Seattle Pacific University’s women’s rowing team competed in the 2024 National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II Championships on Lake Harsha in Bethel, Ohio from Friday, May 31, through Saturday, June 1.
SPU’s run at the 2024 NCAAs was their third consecutive appearance in the post-season in last three years. Last year, at the 2023 NCAAs, the Falcons finished in third place overall in the final team standings with a third-place finish from the Varsity 8+ boat. In 2022, the Falcons were the sixth team overall with the Varsity 8+ team runner-up in the petite final, a secondary race held after the main championship final.
At the 2024 NCAAs, the Falcons competed in the Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ boat races.
In the first heat race on Friday, May 31, the Varsity 8+ finished in third place at 7:32.143 behind Western Washington University (first place at 7:13.280) and Mercyhurst University (second place at 7:16.015).
Falling 18.863 seconds behind WWU, the Falcons were slotted into the afternoon repechage, a second-chance round where teams who finished outside of qualifying times can still qualify for the NCAA quarterfinals. The Varsity 8+ improved on their previous time, finishing at 7:16.417 behind Embry-Riddle University (third place at 7:09.785), but did not advance to the quarterfinals.
On Saturday, June 1, the Varsity 8+ raced in the petite final, finishing behind Embry-Riddle ( first place at 7:03.892) at 07:12.538.
Seniors Natalie Korolenko, Megan Popielak, sophomore Ixchel Watson, freshman Emmerson Spencer, sophomore Emma Jones, senior Audrey Rekedal, sophomore Anna Boatman, sophomore Amelia Pape and senior coxswain Lucy Sandahl filled out the roster for the Varsity 8+.
On Friday, May 31, the Varsity 4+ finished first in their first heat race at 8:19.887, beating out Central Oklahoma University (second place at 8:26.631) and Embry-Riddle (third place at 8:44.425). This finish qualified the boat for the championship final on Saturday, June 1.
In the championship final, the Varsity 4+ took hold of the gold medal with a time of 7:46.395. They finished ahead of Cal Poly Humboldt (silver with a time of 7:50.410) and Central Oklahoma (bronze with a time of 7:57.469).
The roster for the Varsity 4+ was sophomore Gem Gatmaytan, sophomore Bella Lisenby, senior Megan Rouse, senior Hannah Miller and sophomore coxswain Aleksia Haugen.
More good news for the day came after the races when senior rower Audrey Rekedal, a political science major, was given the NCAA Elite 90 Award, an honor presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the NCAA’s championship finals.
Altogether, SPU finished fifth in overall team standings, ending their 2024 season on good terms.
