GOLD RIVER, Calif. – A trio of Seattle Pacific boats posted top-three grand finals finishes, including the second varsity eight crew that raced to victory Sunday morning at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships on Lake Natoma.
 
The Falcons won the second varsity eight competition and were the top NCAA Division II finishers in the varsity four event, placing second overall.
 
SPU's top eight-oared crew rowed to a third-place result in the varsity race behind two regional rivals. The novice four boat finished sixth.
 
"We were very happy with our racing this weekend," exclaimed second-year SPU coach Caitlin McClain.
 
"It was an incredible team performance with the opportunity to have a championship experience for the whole team and get two days of racing for most of our boats. The athletes really embraced that, came ready and performed really well."
 
The WIRA regatta serves as the unofficial West Coast collegiate championships. The competition was not conducted the last two seasons as they were canceled due to the pandemic. Just four current Falcons competed at the last WIRA event, in 2019.
 
Second Varsity Eight
There was no heat race on Saturday for the second varsity eight event, so SPU's crew debuted with a win in Sunday's grand final. Paired with a duo of Northwest schools, the Falcons immediately burst off the starting line to a large lead. They led by several lengths of open water en route to a wire-to-wire triumph while Pacific Lutheran and Lewis & Clark battled for second place.
 
SPU completed the 2,000-meter course in 7-minutes, 29.62-seconds to registered a 22-second victory over runner-up PLU, which finished in 7:51.75. Lewis & Clark was an additional boat length back in 7:56.95.
 
"We were really proud of our second varsity eight. They brought the trophy home," McClain said. "That crew really came together and built off of the week of practice, came out and rowed well. Even though they had open water by the first 500 they continued to row better and better and make improvements throughout the race."
 
The victorious crew was directed by coxswain Jessica Vester and featured rowers Megan Rouse, Addie Clark, Bella Sangston, Emma Ely, Meghan Rustemeyer, Nicole Svoboda, Ingrid Erickson and Sophie Sandahl. Six of them were novices in their initial year of collegiate rowing, including four freshmen.
 
For Division II teams, the race results from each school's varsity eight and varsity four crews are considered in selection of the six-team field. Seattle Pacific is currently ranked No. 5 in the national poll. The Falcons are seeking their first NCAA regatta appearance since 2019 when they had a fourth-place showing in the team standings.

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT RACE

Varsity Four
The Falcons forged a terrific triumph over their regional rivals in the varsity four grand final race. They clocked the best time in that category during Saturday's heats.
 
Washington State, the other heat winner, controlled Sunday's race. The Cougars gained an early boat-length advantage in the grand final. SPU was solidly in second place the entire trip down the course, with open water between its stern and the rest of the field.
 
Division II Cal Poly Humboldt rowed in third while GNAC competitor Western Washington battled two other crews for the fourth position.
 
At the line, WSU finished first with a time of 8:13.16. The Falcons had narrowed the gap and crossed just two seats back, in 8:15.05. That provided a small amount of open water ahead of third-place Humboldt, which had a time of 8:19.08.
 
Oregon claimed fourth place in 8:22.36, followed by WWU (8:31.61) and UC Santa Barbara (8:40.23).
 
Helming the crew for the first time this season was junior coxswain Moxie McCandless. Jennifer Hoag sat in the stroke seat alongside rowers Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza, Audrey Rekedal and Kristin Grassell in the bow.
 
"From an NCAA and conference standpoint, our varsity four did an awesome job," said McClain. "They came into the regatta untested, having not raced in that lineup before. Our four put together two really solid performances."

VARSITY FOUR RACE

Varsity Eight
As expected, the grand final for varsity eights featured a clash between the trio of Division II entries. Western Washington followed a stellar heat time of 6:57.53 with an even better effort in Sunday's championship race.
 
The Vikings surged to the lead off the start and maintained a boat-length margin over Cal Poly Humboldt throughout the race. SPU kept contact, sustaining its bow on the Lumberjacks stern while holding off UC Irvine.
 
Western won with a speedy time of 6:50.64 with Humboldt second in 6:54.17. The Falcons trailed by a sliver of open water, crossing the line in 6:59.91. UC Irvine notched a fourth-place time of 7:07.88, UC Santa Barbara was fifth in 7:08.17 and Pacific Lutheran was sixth in 7:12.53.
 
