In the cold and rain, the Falcons finished strong.

Seattle Pacific University’s women’s rowing team entered four boats in the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, in Gold River, California.

All three varsity boats made it to the finals, most notably the Varsity 8+ finishing in third place among Division II, Division III and club teams.

Day one regatta:

With the weather at a crisp and cloudy 48 degrees, the WIRA Championships began.

At 8:40 a.m., the Falcons’ Varsity 8+ glided off in a six-lane race against defending champions Western Washington University, San Diego State University, University of Central Irvine, University of California, Berkeley and Pacific Lutheran University.

The teams started strong with Seattle Pacific nipping at the heels of Western Washington. Seattle Pacific finished in second at 6:56.1, just 11 seconds behind the defending champs.

The second V8+ began their six-lane race at 9:20 against Western Washington, UC Irvine, Lewis & Clark College, the University of Central Santa Barbara and Pacific Lutheran.

After a staggered start, Seattle Pacific settled into fourth place, coming in at 7:47.7, just five seconds behind UC Santa Barbara, putting them in lane four during its grand final on Sunday.

At 10:50 a.m., SPU varsity 4+ competed alongside Western Washington again, California Polytechnic State University, Humboldt B-team, San Diego State University, University of Oregon and Chico State University.

Seattle Pacific led a strong second place in the first 1,000 meters, with San Diego creeping behind. In the last 400 meters, the Falcons pulled ahead, claiming a spot in the final at 7:53.5, just one second ahead of San Diego State.

At 1:50 p.m., the SPU novice 4+ began the five-lane heat against the University of Portland, Loyola Marymount, Pacific University, and Seattle University.

With a strong start from all teams, Seattle Pacific fell back into fourth place during the first 500 meters, but pulled even with Pacific U before the 1,000-meter mark. In the end, the Falcons placed third with a time of 8:24.7. Not enough to qualify for the next day’s race, but a strong finish nonetheless.

For the last race of the day, Seattle Pacific’s novice 4+ made a reappearance for the 4:00 p.m. petite final against Arizona State University, Long Beach State University, Western Washington, Pacific U, and UC Santa Barbara.

The Falcons started in first and competed neck and neck against Western Washington for the position, but lost it in the first half. In the last stretch, SPU finished strong in second place with a time of 8:23.8.

Day two regatta:

With the sun still hiding behind the clouds, the WIRA contestants began another cold day on the water.

The women’s varsity 8+ started their six-lane grand final at 8:50 a.m. against Western Washington, Cal Poly Humboldt, University of Central Oklahoma, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.

SPU finished in third place at 6:58.8, seven seconds behind second-place winner Cal Poly Humboldt. In the end, the Falcons came home with a medal for their win.

At 9:30 a.m., the second V8+ began its six-lane grand final against UC Irvine’s A-team, Western Washington, UC Santa Barbara, Lewis & Clark, and Pacific Lutheran.

With Seattle Pacific keeping up with Western Washington, UC Irvine and Santa Barbara, the heat started closely packed but soon spread out. Seattle Pacific settled in fourth place with a time of 7:46.9.

With SPU’s last team on the water at 11:00 a.m., the women’s varsity 4+ grand final pitted the Falcons against Cal Poly Humboldt-A, Western Washington, UC Oklahoma, Orange Coast, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Seattle Pacific drifted into fifth place early on, crossing the finish line at a time of 8:00.0, four seconds behind Western Washington.

Regatta lineups:

The V8+ was coxed by junior Aleksia Haugen. Seats eight through one were as follows: junior Amelia Pape, junior Emma Jones, senior Audrey Rekedal, freshman Solanes Capps-Mace, junior Bella Lisenby, sophomore Grace Combs, junior Gem Gatmaytan and senior Addie Clark.

The JV8+ was coxed by senior Mary Goodhew. Seats eight through one were as follows: junior Racquel Wesley, sophomore Mia Vittori, sophomore Jadyn Hawley, freshman Jasmine Crisan, freshman Rachel Termure, freshman Freya Myers Arnoult, freshman Elizabeth Chapman and sophomore Faith Akutagawa.

The V4+ was coxed by junior Lexi Roybal. Seats four through one were as follows: Graduate Student Megan Rouse, senior Emma Ely, sophomore Emmerson Spencer and junior Brittan Dalberg.

The Novice 4+ was coxed by freshman Sasha Kolobovnikov. Seats four through one were as follows: freshman Rachel Termure, freshman Jasmine Crisan, freshman Erica Fisher and freshman Karisma Magana.

Where to next?

Seattle Pacific will return to the water at the Windermere Cup on Saturday, May 3rd, on the Montlake Cut in Seattle, Washington. Races start at 10:15 a.m.