SATURDAY, MARCH 26
KU-SPU-UCO Regatta
Oklahoma River / Oklahoma City, Ok. / 7:00 a.m.
 
SEATTLE – A tough task awaits the Seattle Pacific rowing team in Oklahoma City. Host Central Oklahoma and NCAA Division I competitor Kansas provide stern opposition for the Falcons at the three-team regatta on Saturday, March 26.
 
Racing begins at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time (9:00 a.m. Central) over a 2,000-meter course on the Oklahoma River.
 
Central Oklahoma is the three-time defending NCAA Division II champion and has been ranked No. 1 in each national poll since April 2018. UCO and SPU competed last season in Seattle and some dramatic racing ensued.
 
Kansas placed sixth at 2021 Big 12 Championships with the varsity eight finishing fifth.
 
NATALIE KOROLENKO INTERVIEW

BACK TO OKC
Seattle Pacific returns to Oklahoma City for the first time in in three years to compete on the Oklahoma River. On May 17, 2019 Central Oklahoma hosted the Falcons and Florida's Barry University in a tri-regatta.
 
Saturday, a six-boat SPU fleet will compete, with the varsity eight and varsity four boats each traversing the 2,000-meter course twice.
 
The racing begins at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time with the varsity eights going head-to-head. That starts the early session that includes three other races, for varsity fours (7:20 a.m.), second varsity fours (7:40 a.m.) and third varsity four (8:00 a.m.).
 
The second session also features a four-race card, beginning with the second varsity eights at 9:30 a.m. The varsity eights race for a second time, at 9:50 a.m., followed by another varsity four race, at 10:10 a.m. The novice eight crews will compete at 10:45 a.m.
 
Two SPU boats will race twice, once in each session. The Falcons top eight-oared crew, coxed by LeeAnn Arrington, retains the same boating for both outings.
 
The varsity four crew will switch out one rower between flights with Nicole Svoboda taking over for Hannah Miller in the No. 3 seat for the second session. SPU's varsity four will be directed by coxswain Lucy Sandahl.
 
THE TEAM
This season's Seattle Pacific roster is comprised of 33 student-athletes. The roster features a nearly even split between 16 returning (varsity) student-athletes and 17 newcomers, who are termed "novices" in rowing vernacular. Many of them are true novices, who had no rowing experience prior to joining the SPU squad.
 
The Falcons hail from nine different states with 20 of them calling Washington home. California is represented by five members of the roster and two are from Oregon.  Six additional states produced one SPU rowing team member; Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
 

ROWERS RANKED
Seattle Pacific's rowing team is ranked No. 6 nationally in the current Pocock Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) poll presented by USRowing. The poll projects the quality of each team's combined varsity eight and varsity four crews as those are the two that factor into NCAA Championships qualification.
 
SPU did not receive an NCAA Championships invitation last season despite a No. 2 ranking at the time of selection.
 
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference is well represented with all four member schools listed among the eight ranked teams. Defending champion Central Oklahoma is atop the rankings and is joined in the poll by GNAC rivals Western Washington (5th), Seattle Pacific (6th) and Cal Poly Humboldt (8th).
 
Pocock CRCA Coaches Poll (March 23)
Rank,  School,  Points (1st-place votes)
1, Central Oklahoma (5), 200
2, Mercyhurst, 147
3, Barry, 126
4, Embry Riddle, 115
5, Western Washington, 113
6, Seattle Pacific, 104
7, Florida Tech, 48
8, Cal Poly Humboldt, 47
 
LAST YEAR - 2021 Falcon Regatta
Seattle Pacific crews were victorious in three of seven races on March 27, 2021 and the varsity eight boat twice finished within one second of defending national champion Central Oklahoma at the Falcon Regatta on the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The Falcons varsity four crew drew a split, capturing the first matchup by over two seconds while Central Oklahoma won the rematch by five seconds. Western Washington was a distant third in both races.
 
The day's featured race was a clash between a trio of eight-oared varsity crews. At the previous (2019) NCAA Division II Championships those three schools were among the top-four varsity eight finishers with Central Oklahoma winning, Western Washington placing third and SPU fourth.
 
In last season's first varsity eight encounter, UCO barely held off the Falcons, finishing just 0.3-seconds in front with a time of 6-minutes, 53.6 seconds. SPU crossed in 6:54.3 and Western was third in 7:11.5.
 
The rematch was even closer as the Bronchos and SPU battled the entire length of the 2,000-meter course. UCO was first to the line in 6:51.0 and the Falcons had their bow ball on the winner's deck while crossing in 6:51.3. The Vikings third-place time was 7:11.4.
 
The top four-oared crews also raced twice. Seattle Pacific claimed a three-seat win in the initial varsity four meeting, clocking a time of 7:50.2. UCO was second in 7:52.7 followed by Western in 8:15.6.
 
Central Oklahoma gained revenge in the second race with an open-water win. The winning time was 7:52.4 and the Falcons were second in 7:57.6. WWU's third-place time was 8:37.8.
 
