SEATTLE – The sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific women crossed the finish line first in two races Saturday morning, including the featured varsity eight event at the Falcon Regatta on the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
 
The SPU-hosted regatta included a trio of NCAA Division II nationally ranked crews with No. 5 Western Washington and No. 7 Cal Poly Humboldt rowing alongside the Falcons.
 
Varsity Eights
The eight-oared crews from all three schools clashed just once, with SPU winning by the narrowest of margins. The Falcons completed the 2,000-meter course in 6-minutes, 51.6-seconds with their bow ball sweeping across the finish line just 0.3-seconds ahead of Humboldt. The Lumberjacks' second-place time was 6:51.9 and Western was four seconds back in 6:55.9.
 
The result provided a measure of revenge for the SPU eight, which suffered a 16-second setback versus the Vikings in the season-opening PLU Invite on March 5. Saturday marked the season's first encounter between SPU and Humboldt, but they would meet again two hours later.
 
"We came into this race knowing a little bit about where we were with Western in the early season and not totally knowing where Humboldt would be. Certainly our trajectory since PLU has been upwards," said second-year SPU coach Caitlin McClain. "I prepared the boat for a close race and maybe focused a little bit more on Western in that conversation, but it was a close race across the board.
 
"I was very pleased with the way the crew handled themselves and were able to execute the race plan while also using the boats around them to elevate that. That's the beauty of competition and why we do all this is to do our best, but do it with other people around creating that whole concept of competitive spirit."
 
KALAIS SAMUELSON INTERVIEW

The Vikings did not participate in the second flight of the regatta, but the varsity eight rematch delivered another photo finish without them. This time the Lumberjacks finished first, by the same 0.3-second margin by which they lost in Flight I. Humboldt's winning time was 6:53.2 and SPU was second in 6:53.5.
 
A third Falcons entry, their second varsity eight, placed third in 7:39.8.
 
"There's nothing like racing to really creating that scenario at the finish. We were fortunate to have two close races," McClain said. "We came out of the first race hoping to improve our sprint, which we did, but when you have two well-matched boats you are going to trade races back-and-forth."
 
Senior coxswain LeeAnn Arrington directed the Falcons varsity eight crew in both races with Megan Popielak occupying the stroke seat. Also rowing for SPU were Macie Leach, Jacinta Grandel, Natalie Korolenko, Elise Arkills, Kalais Samuelson, Danielle Johnson and Hannah Miller.

 

Varsity Fours
As in the eights, the Vikings only competed in the first race for varsity fours, but showed their speed in that outing. Western won by nearly four lengths of open water, registering a time of 7:50.9. That was a vast improvement from the 12-second loss to SPU on March 5.
 
The Falcons clocked a time of 8:04.1 on their home course to handily defeat Cal Poly, which finished in 8:15.5. Those two crews squared off in the second flight, joined by SPU's novice four.
 
SPU won the second matchup by ample open water, clocking a time of 8:02.8 to finish 12 seconds in front of Humboldt's time of 8:14.8. The Falcons novice entry was a distant third in 8:37.1.
 
"It was great to have them get faster in the second piece and ultimately have a stronger race. We had a little more composure and stronger togetherness," McClain said about her varsity four boat.
 
"For them being able to go out there and have the race they had in the first flight, debrief it, and then come back in the second and improve their time is awesome. Getting that first race to be our best effort is the skill we are continuing to work toward."
 
Seattle's Pacific top four-oared crew was comprised of coxswain Jessica Vester with Jennifer Hoag, Nicole Svoboda, Ingrid Erickson and Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza pulling oars.
 
Open Fours
 

Starting Saturday's regatta was a competition for open fours, crews that can be comprised of any combination of varsity and novice rowers.
 
Western Washington displayed the depth of its four-oared stable, posting an open-water win with a time of 8:04.8. Seattle Pacific entered two open fours. The first was coxed by Vester and finished second in 8:09.4. The second SPU boat, steered by Sara Mach, had a third-place time of 8:14.1.
 
Alumni Race
The regatta concluded with a 500-meter exhibition race between an eight-oared SPU alumni crew and the school's current novice eight boat. The alumni, comprised of rowers from past SPU men's and women's teams, shook off the rust of rowing inactivity and emerged with a six-second win over the first-year Falcons.
 
