GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The Seattle Pacific University performed at its best at the NCAA National Championships in Gainesville, Ga., on Friday, where a second-place finish in the Varsity 8+ led to the team finishing third overall, their best finish since 2023.
 
FROM THE COACH
"The schedule change can be stressful," head coach Kenzie Waltar said. "But I think our team has done a really great job, in other regattas, of being really flexible. I was proud of their resilience to accept the schedule change and make the most of it."
 
"This boat has been together for many races this season and has not stopped progressing to be able to compete the way that they did this weekend," assistant coach Gracie Hoidal said of the V4+ crew. "They showed great drive and grit throughout the season. They continued to progress every time they were on the water, and that showed most this weekend. We could not be any prouder of how they performed, especially given that this is the best of the best."
 
"I was just crying the whole time because I was, I'm so proud of them," Waltar said of the V8+ crew. "After the heats, I wasn't sure if other teams would change their race strategies. The finals were important to us, and the team delivered. They raced with absolute joy. And that was my biggest prayer for them was just to race with joy. The team was chirping 'yeah, birds," the entire race, and just hyping each other up and the energy. You could feel it from the shore as we were watching. I'm proud of everything that happened this weekend, and happy for our seniors to finish out their time with us like that. It was special.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons lined up against Cal Poly Humboldt and Rollins in heat two of the Varsity8+.
  • They flew to their best time of the season, speeding through the 2,000-meter course in 6:44.764.
  • The Falcons won their heat and advanced to the grand final.
  • The time was the second-fastest in the heat, trailing only Western Washington's 6:42.983 from heat one of the V8+.
• In the Varsity 4+, the Falcons took on the Vikings and Embry Riddle.
  • The Varsity 4+ also posted their fastest time of the season with an 8:01.926.
  • SPU finished third in the heat and went on to compete in the petite final in the afternoon.
• The V4+ took part in the petite final against Rollins.
  • The Falcons turned in a time of 8:03.291, falling short of a 7:54.081 from Rollins.
• The Falcons took on the Vikings, the Lumberjacks, and the Eagles in the V8+ grand final.
  • Early in the race, SPU battled CPH for second place, with the Falcons pulling away from the Lumberjacks.
  • The middle stages of the 2,000-meter course featured the Falcons closing in on the Vikings, going side-by-side with 500 meters to go.
  • The Vikings edged past the Falcons to take the race with a 6:41.526.
  • SPU earned a silver medal finish with a time of 6:44.732, just 3.206 seconds behind the Vikings.

TEAM RESULTS

• The Vikings won their 10th national title, taking the V8+ and V4+ to finish the day with 30 points.
• A pair of third-place finishes in the V8+ and the V4+ helped Cal Poly Humboldt earn second place with 20 points.
• The Falcons' second-place finish in the V8+ powered SPU to third place, with a total of 17 points.

 
LINEUPS
Varsity 8+ - c: Aleksia Haugen, 8: Solanes Capps-Mace, 7: Amelia Pape, 6: Emma Jones, 5: Miriam Dykstra, 4: Bella Lisenby, 3: Emmerson Spencer, 2: Grace Combs, 1: Gem Gatmaytan
 
Varsity 4+ - c: Lexi Roybal, 4: Kaitlin Hollebeek, 3: Elizabeth Chapman, 2: Racquel Wesley, 1: Brittan Dalberg
 
Spares – Erica Fisher, Mia Vittori

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