SATURDAY, MARCH 27
2021 Falcon Regatta

2,000-meter races
(Central Oklahoma, Western Washington, SPU)
Lake Washington Ship Canal / Seattle, Wash. / 8:00 a.m.
 
• Race Finish Video on Facebook Live --  https://www.facebook.com/spusports
 
SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific women's rowing team takes part in high-level collegiate racing on Saturday. And they won't have to leave home to do it.
 
The Falcon Regatta will be contested March 27 on the Lake Washington Ship Canal that runs along the north edge of the Seattle Pacific campus. Two terrific teams visit Seattle for the seven-race event.
 
Central Oklahoma won the most recent NCAA Division II championship, in 2019, while Western Washington placed third and SPU was fourth. The 2020 national regatta was cancelled.
 
Saturday's competition consists of two flights, beginning at 8 a.m. with the race for open fours followed by the novice fours, varsity fours and varsity eight.
 
The second flight starts with the second varsity eights at 10:30 a.m. followed by the varsity fours. The regatta concludes with a rematch of the varsity eights at 11 a.m.
 
THE SHIP CANAL COURSE
The starting line for the Falcon Regatta is approximately 1,000 meters east of the Fremont Bridge, almost even with Gas Works Park. The 2,000-meter course runs from east to west, through the Lake Washington Ship Canal that runs parallel to the SPU campus, on the north side. The finish line is behind Brougham Pavilion.
 
QUOTING COACH CAITLIN McCLAIN
"Hopefully we will really rise to the challenge. I couldn't be more thankful for having the racing (last) 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 that 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."

 HANNAH MILLER INTERVIEW


FALCONS FLEET
Six women's boats will represent Seattle Pacific at Saturday's Falcon Regatta; a varsity eight, varsity four, second varsity eight, open four and two novice four crews.
 
The featured event will actually be contested twice as the top eight-oared crews from each school will clash once during each flight. They meet at 8:45 a.m. to complete the early session before returning to the starting line for another run at the 2,000-meter course at 11 a.m. to conclude the regatta.
 
SPU's varsity eight includes four rowers that remain from the crew that finished fourth at the 2019 NCAA Championships. That quartet includes Megan Chalfant, Kaitlin Dickinson, Gillian Edgar and Suzanne Stafford.
 
Central Oklahoma, Western Washington and SPU will also clash twice in the varsity four events, at 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
 
Only two schools will participate in the other three races as UCO and the Falcons will square off in events for open fours, novice fours and second varsity eights. SPU has two crews entered in the novice four race.

FALCON REGATTA HISTORY
 

These same three crews were scheduled to congregate on the Ship Canal a year ago to compete in the Falcon Regatta slated for March 14, 2020. Three days before it began, the regatta was cancelled due to the COVID outbreak.
 
The inaugural, and only Falcon Regatta to be conducted, occurred on April 14, 2018. The SPU varsity eight defeated Western Washington to claim second place behind top-ranked Central Oklahoma, which won all three races in the inaugural Falcon Regatta on the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
 
UCO went wire-to-wire to win the featured race of eight-oared varsity crews. The Bronchos posted a speedy time of 6:30.3 over the 2,000-meter course that started in Lane Union. The Falcons broke free from Western at the 500-meter mark and finished with an open-water advantage with a second-place time of 6:42.0. The Vikings' third-place time was 6:47.3.
 
The 2018 regatta's other two races were tight affairs with Central Oklahoma emerging victorious by less than a second in both. The winning time in the varsity four event was 7:21.4 and Western was second in 7:22.3. The Falcons were a distant third in 7:58.2.
 
The first race of the day was for open fours and UCO clocked a winning time of 7:41.5. SPU was one-half second back in 7:42.0. The Vikings crossed the line several lengths back with a time of 7:55.7.
 
The 2019 Falcon Regatta, which was to feature a February 16 dual between the Falcons and Gonzaga, was cancelled due to snow in the Seattle area.
 
FALCONS FAST FACT
This is the 44th season of intercollegiate women's rowing competition at Seattle Pacific ... 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.
 
THE TEAM
Fifteen Falcons made their racing debut for Seattle Pacific at the PLU Invite on March 20, including the entire novice eight crew.
 
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.
 
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.
 
McClain replaced Andrew Derrick, who served four seasons from 2017 through 2020.
 