The Falcons also got victories in the second varsity eight and open four events.

 

MEET COACH McCLAIN
Caitlin McClain is in her second season as women's head coach after directing SPU to a No. 2 national ranking in her inaugural campaign. The former Loyola Marymount standout, 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 provides a wealth of rowing experience to SPU, including competitive stints at HNA and Loyola Marymount along with national coaching duties with USRowing.
 
She served as the women's lead coach for the 2021 Under-19 National Team, which competed 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.
 
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.
 
Seattle Pacific has 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.
 
NEXT REGATTA
The Falcons split up next week to participate in a pair of regattas 2,500 miles apart. Some SPU crews will travel cross country, to Sarasota , for the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta, April 1-2. Numerous NCAA Division II schools from the South region will race.
 
The remainder of the Falcons fleet will remain in Seattle to compete in the annual Husky Open, April 2 on the Montlake Cut.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
KU-SPU-UCO Regatta
Saturday, March 26, 2022
Oklahoma River/Oklahoma City, Ok.
(all races 2,000 meters unless otherwise noted)
 
7:00 a.m. – Varsity eights
7:20 a.m. – Varsity fours
7:40 a.m. – Second varsity fours
8:00 a.m. – Third varsity fours
 
9:30 a.m. – Second varsity eights
9:50 a.m. – Varsity eights
10:10 a.m. – Varsity fours
10:45 a.m. – Novice eights (1,500 meters)
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS
 
Varsity Eight
cox – LeeAnn Arrington (Sr./Empire, OK/Empire HS)
stroke – Megan Popielak (So./Petaluma, CA/Petaluma HS)
7 – Macie Leach (Jr./Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS)
6 – Jacinta Grandel (Jr./Palmer, AK/Rosary HS)
5 – Kalais Samuelson (Jr./Beaverton, OR/Sunset HS)
4 – Elise Arkills (So./Tacoma, WA/Curtis HS)
3 – Natalie Korolenko (So./Redmond, WA/Cedar Park Christian HS)
2 – Danielle Johnson (Sr./Mill Creek, WA/Jackson HS)
bow – Kristin Grassell (Fr./Des Moines, WA/Evergreen Lutheran HS)
 
Varsity Four
cox – Lucy Sandahl (So./Coupeville, WA/Coupeville HS)
stroke – Jennifer Hoag (Sr./Normandy Park, WA/Seattle Christian HS)
3 – Hannah Miller (So./East Lyme, CT/East Lyme HS) -- 1st race
  or – Nicole Svoboda (Jr./La Quinta, CA/La Quinta HS) -- 2nd race
2 –Ingrid Erickson (Fr./Renton, WA/Kentridge HS)
bow – Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza (Sr./Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS)
 
Second Varsity Four
cox – Sara Mach (Fr./Edmonds, WA/Edmonds Heights HS)
stroke – Audrey Rekedal (Fr./Pasadena, CA/Maranatha HS)
3 – Addie Clark (Fr./Olympia, WA/Olympia HS)
2 – Megan Rouse (So./Ferndale, WA/Lynden Christian HS)
bow – Sophie Sandahl (Jr./Coupeville, WA/Oak Harbor HS/Skagit Valley CC)
 
Third Varsity Four
cox – Jessica Vester (Jr./Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS)
stroke – Bella Sangston (So./Bellevue, WA/Newport HS)
3 – Emma Ely (Fr./Buckley, WA/White River HS)
2 – Olivia Pederson (Fr./Puyallup, WA/Rosslyn Academy, Kenya)
bow –Meghan Rustemeyer (Fr./Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS)
 
Second Varsity Eight
cox – Jessica Vester (Jr./Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS)
stroke – Audrey Rekedal (Fr./Pasadena, CA/Maranatha HS)
7 – Emma Ely (Fr./Buckley, WA/White River HS)
6 – Bella Sangston (So./Bellevue, WA/Newport HS)
5 –Meghan Rustemeyer (Fr./Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS)
4 – Megan Rouse (So./Ferndale, WA/Lynden Christian HS)
3 – Summer Frank (So./Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS)
2 – Olivia Pederson (Fr./Puyallup, WA/Rosslyn Academy, Kenya)
bow – Addie Clark (Fr./Olympia, WA/Olympia HS)
 
Novice Eight
cox – Sara Mach (Fr./Edmonds, WA/Edmonds Heights HS)
stroke – Audrey Rekedal (Fr./Pasadena, CA/Maranatha HS)
7 – Kristin Grassell (Fr./Des Moines, WA/Evergreen Lutheran HS)
6 – Megan Rouse (So./Ferndale, WA/Lynden Christian HS)
5 – Emma Ely (Fr./Buckley, WA/White River HS)
4 –Meghan Rustemeyer (Fr./Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS)
3 – Jessica Vester (Jr./Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS)
2 – Olivia Pederson (Fr./Puyallup, WA/Rosslyn Academy, Kenya)
bow – Addie Clark (Fr./Olympia, WA/Olympia HS)