PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Women's Rowing Postseason Awards on Tuesday afternoon, featuring Seattle Pacific's
Aleksia Haugen as the conference's Coxswain of the Year,
Miriam Dykstra was named Co-Freshman of the Year, while
Solanes Capps-Mace was named First Team All-Conference.
Haugen has been a valuable piece to the Falcons' roster, guiding multiple SPU crews throughout the season. She was one of eight graduating seniors honored before the Falcon Regatta on March 21. She led the Varsity 4+ at the WIRA Championships, where the Falcons took fourth in their heat with a time of 8:31.22. Haugen was one of 14 Falcons to earn a spot on the GNAC All-Academic Team. It was her third time appearing on the GNAC All-Academic Team.
"Aleksia was a true walk on her freshman year, and by her sophomore year, she was the coxswain of the four that won at NCAA Nationals," head coach
Kenzie Waltar said. "She put her head down, kept working on her craft and just came to practice every day with a great attitude and always trying to learn."
Dykstra was named GNAC Co-Freshman of the Year, sharing the award with Cal Poly Humboldt's Laurel Calhoun. Dykstra held a key spot as a stroke within the Falcons' varsity 8+ lineup throughout the entire 2026 campaign. She joined
Emmerson Spencer (2024) in becoming the second woman in school history to earn the award.
Capps-Mace has been a mainstay in SPU's V8+ throughout the season. The crew had a strong showing at the Florida DII Spring Invite on April 3-4. On the opening day of competition, SPU posted a time of 7:03.4 minutes to finish second among a field of eight teams and first among Division II competition. The Falcons then performed well on the second day of the event, placing third with a time of 7:05.30 minutes. SPU went on to be named the GNAC Team of the Week for their performance at the Florida DII Spring Invite.
"Solanes is such a fierce competitor," Waltar said. "She brings a ton of grit to the team. I know without a doubt every time she's on the erg, every time she's out on that water, she's giving everything she's got. And as the stroke seat of our varsity 8, we rely on her and how she sets the tone and she's been absolutely crushing it. She's such a natural leader. She means business and I think she's really brought up the level of this team in terms of intensity and brought up our competition."
Haugen, Dykstra, and Capps-Mace were a part of the V8+ crew at the GNAC Championships on May 16. The Falcons were bow-to-bow with Cal Poly Humboldt and Western Washington at the 500-meter mark of the Varsity 8+ race. The Vikings took a slight lead, while the Falcons and Lumberjacks were still side-by-side at the 1,000-meter mark. The Lumberjacks pulled away to take second, while the Falcons took third with a time of 7:23.856. SPU finished seven seconds ahead of Central Oklahoma in the V8+ race. Central Oklahoma took second in the V4+ and fourth in the V8+ to earn 19 points, beating out the Falcons by one point for third place at the GNAC Championships.
The Falcons qualified for the NCAA National Championships for the fifth consecutive season. The regatta takes place in Gainesville, Ga., at Lake Lanier Olympic Park on Friday and Saturday.
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