May 31, 2009
CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Seattle Pacific lived up to its No. 3 ranking Sunday, racing to the best finish in school history with a bronze medal performance in the Division II varsity eight grand final during the final day of the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on the Cooper River.
The Falcons finished third on their maiden voyage in the national grand finals. SPU's only previous NCAA regatta appearance resulted in a fifth-place effort as they won the petite final at the 2007 championships.
“We're really happy and super proud. That was probably our best race this season, so it's really nice to end on,” said SPU sophomore
Eleni Johnsen (University Place, Wash./Tacoma School of the Arts), who rows in the No. 6 seat.
“We always had nationals in our sight, but to actually be here and realize it is mind-blowing, pretty sweet. With the team that we have it's just phenomenal that we are here and we were in the grand finals. Placing third is great.”
Second-ranked Western Washington claimed its fifth consecutive varsity eight title, registering an open-water victory over No. 1 Mercyhurst. The Vikings completed the 2,000-meter course in 6-minutes, 52.60-seconds. Mercyhurst, the early leader, dropped to second and fended off a mid-race challenge from SPU en route to a runner-up time of 6:57.22.
Both WWU and Mercyhurst had the luxury of a day off Saturday after advancing directly to the grand final with heat wins on Friday. The rest of the crews raced in Saturday's repechage, which Philadelphia University won by two seats over SPU.
The Falcons were ahead when it mattered most, finishing with open water between their stern and the bow of Philadelphia's boat in the grand final.
Trailing the two leaders, but with a two-seat advantage over Philadelphia with 500 meters to row, SPU finished with the field's best closing sprint. The Falcons covered the final 500 meters in 1:42.82, four seconds faster than Philadelphia.
SPU clocked a third-place time of 7:00.22 to finish seven seats back of Mercyhurst at the finish line. Philadelphia was fourth in 7:05.70.
“When you look at the big picture it is an absolutely superb result for an at-large program that's not supposed to be competitive. I'm really pleased with their performance,” said SPU coach
Keith Jefferson, whose roster includes just 13 athletes. That is one-third the size of some of their Division II competitors.
“We're young and I'm just very pleased with how we have done this whole year. It's been awesome.”
Six members of the SPU crew are underclassmen, including three freshmen. Stroke
Rachel Savage (Encinitas, Calif.) and No. 3 seat
Holly Allan (Bothell, Wash./Cedar Park Christian) are the crew's only two seniors.
“It's excitement mixed with sadness because I'm done now,” was how Allan described her emotions. “Compared to when I started it's kind of unreal that we actually made it this far. I don't think it was ever a realistic possibility in my mind. It hasn't sunk in yet and it might be a while before I understand the magnitude of this accomplishment.”
NCAA Women's Rowing Championships
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Cooper River; Cherry Hill, N.J.
2,000 meters
Division II Varsity Eight Grand Final
1, Western Washington, 6:52.60
2, Mercyhurst, 6:57.22
3, Seattle Pacific, 7:00.22
4, Philadelphia, 7:05.70
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.
