SEATTLE – This week in Seattle Pacific University Athletics, the SPU women's rowing team lines up for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, May 16, in Gold River, Calif., on Lake Natoma.

WOMEN'S ROWING
May 16 – 10:00 a.m.
at GNAC Championships – info – live results

FROM THE COACH
"We're really excited to compete at GNAC Championships," head coach Kenzie Waltar said. "The whole team is excited to get back down to Lake Natoma, excited to throw down with our other GNAC competitors. This is a fast region, and the team is focused on racing at a high level on Saturday."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association announced its preseason poll on Feb. 11, with the Falcons selected in fourth place.
• The GNAC announced its Preseason Coaches Poll on Feb. 26, with the Falcons slotted for a third-place finish by the league's coaches.
• The Falcons celebrated Brittan Dalberg, Gem Gatmaytan, Aleksia Haugen, Emma Jones, Bella Lisenby, Amelia Pape, Lexi Roybal, and Racquel Wesley before their home race on March 22.
• SPU welcomed a new boat to its fleet, Ms. Claudia, prior to the Falcon Regatta as well.
• The Falcons competed at the NCAA Division II Spring Invite on April 4, where the Varsity 8+ led all Division II finishers with a second-place finish in 7:03.4.
• A strong performance at the Florida DII Spring Invite earned the V8+ shell the GNAC Crew of the Week award on April 6.
• On April 26, the Falcons went bow-to-bow-to-bow with Cal Poly Humboldt and Puget Sound for second-place at the WIRA Championships in the V8+ grand final.
  • The final difference between the three shells was just less than two-tenths of a second (0.192, to be precise). Humboldt wound up No. 2 in 6:57.781, UPS was third in 6:57.825, and the Falcons placed fourth in 6:57.973.
• The Falcons raced in the iconic Windermere Cup on May 2 and made their first appearance in the twilight springs the night before.
  • The Falcons were invited to compete in the Cascade Cup on May 1, where they took on two crews from the University of Washington and Seattle University.
    • The Varsity 8+ crew finished the sprint race in 1:58.1, earning third place in the race ahead of the RedHawks.
  • On May 2, the Falcons lined up against the same teams in the V8+.
    • The Falcons were two seconds behind the University of Washington Gold crew for second place 500 meters into the race.
    • Both UW crews would pull away, while the Falcons stayed ahead of the Redhawks to finish third with a time of 7:03.979.
  • SPU's open 8+ crew raced against Western Washington, the University of Washington, and Pacific Lutheran University.
    • The Falcons finished fourth with a time of 7:43.130.
• On May 7, 14 Falcons were named to the GNAC All-Academic Team.
• In the ninth edition of the CRCA Coaches Poll, the Falcons rank ninth behind Embry-Riddle, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Western Washington.
  • The Vikings received five of the six available first-place votes, while the Eagles earned the remaining first-place vote.
• A strong performance at the GNAC Championships could result in the Falcons earning a trip to the NCAA National Championships in Gainesville, Ga. On May 29-30.
  • It would be the fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships for the Falcons, and eighth overall since 2009.

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