LAKEWOOD, Wash. – After 378 days away from competition, the Seattle Pacific women's rowing team took full advantage of its return to the racecourse.
 
The Falcons streaked across the finish line first by convincing margins in six of their eight races Saturday during the season-opening PLU Invite on American Lake that marked the debut of first-year head coach Caitlin McClain.
 
That is the same venue and regatta as the previous competition for SPU, 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.
 
MACIE LEACH INTERVIEW

SPU picked up a pair of wins by its varsity eight, varsity four and open four crews on Saturday. The regatta format featured events contested by no more than three crews in each race.
 
"It was amazing! For as much as this team has gone through, it was really special to be able to get some races under our belts," exclaimed McClain, who feared that rough water and high winds might delay her team's re-start even further.
 
"The conditions were not great today. There was probably a little bit of uncertainty that we might not race with how windy it was, at least at our launch site. But it was nicer on the course. Once we launched it became real, like waking up from a dream."

Varsity Eight
Fittingly, the first group back on the water was the Falcons' top boat. The varsity eight handily defeated host Pacific Lutheran by 15 seconds. SPU's time was 7-minutes, 1.2-seconds while the Lutes finished in 7:16.2.
 
That same SPU eight-oared crew, with LeeAnn Bowers assuming the coswain's role in place of Roxie Ruther, came back less than two hours later to clock the fastest time of the day for any boat. The Falcons crossed in 6:55.6, over 19 seconds ahead of runner-up Seattle University (7:14.9) and Puget Sound (7.33.0).
 
Varsity Four
The Falcons finest four-oared crew defeated four foes and two of them were NCAA Division I competitors. Division II SPU raced to a time of 8:03.0 in its early race, finishing 10 seconds ahead of the field. Portland was second (8:13.6) followed by Puget Sound (9:16.8).

 

Like they did in the varsity eight, the coxswains switched boats midway through the regatta. Bowers directed the varsity four in the early session before giving way to Ruther for the second race.
 
The Falcons varsity four was just as impressive with its second pass through the 2,000-meter course. Their time of 8:01.2 was nearly identical (less than one second) to the early result, but the margin of victory was much wider. Second-place Portland crossed in 8:37.5 and Pacific Lutheran was a distant third in 9:44.3.

Novice Eight
The novice eight boat was the lone SPU entry to not post a first-place finish. For good reason. The first-year Falcons were facing veteran, varsity rowers from opposing crews.
 
In their collective collegiate debuts, the SPU rowers completed the course in 8:01.3, just seven second behind PLU's winning time of 7:54.7. Moxie McCandless coxed that crew with Abby Oaks in the bow seat.
 
In a pre-planned change, Oaks moved into the coxswain role for their second outing with Sophie Sandahl pulling the bow oar. The SPU novices finished in 8:06.9 in a race won by Seattle University in 7:57.6.
 
Open Four
The Falcons fourth crew was a comprised of both varsity and novice rowers competing as an open four. They produced two substantial victories, by 38 and 68 seconds, with Cecilia Krause steering the boat.
 
Their first race featured Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza in the No. 3 seat. The first-place time of 8:18.1 provided a comfortable cushion over PLU (9:56.3).
 
Anna Serven moved into that third seat for the second session and the crew raced to a swift time of 7:48.2 to cross over one minute ahead of Puget Sound, which finished in 8:56.6.
 
Coach McClain singled out that crew for praise. And she wasn't the only one to do so.
 
"Our open four ended up having some really great races. The coach of another team complimented them and made a point of telling them how smooth they rowed. That's always nice to hear from another team."
 
McClain also commended SPU's quartet of coxswains who were forced to deal with difficult circumstances. Not the least of those was an unusual entry into the water from the shore rather than a dock, requiring the crew members to wade waist-deep into the lake before carefully boarding the boat one-at-a-time.
 
"Our coxswains were really on it today, managing a lot of things in the conditions. We had to beach launch today, which is a unique thing. The coxswains just really handled things well and led their crews."
 
Next Regatta
The Falcons host their only home competition of the season next Saturday, March 27. SPU entertains perennial national contenders Central Oklahoma and Western Washington in the three-team Falcon Regatta.
 
Central Oklahoma won the most recent NCAA Division II championship, in 2019, while WWU placed third and SPU was fourth. The 2020 national regatta was cancelled.
 
"Hopefully we will really rise to the challenge," McClain said. "I couldn't be more thankful for having the racing weekend we completed just because it puts some things in perspective and helps us know that we're on the right path.
 
"It will come down to how quickly can we turn around from this and make a big step knowing that next weekend is definitely going to be a big test for us, one that we're ready to take and do well."
 
Saturday's seven-race card begins 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.
 
NCAA Women's Rowing
PLU Invitational
Saturday, March 20, 2021
American Lake / Lakewood, Wash.
(all races 2,000 meters, only SPU events listed)
 
Varsity Eights
First session – 1, Seattle Pacific, 7:01.2; 2, Pacific Lutheran, 7:16.2.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-Roxy Ruther, stroke-Jennifer Hoag, 7-Macie Leach, 6-Megan Chalfant, 5-Gillian Edgar, 4-Nicole Svoboda, 3-Kaitlin Dickinson, 2-Jacinta Grandel, bow-Samantha Kimmel.
 
Second session – 1, Seattle Pacific, 6:55.6; 2, Seattle University, 7:14.9; 3, Puget Sound, 7:33.0.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-LeeAnn Bowers, stroke-Jennifer Hoag, 7-Macie Leach, 6-Megan Chalfant, 5-Gillian Edgar, 4-Nicole Svoboda, 3-Kaitlin Dickinson, 2-Jacinta Grandel, bow-Samantha Kimmel.
 
 
Varsity Fours
First session – 1, Seattle Pacific, 8:03.0; 2, Portland, 8:13.6; 3, Puget Sound, 9:16.8.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-LeeAnn Bowers, stroke-Hannah Miller, 3-Suzanne Stafford, 2-Anna White, bow- Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate.
 
Second session – 1, Seattle Pacific, 8:02.1; 2, Portland, 8:37.5; 3, Pacific Lutheran, 9:44.3.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-Roxy Ruther, stroke-Hannah Miller, 3-Suzanne Stafford, 2-Anna White, bow- Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate.
 
 
Novice Eights
First session – 1, Pacific Lutheran 2V, 7:54.7; 2, Seattle Pacific, 8:01.3.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-Moxie McCandless, stroke-Sydney Naour, 7-Natalie Korolenko, 6-Bella Sangston, 5-Summer Frank, 4-Ava Liebendorfer, 3-Elizabeth White, 2-Elise Arkills, bow-Abby Oaks.
 
Second session – 1, Seattle University 2V, 7:57.6; 2, Seattle Pacific, 8:06.9.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-Abby Oaks, stroke-Sydney Naour, 7-Natalie Korolenko, 6-Bella Sangston, 5-Summer Frank, 4-Ava Liebendorfer, 3-Elizabeth White, 2-Elise Arkills, bow-Sophie Sandahl.
 
 
Open Fours
First session – 1, Seattle Pacific, 8:18.1; 2, Pacific Lutheran, 9:56.3.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-Cecilia Krause, stroke-Megan Popielak, 3-Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza, 2-Danielle Johnson, bow-Haley Thompson.
 
Second session – 1, Seattle Pacific, 7:48.2; 2, Puget Sound, 8:56.5.
 
     SPU lineup: cox-Cecilia Krause, stroke-Megan Popielak, 3-Anna Serven, 2-Danielle Johnson, bow-Haley Thompson.