The Seattle Pacific University’s rowing team were sitting ducks this entire week, because of a bye in their schedule.

The Falcons used the week to prepare for the up and coming waves at sea, said Andy Derrick, the crew Head Coach.

“I think it came at a great time for us,” he said, during an interview after the teams last regatta. “We have an incredibly hard schedule, one of the toughest in Division II this year based on the number of top five opponents we are racing and the strength of the West region. As we try to reassert ourselves on the national scene, we are not going to get the benefit of the doubt very often based on our recent past so we need to give ourselves lots of opportunities to prove our speed.”

The heavy lifting of the season is right around the corner for the Falcons. On April 28 and 29, the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships hold their heat races and championship races.

During that time, the Falcons will compete with some of their closest competitors, like Western Washington University, who have been neck and neck with SPU every race this year.

“Western is a great team and historically very successful in Division II, but there are some really good things happening in our boathouse these days too,” Derrick brought up in an interview in early April.

The championship races take place in Gold River, California, on Lake Natoma.