March 30, 2009
SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific rowers will race against many of the best West Coast collegiate crews when they visit Vancouver Lake Park in Vancouver, Wash. for the Northwest College Rowing Conference (NCRC) Invitational Regatta on Saturday, April 4.
The Falcons five-boat fleet will compete at Vancouver Lake on a 2,000-meter course that runs parallel to the NW Erwin O. Reiger Memorial Highway.
The NCRC event features 17 races and draws collegiate competitors from California, Oregon and Washington. Expected to row in races alongside SPU are crews from California Maritime, Dowling College, Humboldt State, Orange Coast College, Oregon, Pacific Lutheran, Portland, Portland State, Puget Sound, Rollins College, UC San Diego, Western Washington and Willamette.
The Falcons have crews entered in the women's varsity eight, varsity four and second varsity four competitions. The SPU men are entered in the varsity four and novice four events.
The first race on the docket Saturday begins at 8 a.m. The first Falcons crew to settle into the starting line is the women's varsity eight for an 8:15 a.m. start. The last scheduled race for Falcons is the men's novice four final at 2 p.m.
Two SPU crews, the men's varsity and novice fours, will need to advance through morning heat races to qualify for the afternoon finals.
At last year's NCRC Invitational, the Falcons women won the second varsity four race with an open-water victory over runner-up UC San Diego. A trio of SPU crews registered third-place finishes, including the women's varsity eight and varsity four along with the men's varsity four.
With two races under their belts, the Falcons have two undefeated crews. The women's varsity and novice four boats each won their season-opening races in a dual against Pacific Lutheran on March 21. They were victorious again on March 28 with convincing victories at the Daffodil Cup on American Lake in Lakewood, Wash.
SPU is in its 32nd season of intercollegiate crew competition, the 19th with
Keith Jefferson at the helm. He took over the head coaching post prior to the 1990-91 season after serving as an assistant on the staff since 1987. Jefferson was an SPU oarsman from 1980 to 1983.
Last season, Jefferson directed the SPU women's eight to the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) championship. The Falcons placed third at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships in both the varsity eight and varsity four competitions.
Half of the rowers return from last year's varsity eight boat, including
Katie Degner,
Eleni Johnsen,
Emily Pitts and
Rachel Savage.
On the men's side, SPU's varsity pair of Justin Rowley and
Zeke Schellberg finished fifth in the grand final at the 2008 WIRA regatta.
Joining Jefferson on the staff are a pair of first-year assistant coaches, both of them former Falcons rowers.
Katie Wolff is a 2008 graduate who rowed for SPU from 2006-08. Dave Stalsbroten graduate in 2006 from SPU after rowing in 2003 and 2004.
The NCRC Invitational is the third of eight regattas on the 2009 schedule for the Seattle Pacific crews. The season concludes for the men at the Dad Vail Regatta, May 8-9 in Philadelphia. The final regatta on the women's slate is the NCAA Championships, May 29-31 in Cherry Hill, N.J.
The SPU crews travel even farther south next weekend to compete at the Covered Bridge Regatta, Saturday, April 11. The races will be conducted on Dexter Lake in Eugene, Ore.
NCRC INVITATIONAL REGATTA SCHEDULE (races with SPU entries only)
(all races 2,000 meters)
8:15 a.m. – Women's Varsity Eight heats
9:15 a.m. -- Women's Varsity Four heats
10:15 a.m. -- Men's Varsity Four heats
11:45 a.m. – Men's Novice Four final
1:00 p.m. – Men's Varsity Four final
1:30 p.m. – Women's Varsity Four final
1:45 p.m. – Women's Second Varsity Four final
3:00 p.m. -- Women's Varsity Eight final
SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS
Women's Varsity Eight
Shell: J & P
cox –
Annie Mulder (Fr./Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian)
stroke –
Rachel Savage (Sr./Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito)
7 –
Emily Pitts (So./Normandy Park, Wash.)
6 –
Eleni Johnsen (So./University Place, Wash./Tacoma School of the Arts)
5 –
Katie Degner (Jr./Hillsboro, Ore./Glencoe)
4 –
Katy Stine (Fr./South Berwick, Maine/Portsmouth Christian Academy)
3 –
Katja Ibsen (Fr./Livermore, Calif./Granada)
2 –
Lacey Sheridan (So./Sacramento, Calif./Rio Americano)
bow –
Holly Allan (Sr./Bothell, Wash./Cedar Park Christian)
Women's Varsity Four
Shell: Cherubim
cox –
Annie Mulder (Fr./Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian)
stroke –
Rachel Savage (Sr./Encinitas, Calif./San Dieguito)
3 –
Emily Pitts (So./Normandy Park, Wash.)
2 –
Eleni Johnsen (So./University Place, Wash./Tacoma School of the Arts)
bow –
Kim Leinstock (Sr./Lake Milles, Wis.)
Women's Second Varsity Four
Shell: Seraphim
cox –
Matt Shi (Sr./Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
stroke –
Katy Stine (Fr./South Berwick, Maine/Portsmouth Christian Academy)
3 –
Katja Ibsen (Fr./Livermore, Calif./Granada)
2 –
Kristin Lorenzen (Fr./Beaverton, Ore./Southridge)
bow –
Holly Allan (Sr./Bothell, Wash./Cedar Park Christian)
Men's Varsity Four
Shell: Steadfast
cox –
Matt Shi (Sr./Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
stroke –
Zeke Schellberg (Sr./Boise, Idaho/Timberline)
3 – Travis Drake (Sr./McCall, Idaho/McCall-Donnelly)
2 – David Peterson (Fr./Spokane, Wash./Ferris)
bow – Carter Swanson (Jr./Littleton, Colo./Heritage)
Men's Novice Four
Shell: Steadfast
cox – Lara Rediger (So./Kailua, Hi./Hawaii Baptist Academy)
stroke – David Peterson (Fr./Spokane, Wash./Ferris)
3 – Travis Drake (Sr./McCall, Idaho/McCall-Donnelly)
2 – Carter Swanson (Jr./Littleton, Colo./Heritage)
bow – Will Kolb (Fr./Hesperus, Colo./Hesperus)
