Indoor meets outdoor. After beginning their spring season amid snowfall, the Seattle Pacific University rowers expect to see more seasonable conditions Saturday morning (Mar. 23) at 7:30 a.m. when the Falcons host Seattle University and British Columbia's Malaspina in the Raptor Cup through the Ship Canal. It is the second of nine regattas. Next week SPU meets most of its Northwest rivals for the annual Spring Scrimmage on Tacoma's American Lake.

Team of the century. Coach Keith Jefferson has got his crew program going strong in the new century. The women's varsity four has won back-to-back national championships and the 2001 conference title while the men's program has medaled nationally each of the last two years.. If the fall season and last week's opener were any indication, this should be another banner year. In the autumn, both the men's and women's varsity fours won two of their three regattas, as did the women's novice and light fours.

Four wins blow. Despite near-freezing temperatures, snow and finally a head wind, Seattle Pacific proved more than equal to both the elements and the opposition at last week's American Lake Jamboree. Each of the three women's boats­the varsity four, light four and novice four­won with open water on their nearest rivals. The men prevailed in the light four, took second in the pairs and varsity four and third in the novice four.

Last week's results:
Men's Varsity Four: 1-Puget Sound 7:28.7; 2-Seattle Pacific, 7:41.6; 3-Pacific Lutheran 7:51.9.
Men's Light Four: 1-Seattle Pacific 7:00.0; 2-Pacific Lutheran 7:05.8; 3-Puget Sound 7:40.0.
Men's Varsity Pair: 1-Pacific Lutheran 7:38.1; 2-Seattle Pacific 7:40.8; 3-Pacific Lutheran 8:17.6.
Men's Novice Four: 1-Puget Sound 7:23.7; 2-Puget Sound B 7:33.2; 3-Seattle Pacific 7:39.6; 4-Pacific Lutheran 7:59.1
Women's Varsity Four: 1-Seattle Pacific 8:51.2; 2-Pacific Lutheran 8:58.4; 3-Puget Sound 9:01.7.
Women's Light Four: 1-Seattle Pacific 7:55.6; 2-Puget Sound 8:09.2; 3-Pacific Lutheran 8:32.8.
Women's Novice Four: 1-Seattle Pacific 8:28.7; 2-Pacific Lutheran 8:48.3; 3-Puget Sound 9:02.8; 4-Puget Sound B 11:41.2.

Short strokes. Mike Lucero (Sr., Moses Lake, Wa.) is back for his third year as stroke of the varsity four and light four. He is joined in the lightweights by three members of the novice four which took was third at the 2001 Dad Vail Championships...The women's varsity four features only one returnee, coxswain Lindsay Dilschneider (Jr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley).