SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific's varsity four crew raced to a solid runner-up result Saturday morning and the Falcons other two boats turned in second- and third-place performances at the 2022 Windermere Cup regatta on the wind-swept Montlake Cut.
 
All three races involving SPU were won convincingly by crews from host and NCAA Division I power Washington. The Falcons varsity eight boat finished third in the Cascade Cup competition and the team's open eight crew placed second.
 
The University of Washington-hosted event is one of the world's premier rowing showcases. The entire course was lined by spectators on both sides of the narrow waterway, thousands of them both on shore and also in boats that were tethered to a log-boom for the first half of the 2,000-meter course.
 
"It's a huge honor to be able to row in Windermere Cup and the fact that we had three boats representing was wonderful for SPU," said second-year Falcons coach Caitlin McClain. "The racing is always a great opportunity, especially this year seeing Western Washington again at Windermere and then next week at the conference regatta. It's just great to be next to them and get used to that feeling.
 
"We put together some really good races. Our crews were pleased with their race-plan execution. We're just excited to do the final touches before GNAC."
 
This was the Falcons' fifth straight appearance in the competition that celebrates the opening day of boating season in the Northwest. They had a five-year absence from the Windermere regatta between 2012-16 due to scheduling conflicts.

VIDEO: AUDREY REKEDAL INTERVIEW

Varsity Four
SPU's four-oared entry faced another matchup with Division II regional rival Western Washington along with Division I foes UW and Seattle University. The Falcons fared extremely well against all, but the Huskies.
 
Washington burst off the starting line and quickly gained an open-water advantage that continually grew. The battle was for second place, and Seattle Pacific won that.
 
The Falcons secured the second spot early and did not relinquish it. Their margin was one seat over Seattle U after 500 meters, increasing to open water by the midway mark. At 1,500 meters SPU was two boat lengths ahead of third place and at the finish it was nearly three lengths of open water.
 
UW's first-place time was a swift 7-minutes, 12.32-seconds. The Falcons crossed in 8:08.30, nine seconds in front of Seattle U and 18 ahead of Western. The Redhawks third-place time was 8:17.36 and WWU was fourth in 8:26.35.
 
"We had made a lineup change between the eight and four, so both boats only had a couple days to get it figured out," McClain said. "Both did a great job with that. The four continues to be a strong boat, which shows our depth and we're really pleased with that."
 
Helming the SPU crew was junior coxswain Moxie McCandless. Megan Popielak sat in the stroke seat alongside rowers Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza, Audrey Rekedal and Kristin Grassell in the bow.
 
VIDEO: VARSITY FOUR RACE

Varsity Eight
The top eight-oared crews from Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals Western Washington and Seattle Pacific squared off in the Cascade Cup race, sandwiched between the second varsity boats of Division I Washington and Seattle University.
 
UW controlled the race en route to a near 20-second triumph. The Huskies winning time was 6:35.85 and Seattle University placed a distant fourth in 7:14.83.
 
The real race was between the Division II boats. Western grabbed an early two-seat edge over the Falcons and added another seat over the second 500-meter segment. By the 1,500-meter mark the Vikings owned a boat-length lead and they finished with a sliver of open water ahead of SPU's bow.
 
WWU's second-place time was 6:54.45 and the Falcons were third in 6:59.19. That halved the deficit from their last meeting when Western won the WIRA Championship varsity eight race on May 1 and SPU was over nine seconds back in third.
 
"We're really pleased with the varsity eight," said McClain. "They did a great job being resilient after WIRAs and setting some goals about being a little more aggressive and being able to still execute a smart race plan, but one that is also pushing and staying in contact with the other crews around them. It was great to be able to do that today and have that outcome shown in the numbers."
 
Senior coxswain LeeAnn Arrington directed the Falcons varsity eight with Jennifer Hoag occupying the stroke seat for the first time. Also pulling oars were Macie Leach, Elise Arkills, Natalie Korolenko, Jacinta Grandel, Kalais Samuelson, Danielle Johnson and Hannah Miller in the bow.

VIDEO: CASCADE CUP RACE (SPU varsity 8)

Open Eight
A week after winning the second varsity eight title at the WIRA Championships, the Falcons found themselves at the starting dock alongside just one other crew in the race for open eights. The lone foe was a formidable eight-oared crew from Washington.
 
The Huskies surged off the line and rapidly created an open-water lead. They continued to command the competition, crossing the finish line in 7:04.41 with a 33-second advantage.
 
Seattle Pacific rowed to a second-place time of 7:38.14.
 
SPU's open eight crew contained two sisters. Sophomore Lucy Sandahl steered the boat from her coxswain position while junior Sophie Sandahl occupied the bow seat. They are from Coupeville, Washington.
 
The rest of the Falcons open eight rowers were: Megan Rouse, Addie Clark, Bella Sangston, Emma Ely, Meghan Rustemeyer, Nicole Svoboda and Ingrid Erickson. Six of them are novices in their initial year of collegiate rowing, including four freshmen.

VIDEO: OPEN FOUR RACE

NEXT REGATTA
The next competition for the Falcons is the GNAC Championships on May 14 at Dexter Lake in Lowell, Oregon. Racing begins at 11:30 a.m. The conference began sponsoring women's rowing in 2020, but what would have been the first conference championship regatta was canceled due to the pandemic.
 
Last year marked the first GNAC Rowing Championships and Central Oklahoma swept the team, varsity eight and varsity four titles. SPU was the runner-up in all three categories.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
Windermere Cup Regatta
Saturday, May 7, 2022
Montlake Cut / Seattle, Wash.
(2,000-meter races)
 
RESULTS (SPU races only)
 
Cascade Cup
1, Washington 2V, 6:35.85
2, Western Washington 1V, 6:54.45
3, Seattle Pacific 1V, 6:59.19
4, Seattle University 2V, 7:14.83
          SPU lineup: cox-LeeAnn Arrington, stroke-Jennifer Hoag, 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, 7:12.32
2, Seattle Pacific, 8:08.30
3, Seattle University, 8:17.36
4, Western Washington, 8:26.35
          SPU lineup:  cox–Moxie McCandless, stroke-Megan Popielak, 3-Avalon Tarbet-Mendoza, 2-Audrey Rekedal, bow-Kristin Grassell.
 
Open Eights
1, Washington, 7:04.41
2, Seattle Pacific, 7:38.14
          SPU lineup:  cox–Lucy Sandahl, stroke-Megan Rouse, 7-Addie Clark, 6-Bella Sangston, 5-Emma Ely, 4-Meghan Rustemeyer, 3-Nicole Svoboda, 2-Ingrid Erickson, bow-Sophie Sandahl.
 
 
NEXT REGATTA
GNAC Championships
Saturday, May 14, 11:30 a.m.
Dexter Lake / Lowell, Ore.