CHERRY HILL, NJ – The Seattle Pacific University women's rowing team competed for the NCAA National Championship on Saturday morning in New Jersey, as the Falcons were powered by a third-place performance from the Varsity 8+ boat leading to a third-place team finish.
The third-place finish caps an incredibly successful season for the Falcons. The group earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Crew of the Week honors three times, was consistently in regional and national polls, and collected a total of 16 postseason awards (academic and athletic) thus far. The strong finish to the year at NCAA Nationals made the entire SPU community proud.
"Overall, the team had a solid season marked by both physical and technical improvements and, of course, high-level racing," head coach Caitlin McClain said. "We were fortunate to earn an at-large NCAA bid based on our body of work. This weekend, the team did a commendable job of executing high-performance preparation and racing. It was really gratifying to see them proactively managing their hydration, sun exposure, and active recovery through utilizing the skills and resources of our incredible Athletic Trainer, Jason Durocher. We are grateful for the opportunity to sharpen and showcase our skills and speed at the national championships."
Seattle Pacific lined up against the University of Central Oklahoma, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Embry Riddle in the Varsity 8+ finals. The Lumberjacks broke out to an early lead, followed closely by the Bronchos and the Falcons.
The Falcons made a strong push for second place throughout the middle portions of the race. UCO found a way to out hold off the Falcons. Meanwhile, CPH broke away from the eventual race and team title victory. The Falcons took the bronze medal with a time of 7:21.967. SPU was just two seconds shy of UCO for silver.
"The V8+ did a great job bringing more aggression to the races, which was a focus coming out of GNACs," McClain said. "We weren't quite able to apply it in the heat, but by the rep, we found a new level and gained confidence going into the grand final. While we weren't able to get into the top two podium spots for D2, we are proud of our final race to the season."
The V4+ shell finals were a rematch of the ultra-competitive Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. SPU took on Central Oklahoma, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Western Washington in the grand finals.
After an even start, the Bronchos and Lumberjacks emerged as the teams to beat. UCO led for a majority of the race but didn't walk away with the gold model. It was a miraculous late kick from the Lumberjacks that gave them the event win. CPH won the race with a time of 8:06.762.
Like the eventual champions, the Falcons put together a late push to try and take bronze away from the Vikings. WWU was able to stymie the late run from SPU. The Falcons took fourth with a time of 8:23.180.
"The V4+ did an exceptional job of improving every day," assistant coach Amy Hildebrandt Each race was approached individually to keep themselves engaged and excited in the moment. Their ultimate goal was to be atop the podium and even though that did not happen, they fought to the bitter end and felt they had redeemed themselves from GNACs by executing a stronger race. I couldn't be more proud of these five student-athletes."
LINEUPS
Varsity 8+ C: Moxie McCandless, 8: Jacinta Grandel, 8: Natalie Korolenko, 6: Audrey Rekedal, 5: Kalais Samuelson, 4: Elise Cornwell, 3: Ixchel Watson, 2: Macie Leach, 1: Hannah Miller
Varsity 4+ C: Lucy Sandahl, 4: Megan Popielak, 3: Anna Boatman, 2: Megan Rouse, 1: Sophie Sandahl
Spares: Gem Gatmaytan, Bella Lisenby
