• Watch the Varsity 4 start (YouTube)
     • Day 1 - May 28 Results (pdf)
     • Live Results
     • Day 2 - May 29 Heat Sheet (pdf)
     • May 28 PHOTO GALLERY
     • May 27 PHOTO GALLERY
     • SPU Rowing Release (pdf)
     • Rowing Report #1 -- Katy Stine
     • Rowing Report #2 -- Eleni Johnson
     • Live Regatta Webcast
     • NCAA Rowing homepage





RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – Seattle Pacific's two boats both raced to second-place heat finishes Friday during the first day of the NCAA Women's Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma.

The Falcons are participating in the team competition for the first time ever at the NCAA Regatta. Last year they had an at-large entry that finished third in the varsity eight event.

This year's fourth-ranked varsity eight crew is in position to mount the medal platform again after posting the third-best time in the heats. SPU was one boat-length behind second-ranked Mercyhurst, which won the first heat in 6-minutes, 49.66-seconds.

The Falcons covered the 2,000-meter course in 6:53.71, separated by plenty of open water from the Florida Tech crew that crossed the finish line third in 7:09.19.

“They were really good. A couple people had some nerves they were trying to work through, but for the most part that makes today's good, clean performance even better,” SPU coach Keith Jefferson said. “They had a decent, clean set all the way through. They didn't settle as well as they probably would have liked and so they can still work out some of those things.”

SPU trailed Mercyhurst by a boat length, and was even with FIT, at the 1,000-meter mark. The Falcons secured second-place by gaining a boat length in the next 500 meters and opened two more lengths over the final quarter of the course.

In their first meeting this season, May 8 at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, the Falcons finished more than six seconds back of Mercyhurst. They narrowed that gap to four seconds on Friday.

“We were seven seconds behind Mercyhurst when we saw them at Dad Vail and have been working really hard these last three weeks since then to shave off those seconds,” said SPU sophomore coxswain Annie Mulder. “We really wanted to show what we had worked on. Our plan was, no matter what, to row our race plan and the results would follow. They went all out and it was awesome.”

Mulder is one of seven returning members of SPU's eight-oared boat that was third at last year's NCAA Championships. She is excited that her crew is joined this year by their varsity four teammates, enabling SPU to challenge for the team title.

“We were so motivated. This is a big deal for us because it is our first time as a team at nationals, so we went in wanting to make history.”

Five-time defending champion and top-ranked Western Washington won the other heat in 6:44.78. The Vikings and Mercyhurst earned automatic berths into Sunday's varsity eight grand final.

READY FOR THE REPS

Third-ranked Barry had a second-place time of 6:55.07 in the second heat and No. 5 Philadelphia University was third in 7:02.08.

SPU, Florida Tech, Barry and Philadelphia will compete Saturday morning in a varsity eight repechage race. The Falcons posted the best qualifying time among the quartet to draw the preferred first lane. The lanes nearest the shore are the most protected from the wind.

“Everybody is pretty pleased and yet they still think that they can do a little bit better,” Jefferson said. “Going into the rep with the fastest time, they are encouraged. That's the key, to have a little confidence and to take a couple nuggets of improvement into the rep.”

The top-two repechage finishers will join WWU and Mercyhurst in the four-boat grand final field.

INAUGURAL NCAA RACE FOR AN SPU FOUR

The Falcons had a four-oared crew race at the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. Their maiden voyage resulted in a second-place effort.

Philadelphia won the opening varsity four heat in 7:56.35 followed by SPU in 8:04.14. The Rams raced out to a boat-length margin in the first 500 meters and added another by the midway point. They sustained that advantage the rest of the way.

When they met in early May, Philadelphia finished 3.5 seconds ahead of the Falcons. They bettered that by over four seconds Friday.

“Philly got a little faster since Dad Vail,” Jefferson remarked. “But that was a good race for us today and a good time. I'm proud of them.

“You have to kind of work the jitters out if nothing else. Kristin Lorenzen said she got to the line and felt totally at peace. She's only a second-year rower so that's really great. That was really key to them rowing as clean as they did. They're not big, so they're not very powerful, but the improvement they made over the last couple weeks showed today.”

Lorenzen is the only veteran in a crew comprised of novice rowers. She was a spare at last year's championships, so this was the first NCAA race for every athlete in the boat.

“It's awesome for all of these novices to be here and it's just a really cool opportunity for us to be here at nationals and row for our team,” Lorenzen said. “We pulled together a really solid performance. Even though we were in second place for the whole time we were really clean and rowed really well together.”

Western Washington was victorious in the other varsity four heat, posting a time of 7:38.98. Florida Tech's runner-up mark of 8:08.46 was nearly four seconds slower than the Falcons' time.

SPU and Florida Tech clash in a two-boat race Saturday to determine the third grand finalist that will row against WWU and Philadelphia. The Falcons will line up in lane 1 for that repechage.


NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday, May 28, 2010
Lake Natoma/Rancho Cordova, Calif.
All races were 2,000 meters

Division II Varsity Eight Heats
(Winners to grand final, rest to repechage)

Heat I
1, Mercyhurst, 6:49.66
2, Seattle Pacific, 6:53.71
3, Florida Tech, 7:09.19

Heat II
1, Western Washington, 6:44.78
2, Barry, 6:55.07
3, Philadelphia University, 7:02.08

    SPU lineup: cox- Annie Mulder, stroke-Katie Degner, 7-Emily Pitts, 6-Eleni Johnsen, 5- Lauren Anderson, 4- Katy Stine, 3- Katja Ibsen, 2- Lacey Sheridan, bow-Alli Agnew.


Division II Varsity Four Heats
(Winners to grand final, rest to repechage)

Heat I
1, Philadelphia University, 7:56.35
2, Seattle Pacific, 8:04.14

Heat II
1, Western Washington, 7:38.98
2, Florida Tech, 8:08.46

    SPU lineup: cox-Kristi Tamaki, stroke-Kristin Lorenzen, 3-Dani Ferrigno, 2-Belle Fritsch, bow-Mackenzie Oscar.

 

Division II Varsity Eight Repechage
Saturday, May 29 – 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time

Lane 1 – Seattle Pacific
Lane 2 – Barry
Lane 3 – Philadelphia
Lane 4 – Florida Tech


Division II Varsity Four Repechage
Saturday, May 29 – 10:45 a.m. Pacific Time

Lane 1 – Seattle Pacific
Lane 2 – Florida Tech