McClain. She was hired in August to lead the SPU program after the departure of Andrew Derrick to Gonzaga.
 
PLU INVITE
Seattle Pacific officially begins its 44th season of intercollegiate women's rowing competition on Saturday, embarking on a short trip down Interstate 5 to Lakewood, Wash. for the regatta hosted by Pacific Lutheran University. A quartet of Falcons boats, including two eight-oared crews and two fours, will each race twice over the 2,000-meter course.
 
The racing begins at 9 a.m. with the women's varsity eight event that involves Northwest competitors Puget Sound, Portland and Seattle University along with host PLU. The Falcons final competition is for open fours, at 11:50 a.m.
 
SPU crews will participate in eight races overall.

KAITLIN DICKINSON INTERVIEW
 
FALCONS FLEET
Four women's boats will represent Seattle Pacific at the PLU Invite, a varsity eight, novice eight, varsity four and open four.
 
SPU's top eight-oared boat will race at 9:10 a.m. against Pacific Lutheran. Nearly two hours later, at 11 a.m., the varsity eight competes versus Puget Sound and Seattle University.
 
Six rowers are still in the boat from last season's varsity eight that won both of its races at the PLU Invite. That group includes Megan Chalfant, Kaitlin Dickinson, Gillian Edgar, Macie Leach and coxswain Roxy Ruther.
 
LeeAnn Bowers will direct the varsity four in the early race before taking the helm of the varsity eight for the second session, swapping places with Ruther.
 
The Falcons varsity four features senior rowers Suzanne Stafford and Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate who were in the same crew for last year's PLU regatta.
 
The varsity four is slated to race versus Portland and UPS at 9:50 a.m. and then take on PLU and Portland at 11:40 a.m.
 
SPU's novice eight will race twice, at 9:30 a.m. versus PLU and 11:20 a.m. against Seattle U. Those schools may not be racing their novice entries. All nine members of that crew will be making their racing debut as Falcons. Moxie McCandless serves as the coxswain for the first 2,000-meter pass before Abby Oaks moves from her bow position to steer the boat for the second race.
 
A crew coxed by Cecilia Krause will represent SPU in the open four competition that begins at 10 a.m. against Pacific Lutheran and concludes the regatta at 11:50 a.m. versus Puget Sound. Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza will row in the No. 3 seat for SPU in the early race before being replaced by Anna Serven for the second session.
 
THE TEAM
If Saturday's boatings hold up, 15 Falcons will make their racing debut for Seattle Pacific, including the entire novice eight crew. Two members of the varsity eight (Nicole Svoboda & Jacinta Grandel) and one varsity four rower (Hannah Miller) will compete for the first time in an SPU shell.
 
This season's Seattle Pacific roster includes 31 student-athletes. The list is comprised of 15 returning (varsity) student-athletes and 16 with novice eligibility, although four of them are returners who had their inaugural 2020 season truncated due to the pandemic. Twelve of the novices are newcomers to the program, many of them with no rowing experience prior to joining the SPU squad.
 
The SPU student-athletes hail from nine different states with 15 of them calling Washington home and seven coming from California. Both Oklahoma and Connecticut each produced two Falcons. Five states are represented by just one SPU rowing team member; Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico and Oregon.
 
FALCON FAST FACT
Four rowers return from the Falcons varsity eight crew and three from the varsity four that each placed fourth in their respective category at the 2019 NCAA Championships, but not all of them are competing in that same crew on Saturday.

MEET COACH McCLAIN
 

Former Loyola Marymount standout Caitlin McClain, who served 15 years at the helm of the Holy Names Academy program, was hired on Aug. 8, 2021 as the women's rowing coach at Seattle Pacific. McClain remains in Seattle where she has resided since 2005 while working at her alma mater, Holy Names Academy, from where she graduated in 2001. She brings a wealth of rowing experience to SPU, including competitive stints at HNA and Loyola Marymount along with national coaching duties with USRowing.
 
In January, McClain was selected for the role of women's lead coach for the 2021 Under-19 National Team, which competes in August at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships in Bulgaria. She previously served as an assistant coach for the Under-19 women's national team in 2014 and then was promoted to CanAmMex coach in 2016 and the junior world championships coach in 2019.
 
