SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After putting all four boats in the grand finals of the WIRA Championships, the Seattle Pacific women's rowing team found the podium three times, highlighted by a pair of second-place finishes in the V4+ and JV8+ shells on Sunday morning.
"Overall, WIRAs was a great team showing," head coach Caitlin McClain said. "We are proud of how we raced and grateful to the regatta organizers and other participants for the opportunity to compete."
SPU's varsity 4+ boat capped off an excellent weekend with a second-place finish on Sunday. Yesterday, the group of Lucy Sandahl, Megan Popielak, Anna Boatman, Megan Rouse, and Hannah Miller posted the fastest time in the class, winning their heat with a time of 7:52.05.
Sunday's V4+ final came down to the Falcons and UC Santa Barbara. SPU covered the 2,000-meter course in 7:47.90. They came up three seconds short of the Gauchos. The Falcons came in ahead of Great Northwest Athletic Conference members University of Central Oklahoma and Cal Poly Humboldt.
"All four boats had solid performances with the V4+ being the standout in terms of race execution and speed amidst a competitive field," McClain said. "They were patient and composed early in the race and were able to overtake UCO and Humboldt and close the gap on winners, UC Santa Barbara. They even beat their heat time by 5 seconds in a headwind."
The Falcons JV8+ shell had a strong day on the water. They had a competitive race against the Lumberjacks, who took the top spot with a time of 7:26.39. SPU was not far off, coming in second with a time of 7:32.62. The Falcons edged past Lewis & Clark College in the grand final.
"The JV8+ learned a lot about themselves in their heat and turned it into a brave race plan for their final," assistant coach Matt Oclander said. "They showed a lot of guts and commitment in unexpected ways and found themselves taking their best shot at a very strong Humboldt crew. They look forward to fighting for the JV8+ trophy next year."
The Varsity 8+ shell competed in a GNAC Championships preview, of sorts. The grand final came down to the Lumberjacks, Bronchos, and Falcons. The three conference foes were separated by just six seconds, with CPH earning the win with a time of 6:59.88.
The Falcons and Bronchos fought it out for a second place, with a late push from UCO earning them the spot. SPU finished third with a time of 7:05.47.
"The V8+ struggled to find the rhythm they had in the heat, but did a good job of bringing more aggression and staying in contact with UCO," McClain mentioned. "Their time in both the heat and final closed the previous margins between both UCO and Humboldt."
The Novice 4+ boat finished up the day for the Falcons. They charged through lane five and worked their way to a fourth-place finish. They checked in with a time of 9:06.15.
"Not only did the N4+ shock their competitors in their heat, but shocked themselves with their newfound speed," Oclander added. "In the final, they battled through sickness, a delayed start, the heat, and the elements to have a really gritty race ending in the best performance in the N4+ event since 2017."
The Falcons have completed their regular-season competition. Next weekend, the team will have fun at the Windermere Cup Regatta on Saturday, May 6, on the Montlake Cut.
LINEUPS
Varsity 8+
C: Moxie McCandless 8: Jacinta Grandel 7: Natalie Korolenko 6: Audrey Rekedal 5: Kalais Samuelson 4: Elise Cornwell 3: Bella Lisenby 2: Macie Leach 1: Ixchel Watson
Varsity 4+
C: Sandahl 4: Popielak 3: Boatman 2: Rouse 1: Miller
JV8+
C: Lexi Roybal 8: Brittan Dalberg 7: Emma Ely 6: Gem Gatmaytan 5: Kristin Grassell 4: Amelia Pape 3: Sophie Sandahl 2: Mary Goodhew 1: Addie Clark
Novice 4+
C: Aleksia Haugen 4: Cookie Yitbarek 3: Mia Ballard 2: Emma Jones 1: Racquel Wesley
Spare: Kayla Goodrow
