GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Seattle Pacific University women's rowing team left the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships with a fourth-place finish after a valiant effort against Cal Poly Humboldt, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Western Washington.
Scoring for the GNAC Championships was determined by finishes in the varsity 4+ and varsity 8+ races. The Lumberjacks secured the title with 12 points from a V4+ victory and 15 points from a second-place finish in the V8+. CPH took the 2025 title with 27 points, narrowly edging past the Vikings by one point.
The Falcons battled the Bronchos for third place in the standings. The SPU V8+ turned in a time of 7:18.183 to take third in that race. The Bronchos had a big performance in the V4+, finishing second for 10 points. Ultimately, the Bronchos earned third place with 19 points, while the Falcons came in third with 18 points.
"We knew coming out of WIRAs that placing 3rd or higher as a team at GNAC Championships was going to require multiple variables to go our way," head coach Caitlin McClain said. "We were confident that we could stay ahead of UCO in the Varsity 8+ and were hopeful that the Varsity 4+ results might be shaken up by stronger lineups for us and/or WWU. Unfortunately, it came down to us and WWU in a photo finish and only .4 seconds and one point separating us from 3rd place in the event and as a team respectively. The Varsity 4+ fought hard down the course with the bow balls changing position every 500 meters. Overall, the crew had a good race, but wasn't able to find the surge in the sprint."
The Falcons and Vikings went down to the wire for third place in the V4+. WWU finished in 8:08.813. The Falcons came within six-tenths of a second for third place. SPU clocked an 8:09.373.
The SPU V8+ had an excellent start to its race. At the 500-meter mark, they were tied with CPH. From there, the Lumberjacks pulled away from the Falcons. SPU chased CPH and WWU, creating separation from UCO. The Falcons took third in the race with a time of 7:18.183.
"Like WIRAs, the Varsity 8+ had a strong performance against UCO but still maintained a comparable margin to Humboldt and over UCO from WIRAs," McClain said. "However, that early speed was not sustainable, and they dropped back on the lead two boats."
The exhibition 4+ raced before point-scoring boats competed on Saturday. The Falcons rowed to an 8:44.464 and took fourth in their heat while gaining valuable experience in a postseason environment.
"While not point scoring, the Open 4+ is an important development boat for the long-term goals of the program," McClain said. "It provides exposure to the post-season experience for those rowers who are on the cusp of producing the speed to be in the varsity boats. In addition to the usual disruption of selection and lineup changes, our team also has faced a handful of injury and illness challenges that made it hard to find consistency in that lineup. The crew struggled to come together in the lead-up to GNACs and didn't turn the corner soon enough to put together their best race. Regardless, the opportunity to train, travel, and race is a privilege and greatly impacts the motivation of those athletes for future years."
The Falcons will wait for the NCAA Selection Show, which will take place on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. PST, to see if they've earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Championships.
LINEUPS
Varsity 8+
c: Aleksia Haugen, 8: Amelia Pape, 7: Emma Jones, 6: Audrey Rekedal, 5: Solanes Capps-Mace, 4: Bella Lisenby, 3: Grace Combs, 2: Gem Gatmaytan, 1: Addie Clark
Varsity 4+
c: Lexi Roybal, 4; Emmerson Spencer, 3: Emma Ely, 2: Megan Rouse, 1: Brittan Dalberg
Exhibition 4+
c: Sasha Kolobovnikov, 4: Racquel Wesley, 3: Mia Vittori, 2: Elizabeth Chapman, 1: Jasmine Crisan
Spares
Mary Goodhew, Karisma Magana
SPU SOCIAL
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