This week...
Sat., Apr. 28, 8 a.m. -- ROWING at WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS, Lake Natoma, Sacramento, Ca.

Complete Women's Crew Schedule

Complete Men's Crew Schedule

Six times four to WIRA...
Fresh from a conference championship by the women's rowing program, Seattle Pacific University will send six crews to the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships Saturday (Apr. 28). The Falcons are searching for their first regional titles in two years while certain boats hope strengthen their case for inclusion in the national championships next month.

The gang's all there...
Coach Keith Jefferson (11th year) will take three women's crews‹varsity four, lightweight four and novice light four‹and three men's‹varsity four, light four and novice four‹to Northern California. There they will face not only their Northwest conference foes but also the likes of UC San Diego, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, Sacramento State, Mills, UC Davis, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, California and UC Santa Barbara. Seattle Pacific's last regional titles came in the men's and women's novice light fours in 1999.

Success at the sprints...
Last week the Falcons successfully defended their Cascade Sprints crowns in the women's varsity four, lightweight four and novice four and also took first in the second novice four category to edge Western Washington, the winner of four races in the eights, for the overall title, 55-51.5. The women's varsity four finished with plenty of open water on Humboldt State, winning by a margin of nearly 12 seconds for its second win in as many weeks and its third this season. Each of the other three winning boats also won easily. The junior varsity four, which had been unbeaten, took second to Humboldt.

Meanwhile, the SPU men rowed to gold medals in the light four. Puget Sound (69) took the men's overall title, followed by Western (46) and SPU was third with 23.5. The light four just nosed Western by a bow while the varsity four finished third. The novice four was second and the J.V. four third.

Short strokes...
The women's varsity four, apart from the stormy San Diego Crew Classic debacle, has either won or finishes runner-up in each of its four outings while the novice four is unbeaten in three races...The men's light four has won two in a row and the novice four has finished first or second in its last three regattas.

Varsity lineups...

Women's Varsity Four
Coxswain-Lindsay Dilschneider (Fr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley);
Stroke-Kimberly Tschetter (Jr., Sioux Falls, SD/Lincoln);
3-Cayti Gibson (Sr., Blaine, Wa.);
2-Jessie Pennington (Sr., Englewood, Co./Riverview Christian));
bow- Sandra Richards (So., Brush Prairie, Wa./Prairie).

Women's Light Four
Cox: Angie Stearns (Fr., Stanwood, Wa.);
Stroke-Elyse Cansler (Fr., Longview, Wa./R.A. Long);
3-Trisha Weber (Fr., Selah, Wa.);
2-Erin Cox (Sr., Olympia, Wa./Black Hills);
bow-Andrea Reichert (Fr., Bloomington, Mn./Thomas Jefferson).

Men's Varsity Four:
Coxswain-Jennifer Helseth (Fr., Leavenworth, Wa./Cascade);
Stroke-Reid Shipley (So., Escondido, Ca./An Pasqual);
3-Tyler Van Stright (Fr., Grand Rapids, Mi.Grand Rapids Christian);
2-Mike Lucero (Jr., Moses Lake, Wa.);
bow-Clyde Williams (Fr., Amarillo, Tx./Subiaco Acad.).

Men's Lightweight Four:
Coxswain-Jennifer Helseth (Fr., Leavenworth, Wa./Cascade);
Stroke-Mike Lucero (Jr., Moses Lake, Wa.);
No. 3-Joel Braman (Fr., Wyoming, Mi./Calvin Christian);
No. 2-Kyle Glines (So., Meridian, Id.);
bow-Trevor Winters (Fr., Spokane, Wa./North Central).