What a way to start.
Seattle Pacific University’s women’s rowing team returned to action on Saturday, March 8, at the PLU Invitational on American Lake in Lakewood, Washington.
The season-opening regatta resulted in five first-place finishes for the Falcons.
Flight one:
The Falcons’ Varsity 8+ boat was comprised of junior Amelia Pape, freshman Solanes Capps-Mace, senior Audrey Rekedal, junior Bella Lisenby, graduate Megan Rouse, sophomore Grace Combs, junior Gem Gatmaytan and senior Addie Clark and was led by junior coxswain Aleksia Haugen.
Seattle Pacific finished at 7:13.3, beating Oregon State University and Western Washington University. Oregon State finished second behind SPU at 7:14.5. Western Washington was third at 7:20.1.
Junior coxswain Lexi Roybal led the Varsity 4+ boat. Emmerson Spencer, Emma Jones, Racquel Wesley and junior Brittan Dalberg completed the lineup. Seattle Pacific turned in a time of 8:30.2, trailing behind the Western Washington Vikings and the Oregon State Beavers.
Seattle Pacific’s Open 4+ boat was coxed by freshman Sasha Kolobovnikov and filled by freshman Elizabeth Chapman, senior Emma Ely, freshman Norah Bauman and sophomore Mia Vittori.
The Falcons finished at 8:30.5, defeating the University of Puget Sound Loggers and the Oregon State Beavers. Puget Sound was just after SPU at 8:59.8, and the Beavers came in third at 9:16.9.
The Novice 4+ boat was coxed by senior Mary Goodhew. Freshman Rachael Termure, freshman Jasmine Crisan, freshman Erica Fisher and freshman Karisma Magana filled the lineup. Seattle Pacific clocked a nine-minute race, finishing ahead of the Beavers’ 9:07.4.
Flight two:
The Falcons’ Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ boats were pitted against the Western Washington Vikings in the late morning session. Seattle Pacific’s V8+ rowed across the finish line at 7:14.3, beating the Vikings’ time of 7:21.5. The V4+ boat rowed a time of 8:33.0, trailing the Vikings’ 8:02.1.
In the final race of the day, SPU’s Open 4+ and Novice 4+ boats took the top two spots to beat the Puget Sound Loggers and Pacific Lutheran University. The Falcons’ Open 4+ and Novice 4+ posted times of 7:48.9 and 8:10.1, respectively. Goodhew and Kolobovnikov traded coxswain spots for the final Open 4+ and Novice 4+ races.
Upcoming:
Seattle Pacific’s next race is the Falcon Regatta on the Lake Washington Ship Canal on Saturday, March 22.
The race starts at the far end under the Fremont Bridge, goes past Wallace Field and Royal Brougham Pavilion, and then finishes a few more strokes up the canal.