A 2005 Loyola Marymount graduate with bachelor's degrees in political science and urban studies, McClain continued her education at Seattle University to complete a master's of education in student development administration in 2010.
 
McClain built a regional high school rowing power and made Holy Names a major player at the national level. Her Cougars crews accumulated 10 medals and won national championships in 2015 and 2017 at the junior club regatta. She coached three rowers and two coxswains who went on to make World Rowing Junior Championships squads.
 
As a competitor, McClain captained Holy Names her final two years, in 2000 and 2001, and helped the varsity four crew to a silver medal at the nationals her senior season.
 
Her rowing career continued at Loyola Marymount where she occupied the stroke seat of the varsity eight for every race as a freshman. The Lions thrived during her four seasons, reaping titles at the West Coast Conference, WIRA and San Diego Crew Classic regattas.
 
McClain replaced Andrew Derrick, who served four seasons from 2017 through 2020.
 
FANTASTIC FALCONS
The Falcons have flourished on the water, capped by a fourth-place team finish at the 2019 NCAA Division II championships. SPU got fourth-place finishes from both the varsity eight and varsity four crews. The Falcons have earned five berths to the NCAA regatta. Three appearances (2007, 2009, 2011) were made by at-large varsity eight entries that did not factor into the team standings. The Falcons' 2010 foray into the national team competition resulted in a second-place result. The finest finish by a Falcons varsity eight was a third-place performance in 2009.
 
LAST YEAR - 2020 PLU INVITE
In the only completed regatta of the truncated 2020 campaign, Seattle Pacific women's crews streaked across the finish line first in all seven races on March 7 at the PLU Invite on American Lake. Fourteen opposing boats were left in their wake, including Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Western Washington in the races for varsity eights and fours. The Falcons dispatched every foe, but one, by an open-water margin. The regatta format featured three-boat races in each of the events involving SPU.
 
Varsity Eight -- The Falcons top boat started the day off right. Squaring off with Western Washington and Puget Sound, they registered a two-boat margin of victory. SPU completed the 2,000-meter course in 6-minutes, 54.6-seconds. UPS was seven seconds back, in 7:01.7, and the Vikings had a third-place time of 7:05.6.
 
Two hours later, the SPU varsity again defeated the Loggers, by an even larger margin, but the runner-up was NCAA Division I opponent Portland. The Division II Falcons forged a time of 6:50.9, the fastest turned in by a women's crew all day. The Pilots placed second in 7:00.8 followed closely by UPS in 7:01.4.
 
Varsity Four -- The varsity four also squared off with Western Washington, as it did at the 2019 NCAA Regatta. This time the tables were turned and SPU registered an impressive 32-second triumph over the field. The Falcons finished in 7:39.52, well ahead of the Vikings' second-place time of 8:12.6, and UPS was a distant third in 8:54.9.
 
Second Varsity Eight -- Cecilia Krause directed a hybrid crew to a near boat-length win while challenged by Portland. The rowers from the varsity four formed the stern four of the second varsity eight and the open-four rowers comprised the bow quartet. After a close early race, SPU eventually broke away midway and then held off the Pilots with a winning time of 7:13.2. Portland's second-place mark was 7:16.7 and UPU was third in 7:36.4.
 
Third Varsity Eight -- The third varsity crew made a pre-planned change in the third seat between races. That yielded the same result -- a convincing victory. Moxie McCandless coxed the crew to a near 10-second win over Puget Sound's second varsity in the early session, a margin that increased to 28 seconds over UPS and Portland in the later race.
 
Open Four -- The Falcons fifth boat featured a mix of three varsity rowers and one novice competing as an open four. That crew handily won its race by 26 seconds. SPU clocked a time of 8:09.3. Crossing second in 8:36.2 was Western and the Loggers were third at 8:59.1.
 
SPU'S 2021 SCHEDULE
Additional competitions are expected to be added, but SPU currently has four regattas on its 2021 spring schedule, including the six-team NCAA Division II Championships in Sarasota, Florida from May 28-30 that requires an invitation from the selection committee.
 
Highlighting the schedule is a high-level home event, the Falcon Regatta. SPU hosts national powers Central Oklahoma and Western Washington on March 27.
 