The result was the reverse of the last time the three GNAC crews clashed. They raced in Seattle on April 9 at the Falcon Regatta and SPU emerged with a 0.3-second win over Humboldt while WWU trailed by four seconds in third place. All three will meet again on May 14 at the GNAC Championships in Lowell, Oregon.
 
"The varsity eight had really good execution on their second race in terms of the goals we set for ourselves," McClain said.
 
Senior coxswain LeeAnn Arrington directed the Falcons varsity eight with Megan Popielak occupying the stroke seat. Also pulling oars were Macie Leach, Elise Arkills, Natalie Korolenko, Jacinta Grandel, Kalais Samuelson, Danielle Johnson and Hannah Miller in the bow.

VARSITY EIGHT RACE

Novice Four
SPU's first-year four-oared crew notched a noteworthy achievement by qualifying for the grand final with a runner-up result in the heats. Their reward was a matchup against a stacked group of Division I opponents.
 
The novice four field separated quickly with a quartet of crews streaking to the front. The Falcons flirted with fifth place early on, but settled into sixth place where they finished.
 
San Diego's first-place time of 8:04.07 provided a convincing win over cross-town rival UC San Diego, which finished in 8:12.16. Loyola Marymount placed third in 8:23.56 followed by Oregon (8:25.90) and Seattle University (8:28.16).
 
SPU was a distant sixth in 8:59.15 and the seventh entry, UC Santa Barbara, was unable to finish due to equipment failure.
 
"The novice four finishing second in the heat and making the final was great," McClain said. "That provided a great opportunity for them to compete in a grand final and gain race experience."
 
The Falcons novice four boat was steered by Lucy Sandahl. Powering the crew were rowers Olivia Pederson, Summer Frank, Graysen Swanson and Madison Raines.
 
NOVICE FOUR RACE

Next Regatta
The Falcons fleet continues the 2022 campaign next week in one of the most-watched regattas in the world. They stay in Seattle on May 7 to compete in the Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut.
 
The annual regatta, hosted by the University of Washington, celebrates the opening of boating season in the Northwest and is witnessed by thousands of spectators lining the narrow waterway. Racing begins at 10:15 a.m.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
WIRA Championships
Sunday, May 1, 2022
Lake Natoma / Gold River, Calif.
(2,000-meter races)
 
GRAND FINAL RESULTS (SPU races only)
 
Varsity Eights
1, Western Washington, 6:50.64; 2, Cal Poly Humboldt, 6:54.17; 3, Seattle Pacific, 6:59.91; 4, UC Irvine, 7:07.88; 5, UC Santa Barbara, 7:08.17; 6, Pacific Lutheran, 7:12.53.
          SPU lineup: cox-LeeAnn Arrington, stroke-Megan Popielak, 7-Macie Leach, 6-Elise Arkills, 5-Natalie Korolenko, 4-Jacinta Grandel, 3-Kalais Samuelson, 2-Danielle Johnson, bow-Hannah Miller.
 
Varsity Fours
1, Washington State, 8:13.16; 2, Seattle Pacific, 8:15.05; 3, Cal Poly Humboldt, 8:19.08; 4, Oregon, 8:22.36; 5, Western Washington, 8:31.61; 6, UC Santa Barbara, 8:40.23.
          SPU lineup:  cox–Moxie McCandless, stroke-Jennifer Hoag, 3-Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza, 2-Audrey Rekedal, bow-Kristin Grassell.
 
Second Varsity Eights
1, Seattle Pacific, 7:29.62; 2, Pacific Lutheran, 7:51.75; 3, Lewis & Clark, 7:56.95.
          SPU lineup:  cox–Jessica Vester, stroke-Megan Rouse, 7-Addie Clark, 6-Bella Sangston, 5-Emma Ely, 4-Meghan Rustemeyer, 3-Nicole Svoboda, 2-Ingrid Erickson, bow-Sophie Sandahl.
 
Novice Fours
1, San Diego, 8:04.07; 2, UC San Diego, 8:12.16; 3, Loyola Marymount, 8:23.56; 4, Oregon, 8:25.90; 5, Seattle University, 8:28.16; 6, Seattle Pacific, 8:59.15; DNF, UC Santa Barbara.
          SPU lineup:  cox–Lucy Sandahl, stroke-Olivia Pederson, 3-Summer Frank, 2-Graysen Swanson, bow-Madison Raines.
 
 
NEXT SPU REGATTA
Windermere Cup
Saturday, May 7, 10:15 a.m.
Montlake Cut / Seattle, Wash.