RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (May 4) -- Seattle Pacific University pushed four of its five boats in Sunday's grand finals during the first day of the Western Intercollegiate rowing Association Championships Saturday on Lake Natoma.

The Falcons won their qualifying heats in both the women's varsity and novice fours, with latter crew extending its unbeaten streak to eight regattas in the process. The men's lightweight four also advanced, finishing second, as did the men's pair. Also racing on in grand finals will be the women's pair, a category which did not hold a prelim heat.

In the men's novice four, SPU was edged by Long Beach State by one-tenth of a second for the second berth in the grand final. In the petite final, Seattle Pacific took third behind Pacific Lutheran and Chapman.

The women's varsity four beat Portland by 3 seconds to finish first in its heat while the women's novice four breezed to a 28-second victory over runner-up PLU. The men's light four was overtaken by California to place second and the pair qualified despite finishing third behind host Sacramento State and Colorado.