The Falcons will again row across town at the Windermere Cup, May 1 on the Montlake Cut before taking part in the inaugural GNAC Championship on May 15 at a venue yet to be determined.
 
NEXT WEEK
The Falcons host their only home competition of the season, the Falcon Regatta. SPU entertains multiple national title winners Central Oklahoma and Western Washington for a seven-race card on Saturday, March 27 at 8 a.m. on the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The starting line is near Gas Works Park in Lake Union and the finish line is behind Brougham Pavilion on the north side of the SPU campus.
 
Central Oklahoma won the most recent NCAA Division II championship (2019) while WWU placed third and SPU was fourth.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
PLU Invite
Saturday, March 20, 2021
American Lake/Lakewood, Wash.
(all races 2,000 meters, only events with SPU entries listed)
 
9:10 a.m. – Varsity eight (SPU vs. Pacific Lutheran)
9:30 a.m. – Novice eight (SPU vs. Pacific Lutheran)
9:50 a.m. – Varsity four (SPU vs. Portland & Puget Sound)
10:00 a.m. – Open four (SPU vs. Pacific Lutheran)
 
11:00 a.m. – Varsity eight (SPU vs. Puget Sound & Seattle University)
11:20 a.m. – Novice eight (SPU vs. Seattle University)
11:40 a.m. – Varsity four (SPU vs. Pacific Lutheran & Portland)
11:50 a.m. – Open four (SPU vs. Puget Sound)
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS
 
Varsity Eight
cox – Roxy Ruther (Sr./Torrance, CA/homeschool) -- 1st race
  or – LeeAnn Bowers (Jr./Empire, OK/Empire HS) -- 2nd race
stroke – Jennifer Hoag (Jr./Normandy Park, WA/Seattle Christian HS)
7 – Macie Leach (So./Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS)
6 – Megan Chalfant (Sr./Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS)
5 – Gillian Edgar (Sr./Seattle, WA/King's HS)
4 – Nicole Svoboda (So./La Quinta, CA/La Quinta HS)
3 – Kaitlin Dickinson (Sr./Monroe, WA/Monroe HS)
2 – Jacinta Grandel (So./Palmer, AK/Rosary HS)
bow – Samantha Kimmel (Sr./Woodinville, WA/Bellevue Christian HS)
 
Novice Eight
cox – Moxie McCandless (So./Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque Academy HS) -- 1st race
  or – Abby Oaks (Jr./Seattle, WA/homeschool/Lipscomb) -- 2nd race
stroke – Sydney Naour (Fr./Santa Barbara, CA/Bishop Garcia Diego HS)
7 – Natalie Korolenko (Fr./Redmond, WA/Cedar Park Christian HS)
6 – Bella Sangston (Fr./Bellevue, WA/Newport HS)
5 – Summer Frank (Fr./Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS)
4 – Ava Liebendorfer (So./Silverthorne, CO/Snowy Peaks HS/Colorado Mountain College)
3 – Elizabeth White (Jr./Vancouver, WA/Mountain View HS/Clark CC)
2 – Elise Arkills (Fr./Tacoma, WA/Curtis HS)
bow – Abby Oaks (Jr./Seattle, WA/homeschool/Lipscomb) -- 1st race
  or – Sophie Sandahl (So./Coupeville, WA/Oak Harbor HS/Skagit Valley CC) -- 2nd race
 
Varsity Four
cox – LeeAnn Bowers (Jr./Empire, OK/Empire HS) -- 1st race
  or – Roxy Ruther (Sr./Torrance, CA/homeschool) -- 2nd race
stroke – Hannah Miller (Fr./East Lyme, CT/East Lyme HS)
3 – Suzanne Stafford (Sr./Clackamas, OR/Clackamas HS)
2 – Anna White (Sr./Meridian, ID/Meridian Medical HS)
bow – Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate (Sr./Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS)
 
Open Four
cox – Cecilia Krause (Sr./Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury HS)
stroke – Megan Popielak (Petaluma, CA/Petaluma HS)
3 – Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza (Jr./Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS) -- 1st race
  or – Anna Serven (Fr./Oklahoma City, OK/Harding Charter Prep HS) -- 2nd race
2 – Danielle Johnson (Jr./Mill Creek, WA/Jackson HS)
bow – Haley Thompson (Sr./Tacoma, WA/Science & Math Institute HS)