PORTLAND, Ore. -- Jennifer Hoag was honored as the Rower of the Year, joining Seattle Pacific teammates LeeAnn Arrington and Macie Leach on the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference team when the league announced its annual women's rowing awards Friday.
 
Hoag was named to the 11-person all-conference squad for the second straight season, one of only three repeat selections. Last year, she was one of just two non-seniors on the inaugural All-GNAC team.
 
The senior from Seattle Christian High School captains the Seattle Pacific team and made an immediate impact upon rejoining the varsity eight crew, moving into the significant stroke seat. Hoag had been rowing in the Falcons varsity four boat before moving into the eight-oared crew late in the season.
 
With Hoag onboard, SPU halved a nine-second deficit versus regional rival Western Washington from the previous week, showing more speed at the May 7 Windermere Cup. At the GNAC Championships on May 14, she sparked an impressive rally from fourth place. The Falcons swept past two crews and nearly caught WWU, placing second by less than one second in the varsity eight final.
 
 

Arrington and Leach are departing seniors for the Falcons and both are members of SPU's GNAC runner-up varsity eight.
 
A product of Empire (Okla.) High School, Arrington serves as the coxswain for the Falcons in the varsity eight boat, a position she has held for two seasons.
 
Leach, a junior, is one of only three non-seniors on the All-GNAC squad. The graduate of Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, California occupies the No. 7 seat in SPU's top crew.
 
That trio fueled the Falcons to second-place finishes at the 2022 GNAC Championships in both the team and varsity eight categories. They helped SPU earn an invitation to next week's NCAA Division II Championships, slated for May 27-28 in Sarasota, Florida.
 
Western Washington received three of the five individual awards from the conference, including Adela Houston for Coxswain of the Year, Sarah Ernst for Freshman of the Year and John Fuchs for Coach of the Year.
 
The GNAC began sponsoring women's rowing in 2020, but that season was canceled due to the pandemic. The 2021 campaign was the first for the conference, which hosted its inaugural championship regatta and selected an All-GNAC team. Joining SPU, Cal Poly Humboldt and Western Washington in the four-team conference is Central Oklahoma, the three-time defending NCAA Division II champion.
 
WWU placed five rowers on the 2022 All-GNAC team, SPU had three, Central Oklahoma two and Humboldt one.
 
2022 All-GNAC Women's Rowing Team
 
Award Winners
Rower of the Year: Jennifer Hoag, Seattle Pacific
Coxswain of the Year: Adele Houston, Western Washington
Coach of the Year: John Fuchs, Western Washington
Freshman of the Year: Sarah Ernst, Western Washington
Newcomer of the Year: Dana Foley, Cal Poly Humboldt
 
Name,  School,  Year,  Hometown (High School)
LeeAnn Arrington, SPU, Sr., Empire, OK (Empire)
* Maddie Bangasser, WWU, Sr., Sammamish, WA (Eastlake)
Faith Brooks, UCO, So., Georgetown, TX (Gateway Prep)
* Jennifer Hoag, SPU, Sr., Normandy Park, WA (Seattle Christian)
Adele Houston, WWU, Sr., Seattle, WA (Nathan Hale)
Sage Kroeker, UCO, Sr., Enid, OK (Oklahoma Bible Academy)
Macie Leach, SPU, Jr., Chico, CA (Pleasant Valley)
Morgan MacIntyre, WWU, Sr., Camas, WA (Camas)
Haley Moss, WWU, Sr., Orcas Island, WA (Orcas Island)
Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks, WWU, Jr., Anchorage, AK (West Anchorage)
* Malia Seeley, CPH, Sr., Polson, MT (Polson)
 
    * repeat selections