VANCOUVER, Wash. -- They were delayed by fog in the morning, then contended with some rough water in the afternoon.
In between, the Seattle Pacific crews came home with several solid finishes in Saturday’s Northwest College Rowing Conference Invitational.
The Falcons won the women’s junior varsity four-oared race, placed third in the Division II women’s varsity eight and sixth in the overall varsity eight finals in the regatta on Vancouver Lake.
The SPU men posted a pair of top-three finishes, taking third in the varsity four and second in the novice four.
The women’s varsity eight, rowing in the J&P, placed third in the D-II race, finishing 2,000 meters in 7 minutes, 28.14 seconds. Western Washington won in 7:13.80, and East Coast power Dowling of New York was second in 7:24.06. But the Falcons beat out Humboldt State, Rollins of Florida (another top East Coast program) and UC San Diego.
SPU’s boat had Annie Mulder as cox, Rachel Savage at stroke, then Emily Pitts at 7, Eleni Johnsen at 6, Katie Degner at 5, Katy Stine at 4, Katja Ibsen at 3, Lacey Sheridan at 2, and Holly Allan at bow.
In the overall varsity eight final that pitted the top three finishers from the Division II and Division III races, the Falcons checked in at 7:50.00.
The women’s JV four, rowing in the Seraphim with Matt Shi at cox, Stine at stroke, Ibsen at 3, Kristin Lorenzen at 2 and Allan at bow, covered the course in 8 minutes, 20.37 seconds. That was nearly 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Humboldt State (8:45.00).
“The women’s eight really did quite well,” Falcons coach Keith Jefferson said. “That D-2 race in the morning, that was huge, with Rollins and Dowling in there. That as really cool. We beat Rollins, didn’t quite beat Dowling, but we beat UCSD and Humboldt.
“That allowed us to race at the end of the day. But by then, the water was bad,” Jefferson added. “I was really hoping for better conditions for that last race. But it was almost whitecaps out there by the time they started racing. And the JV four was fantastic, of course.”
The men’s varsity four, rowing in the Steadfast with Shi at cox, Zeke Schellberg at stroke, Travis Drake at 3, David Peterson at 2 and Carter Swanson at bow, covered the 2,000 meters in 7:22.12 in the final. That was a drop of nearly six seconds from its 7:28.00 time in the earlier heat.
Rollins won the race in 7:02.70.
The novice four, also in the Steadfast, crossed the line in 7:45.69 with Lara Rediger at cox, Peterson at stroke, Drake at 3, Swanson at 2 and Will Kolb at bow. Lewis & Clark won in 7:19.60.
“I was really proud of our men’s varsity four,” Jefferson said. “A lot of them doubled in the novice four, so by the end of the day, they were tuckered out. To take that on and do that well, I was proud of what they did.”
Seattle Pacific travels south again next weekend to Eugene, Ore., for the Covered Bridge Regatta on Dexter Lake.
Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference Invitational
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Lake Vancouver/Vancouver, Wash.
(All races 2,000 meters)
D-II Women's Varsity Eight
1, Western Washington 7:13.80
2, Dowling (N.Y.) 7:24.06
3, Seattle Pacific 7:28.14
4, Humboldt State 7:35.24
5, Rollins (Fla.) 7:37.23
6, UC San Diego 7:54.86
SPU lineup: cox-Annie Mulder, stroke-Rachel Savage, 7-Emily Pitts, 6-Eleni Johnsen, 5-Katie Degner, 4-Katy Stine, 3-Katja Ibsen, 2-Sheridan, bow-Holly Allan.
Women’s Varsity Eight Final
(Top 3 from D-II and D-III races)
1, Western Washington 7:10.70
2, Dowling 7:13.75
3, Orange Coast 7:32.47
4, Puget Sound 7:36.02
5, Willamette 7:45.02
6, Seattle Pacific 7:50.50
SPU lineup: cox-Annie Mulder, stroke-Rachel Savage, 7-Emily Pitts, 6-Eleni Johnsen, 5-Katie Degner, 4-Katy Stine, 3-Katja Ibsen, 2-Sheridan, bow-Holly Allan.
Women’s Junior Varsity Four
1, Seattle Pacific 8:20.37
2, Humboldt State 8:45.00
3, UC San Diego 9:38.65
SPU lineup: cox-Matt Shi, stroke-Katy Stine, 3-Katja Ibsen, 2-Kristin Lorenzen, bow-Holly Allan.
Men’s Varsity Four Final
1, Rollins 7:02.70
2, Puget Sound 7:08.22
3, Seattle Pacific 7:22.12
4, Willamette "B" 7:25.78
5, Lewis & Clark 7:28.80
6, Willamette "A" 7:39.28
SPU lineup: cox-Matt Shi, stroke-Zeke Schellberg, 3-Travis Drake, 2-David Peterson, bow-Carter Swanson.
Men’s Novice Four
1, Lewis & Clark 7:19.60
2, Seattle Pacific 7:45.69
3, Puget Sound 7:52.85
4, Humboldt State 7:57.87
5, Willamette 8:21.48
6, Evergreen State 8:30.31
7, Oregon 8:46.05
SPU lineup: cox-Lara Rediger, stroke-David Peterson, 3-Travis Drake, 2-Carter Swanson, bow-Will Kolb.