• 2010 Daffodil Cup Schedule/Entries (pdf)
     • Directions to American Lake

SEATTLE – For the second straight week, Seattle Pacific crews travel south to Lakewood, Wash. to compete on American Lake. The Falcons send a five-boat fleet for the annual Daffodil Cup Regatta on Saturday, Mar. 27. The course can be accessed from Harry Todd Park.

The Falcons got off to a tremendous start last Saturday (Mar. 20), sweeping all three women's races and two of three men's events in the annual dual regatta against Pacific Lutheran on American Lake.

This Saturday's regatta starts at 9 a.m. with the last of 14 races scheduled for 12:15 p.m. A large group of colleges from the Northwest will participate, including Evergreen State, Lewis & Clark, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound, Seattle University, Washington State, Western Washington and Willamette.

The regatta is highlighted by a fantastic field in the women's varsity eight event, featuring three national powers. Last year's NCAA Division II champion Western Washington and third-place national finisher SPU will race alongside Puget Sound, which finished sixth among 2009 NCAA Division III competitors.

Along with the varsity eight event, the SPU women will participate in races for varsity four and second varsity four crews. They are the defending regatta champions in those two four-oared events.

A pair of men's crews will represent the Falcons. They are scheduled to row in the varsity four and second varsity four races.

Weather conditions this year are expected to be considerably better than the 2009 regatta that saw the crews compete in freezing temperatures on American Lake, including snow mixed with rain during morning racing.

At last year's Daffodil Cup, SPU women's crews were victorious in the varsity four and second varsity four races. The Falcons registered a runner-up effort in the men's novice four event.

Keith Jefferson is in his 20th year as head coach of the Falcons crews. 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 a bronze-medal performance at the NCAA Division II Championships.

Six rowers and sophomore coxswain Annie Mulder return from last year's bronze-medal varsity eight boat. The returning rowers are: Katie Degner, Katja Ibsen, Eleni Johnsen, Emily Pitts, Lacey Sheridan and Katy Stine.

On the men's side, SPU returns the bow pair from its varsity four crew that placed fourth at the 2009 Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference (NCRC) championships. Carter Swanson, now a senior, occupied the bow last season while sophomore David Peterson rowed in the No. 2 seat. Peterson will assume the stroke seat in the Falcons varsity eight boat and Swanson rows in the No. 7 position.

The Daffodil Cup is the second of eight regattas on the 2010 schedule for the Seattle Pacific crews. The season concludes for the men at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships, May 1-2 in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

The final regatta on the women's slate is the NCAA Championships, May 28-30, also on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova. The Falcons seek to make consecutive appearances in the NCAA Regatta for the first time in school history.

The SPU crews travel even farther south next weekend to compete at the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference (NCRC) Invitational. That regatta takes place, Saturday, April 3 on Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Wash.


2010 Daffodil Cup Schedule (Only races with SPU entries listed)
(all races 2,000 meters)

9:15 a.m. – Women's Varsity Eight
11:00 a.m. -- Men's Varsity Four
11:15 a.m. – Women's Varsity Four
12:00 p.m. – Men's Second Varsity Four
12:15 p.m. – Women's Second Varsity Four


SEATTLE PACIFIC LINEUPS

9:15 a.m. -- Women's Varsity Eight
Shell: J & P
cox – Annie Mulder (So./Grand Rapids, Mich.)
stroke – Katie Degner (Sr./Hillsboro, Ore.)
7 – Emily Pitts (Jr./Normandy Park, Wash.)
6 – Eleni Johnsen (Jr./University Place, Wash.)
5 – Lauren Anderson (Jr./Fort Collins, Colo.)
4 – Katy Stine (So./South Berwick, Maine)
3 – Katja Ibsen (So./Livermore, Calif.)
2 – Lacey Sheridan (Jr./Sacramento, Calif.)
bow – Alli Agnew (Fr./Issaquah, Wash.)

11:00 a.m. -- Men's Varsity Four
Shell: Seraphim
cox – Kristi Tamaki (Jr./Santa Barbara, Calif.)
stroke – David Peterson (So./Spokane, Wash.)
3 – Carter Swanson (Sr./Littleton, Colo.)
2 – Greg Ballard (Jr./Wenatchee, Wash.)
bow – Donovan Fisk (Fr./Santa Barbara, Calif.)

11:15 p.m. -- Women's Varsity Four
Shell: Cherubim
cox – Annie Mulder (So./Grand Rapids, Mich.)
stroke – Dani Ferrigno (Fr./Kirkland, Wash.)
3 – Kristin Lorenzen (So./Beaverton, Ore.)
2 – Belle Fritsch (Fr./Geneva, Ill.)
bow – Mackenzie Oscar (So./Bellevue, Wash.)

12:00 p.m. -- Men's Second Varsity Four
Shell: Steadfast
cox – Kristi Tamaki (Jr./Santa Barbara, Calif.)
stroke – Dain Carley (So./Maple Valley, Wash.)
3 – Matt Norgren (So./Eden Prairie, Minn.)
2 – Phillip Mach (So./Seattle, Wash.)
bow – Donovan Fisk (Fr./Santa Barbara, Calif.)

12:15 p.m. -- Women's Second Varsity Four
Shell: Seraphim
cox – Missy Spoelstra (So./Highland, Calif.)
stroke – Dani Ferrigno (Fr./Kirkland, Wash.)
3 – Sarah Lanter (Fr./Woodinville, Wash.)
2 – Belle Fritsch (Fr./Geneva, Ill.)
bow – Mackenzie Oscar (So./Bellevue, Wash.)