The alumni boat, coxed by 2021 graduate Cecilia Krause, posted a time of 1:41.1 followed by the novices in 1:47.4. The honorary coach of the alumni crew was Kaitlin Dickinson and the group of rowers included current SPU assistant coach Matt Oclander, a 2016 graduate.
 
Quoting Coach McClain
"Today's racing was a really good mid-season checkpoint to see where our speed is at and ultimately to have the athletes practice the skill of showing up and having a really good first race," McClain said. "We're certainly still working on that to have back-to-back good performances. As we get further into the season, being able to bring it that first race is really important. We are making progress there."
 
Notable
• For the second straight season, the Falcon Regatta's varsity eight event produced fantastic finishes. In two races last year, Seattle Pacific twice finished within one second of defending national champion and top-ranked Central Oklahoma. The margins were 0.7 and 0.3 seconds. Saturday's racing was even tighter as both varsity eight outings were decided by matching 0.3-second margins.
 
Next Regatta
The Falcons fly south, to Gold River, California, for the annual WIRA Championships. The two-day regatta, conducted by the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association, takes place on April 30 and May 1 on Lake Natoma. Heats are scheduled for Friday with finals set for Saturday.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
Falcon Regatta
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Lake Washington Ship Canal/Seattle, Wash.
(all races 2,000 meters, unless otherwise noted)
 
Varsity Eights
Flight I -- 1, Seattle Pacific, 6:51.6; 2, Cal Poly Humboldt, 6:51.9; 3, Western Washington, 6:55.9.
 
Flight II -- 1, Cal Poly Humboldt, 6:53.2; 2, Seattle Pacific, 6:53.5; 3, Seattle Pacific 2V, 7:39.8.
          SPU lineup: cox-LeeAnn Arrington, stroke-Megan Popielak, 7-Macie Leach, 6-Jacinta Grandel, 5-Natalie Korolenko, 4-Elise Arkills, 3-Kalais Samuelson, 2-Danielle Johnson, bow-Hannah Miller.
          SPU 2V lineup: cox-Lucy Sandahl, stroke-Audrey Rekedal, 7-Emma Ely, 6-Megan Rouse, 5-Kristin Grassell, 4-Meghan Rustemeyer, 3-Sophie Sandahl, 2-Olivia Pederson, bow-Addie Clark.
 
Varsity Fours
Flight I -- 1, Western Washington, 7:50.9; 2, Seattle Pacific, 8:04.1; 3, Cal Poly Humboldt, 8:15.5.
 
Flight II -- 1, Seattle Pacific, 8:02.8; 2, Cal Poly Humboldt, 8:14.8; 3, Seattle Pacific novice, 8:37.1.
          SPU lineup: cox-Jessica Vester, stroke-Jennifer Hoag, 3-Nicole Svoboda, 2-Ingrid Erickson, bow-Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza.
          SPU novice lineup: cox-Sara Mach, stroke-Mary Goodhew, 3-Madison Raines, 2-Graysen Swanson, bow-Jaida Jones.
 
Open Fours
1, Western Washington, 8:04.8; 2, Seattle Pacific, 8:09.4; 3, Seattle Pacific "B", 8:14.1.
          SPU lineup: cox- Lucy Sandahl, stroke-Audrey Rekedal, 3-Kristin Grassell, 2-Megan Rouse, bow- Emma Ely.
          SPU "B" lineup: cox-Sara Mach, 4-Bella Sangston, 3-Summer Frank, 2-Meghan Rustemeyer, bow-Addie Clark.
 
SPU Alumni/Novice Eights (500 meters)
1, Alumni, 1:41.1, 2, Novice, 1:47.4.
          SPU novice lineup: cox-Lucy Sandahl, stroke-Mary Goodhew, 7-Addie Clark, 6-Meghan Rustemeyer, 5-Madison Raines, 4-Graysen Swanson, 3-Jaida Jones, 2-Olivia Pederson, bow-Jessica Vester.
          SPU alumni lineup (class): cox-Cecilia Krause (2021), stroke-Chloe Remley (2020), 7-Brooklyn Liberato (2021), 6-Julienne Renne (2021), 5-Samantha Kimmel (2021), 4-Matt Oclander (2016), 3-Madison Swain-Bowden (2017), 2-Patrick Pappalardo (2017), bow-Haley Thompson (2021).