This week...
Fri.-Sat., May 11-12 -- ROWING at DAD VAIL CHAMPIONSHIPS, Schuykill River, Philadelphia, Pa.
Sun., May 13 -- ROWING at AVAYA COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, Lake Lanier, Gainesville, Ga.

Complete Women's Crew Schedule

Complete Men's Crew Schedule

Rowers rush for gold...
It took nearly 25 years for Seattle Pacific University to secure its first gold medal at a national rowing championship, but hopefully the wait for another one will be brief. The Falcons send two crews in search of glory this weekend at two national regattas. The men's novice four heads to the 63rd annual Dad Vail Championships in Philadelphia to begin racing Friday (May 11) while the women's varsity four defends its crown Sunday (May 13) at the Avaya Communications Collegiate Championships in Georgia.

Eastbound boats...
The Dad Vail is billed as the largest collegiate regatta in the United States and an unofficial small college championship. Last year, the women's second varsity four made the semifinal stage and the novice four was eliminated in the first round. The men's light four was runner-up in the grand final. Crews are involved in a three-round knockout competition (top two boats advance in each heat), with semifinals and the grand final on Saturday. SPU's first heat includes Rochester Tech, Marietta (Oh.), West Virginia, Long Beach State and Worcester (Ma.) Poly.

The Avaya Communications Collegiate Championships move south from the Boston area this year to the 1996 Olympic Games site. This regatta is open to all non-scholarship teams and there will be both a petite and grand final (top two boats qualify) following the qualifying heats. Seattle Pacific is pitted against Tulane, Ithaca, Tufts and Loyola (Md.) in its opening heat. The rest of the varsity four field includes Ohio State, Holy Cross, Connecticut College, Pittsburgh, Bates, Washington College, Mercyhurst, Massachusetts Maritime and Colby.

Season to date...
Coach Keith Jefferson (11th year) will take the women's crew to a national regatta for the fifth year in a row. The Falcons were third in 1999 before winning last year. SPU won three races, including the conference championship, and finished second in two others this spring. Novice coach Josh Adam (1st year) has a boat which has competed well all season, winning one race, taking second in conference and third in the regional.

Opening Day results...
Both Seattle Pacific University boats involved in Saturday's Opening Day regatta found themselves in the wake of some big, fast competition in the Montlake Cut. The Falcons finished fourth in the women's varsity four category while the men's novice four, rowing in the varsity four heat, took a distant fifth. San Diego State, which nipped SPU for the regional title a week ago, won the women's race in 7 minutes, 25.83 seconds, less than a boat-length ahead of Washington and Washington State. The Falcons were 11 seconds out in 7:36.81. In the men's heat, two Husky crews dueled for the top spots, with Oregon State, another UW shell and Seattle Pacific comprising a second pack well behind.

Crew 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).

Men's Novice Four:
Coxswain- Angie Stearns (Fr., Stanwood, Wa.);
Stroke-Tyler Van Stright (Fr., Grand Rapids, Mi./Grand Rapids Christian);
No. 3-Joel Braman (Fr., Wyoming, Mi./Calvin Christian);
No. 2-Kyle Glines (So., Meridian, Id.);
bow-Trevor Winters (Fr., Spokane, Wa./North Central).

Short strokes...
Jefferson sent his women's varsity four shell to Georgia directly from the WIRA Championships Apr. 28 in Sacramento. The novices will arrange to borrow a craft...Pennington is the only holdover from last year's national championship crew...Both Jefferson (1982) and Adam (2000) rowed at Dad Vail during their collegiate careers.