May 30, 2009
CHERRY HILL, N.J. – The third-ranked Seattle Pacific varsity eight crew rowed to a runner-up effort in a repechage race Saturday, securing a spot in the four-boat grand final at the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on the Cooper River.
Joining the Falcons in Sunday's Division II championship race will be repechage winner Philadelphia University along with top-ranked Merycyhurst and No. 2 Western Washington, the winners of Friday's heats. WWU is the four-time defending champion in the varsity eight competition.
Fans can watch Sunday's championship races, including SPU's 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time grand final, live on the web at
http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=128583
Sunday marks the first grand final berth for SPU. The Falcons won the petite final in 2007, placing fifth overall in their only previous NCAA regatta appearance.
“That was our goal two years ago to get to the grand finals, but we didn't make it,” said SPU coach
Keith Jefferson. “I told them yesterday that I did not really care if they got second in the repechage because we are oriented toward Sunday. They did just fine out there and looked very comfortable. Today was one of those tactical, play-it-smart, conserve-what-you can races.”
Fifth-ranked Philadelphia went wire-to-wire to win the 2,000-meter repechage with a time of 6-minutes, 49.16-seconds. SPU was rowing in third place for the opening 1,000 meters, trailing fourth-ranked Dowling by half a boat length at the midway point. SPU moved into second place around the 1,250-meter mark, covering the third 500-meter segment over four seconds faster than Dowling.
“We weren't too concerned early on because we usually pick it up after the 1,000. We weren't that far behind that it was worrisome,” said sophomore
Lacey Sheridan (Sacramento, Calif.), who rows in the No. 4 seat for SPU. “We were just trying to get first or second to make it to finals tomorrow. We did what we wanted to do.”
The Falcons earned the final qualifying position, trailing Philadelphia by just two seats at the finish line with a second-place time of 6:50.40.
Dowling posted a third-place time of 6:58.64 and Nova Southeastern was fourth in 7:06.03. Those two will race in the petite final.
The grand final features two crews, Mercyhurst and Western Washington, that did not have to race Saturday after advancing directly to the championship race with heat victories on Friday.
While the extra day's rest might help those two teams, Jefferson was glad his crew competed Saturday.
“For us, with freshmen and novices in there, it does help to have an additional race. Each time they go out they get a little bit better, a little smarter and a little more comfortable with the course,” Jefferson said. “Those two crews get a little better rest, but we got a confidence builder.
“The more you can get them to experience, without over-fatiguing, the better off you are. If you trained them right, a day's rest is enough. We've been training properly, so the extra race is not too much of an inhibitor.”
Six members of the SPU varsity eight are underclassmen, including three freshmen. Senior stroke
Rachel Savage (Encinitas, Calif.) is the only Falcons rower with previous NCAA regatta experience.
Seattle Pacific has already raced all of its championship rivals earlier this season. The Falcons defeated Philadelphia in two previous meetings before finishing two seats behind in Saturday's repechage. SPU lost all five of its races against Western Washington.
The Falcons finished within one seat of Mercyhurst in Friday's heat race, a differential of 1.19 seconds. When they raced May 9 at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Mercyhurst clocked a winning time of 6:50.20 and SPU was the next Division II finisher, placing fourth overall in 6:55.77.
NCAA Women's Rowing Championships
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Cooper River; Cherry Hill, N.J.
2,000 meters
Division II Varsity Eight Repechage
(Top two finishers to grand final, rest to petite final)
1, Philadelphia, 6:49.16
2, Seattle Pacific, 6:50.40
3, Dowling, 6:58.64
4, Nova Southeastern, 7:06.03
SPU lineup: cox-
Annie Mulder, stroke-
Rachel Savage, 7-
Emily Pitts, 6-
Eleni Johnsen, 5-
Katie Degner, 4-
Lacey Sheridan, 3-
Holly Allan, 2-
Katy Stine, bow-
Katja Ibsen.
Division II Varsity Eight Grand Final
Sunday, May 31 – 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time (9:30 a.m. EDT)
Lane 2 -- Seattle Pacific
Lane 3 -- Mercyhurst
Lane 4 -- Western Washington
Lane 5 -- Philadelphia