FANTASTIC FALCONS
The Falcons have flourished on the water in recent seasons, 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 WEEK
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 was 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.
 
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.
 
SPU'S 2021 SCHEDULE
Additional competitions may be added, but SPU currently has five 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.
 
The Falcons will compete in a dual against Western Washington at the April 17 Viking Regatta on Bellingham's Lake Samish. They 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.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
Falcon Regatta
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Lake Washington Ship Canal / Seattle, Wash.
Central Oklahoma, Western Washington & Seattle Pacific
(all races 2,000 meters)
 
Flight 1
8:00 a.m. – Open fours (UCO vs. SPU)
8:15 a.m. – Novice fours (UCO vs. SPU "A" & "B")
8:30 a.m. – Varsity fours (UCO, WWU & SPU)
8:45 a.m. – Varsity eights (UCO, WWU & SPU)
 
Flight 2
10:30 a.m. – Second varsity eights (UCO vs. SPU)
10:45 a.m. – Varsity fours (UCO, WWU & SPU)
11:00 a.m. – Varsity eights (UCO, WWU & SPU)
 

SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS

Varsity Eight
cox – LeeAnn Arrington (Jr./Empire, OK/Empire HS)
stroke – Jennifer Hoag (Jr./Normandy Park, WA/Seattle Christian HS)
7 – Samantha Kimmel (Sr./Woodinville, WA/Bellevue Christian HS)
6 – Macie Leach (So./Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS)
5 – Gillian Edgar (Sr./Seattle, WA/King's HS)
4 – Jacinta Grandel (So./Palmer, AK/Rosary HS)
3 – Kaitlin Dickinson (Sr./Monroe, WA/Monroe HS)
2 – Megan Chalfant (Sr./Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS)
bow – Suzanne Stafford (Sr./Clackamas, OR/Clackamas HS)
 
 
Varsity Four
cox – Roxy Ruther (Sr./Torrance, CA/homeschool) -- 2nd race
stroke – Hannah Miller (Fr./East Lyme, CT/East Lyme HS)
3 – Tamyra Clark-Hoogstrate (Sr./Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS)
2 – Anna White (Sr./Meridian, ID/Meridian Medical HS)
bow – Anna Serven (Fr./Oklahoma City, OK/Harding Charter Prep HS)
 
 
Second Varsity Eight
cox – Cecilia Krause (Sr./Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury HS)
stroke – Danielle Johnson (Jr./Mill Creek, WA/Jackson HS)
7 – Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza (Jr./Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS) -- 1st race
6 – Nicole Svoboda (So./La Quinta, CA/La Quinta HS)
5 – Summer Frank (Fr./Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS)
4 – Sydney Naour (Fr./Santa Barbara, CA/Bishop Garcia Diego HS)
3 – Natalie Korolenko (Fr./Redmond, WA/Cedar Park Christian HS)
2 – Elise Arkills (Fr./Tacoma, WA/Curtis HS)
bow – Haley Thompson (Sr./Tacoma, WA/Science & Math Institute HS)
 
 
Open Four
cox – Cecilia Krause (Sr./Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury HS)
stroke – Danielle Johnson (Jr./Mill Creek, WA/Jackson HS)
3 – Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza (Jr./Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS)
2 – Nicole Svoboda (So./La Quinta, CA/La Quinta HS)
bow – Haley Thompson (Sr./Tacoma, WA/Science & Math Institute HS)
 
 
Novice Four "A"
cox – Moxie McCandless (So./Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque Academy HS) -- 1st race
stroke – Sydney Naour (Fr./Santa Barbara, CA/Bishop Garcia Diego HS)
3 – Summer Frank (Fr./Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS)
2 – Elise Arkills (Fr./Tacoma, WA/Curtis HS)
bow – Natalie Korolenko (Fr./Redmond, WA/Cedar Park Christian HS)
 
 
Novice Four "B"
cox – Abby Oaks (Jr./Seattle, WA/homeschool/Lipscomb)
stroke – Bella Sangston (Fr./Bellevue, WA/Newport HS)
3 – Sophie Sandahl (So./Coupeville, WA/Oak Harbor HS/Skagit Valley CC) -- 2nd race
2 – Ava Liebendorfer (So./Silverthorne, CO/Snowy Peaks HS/Colorado Mountain College)
bow – Elizabeth White (Jr./Vancouver, WA/Mountain View HS/Clark CC)