RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (May 5) -- Extending its win streak to nine races, the Seattle Pacific University women's novice four claimed its second straight Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship with a convincing victory in the grand final Sunday on Lake Natoma.

The Falcons also won WIRA titles in the women's varsity pair and lightweight four, plus a silver medal in the women's varsity four. The men's pair and light four each placed fourth.

Seattle Pacific will send its three regional championship crews east to the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia next weekend.

The novice four of stroke Sara Zorn (Fr., Mercer Island, Wa./Lahser), Shannon Buehler (Fr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower), Heidi Visser (Fr., Wenatchee, Wa./Wenatchee), Andi Martineau (So., Superior, Mt.) and coxswain Emily Thomas (Fr., Grants Pass, Or.) is believed to the the first SPU boat to complete an undefeated regular season. They finished nearly two boat-lengths ahead of runner-up Gonzaga.

Also finishing the season unbeaten was the varsity pair of if Kimberly Tschetter (Sr., Sioux falls, SD/Lincoln) and Trisha Sawatzky (Sr., Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) . They crossed the line with a 23-second cushion on Puget Sound.

In the light four, Seattle Pacific atoned for a loss to Humboldt State and UPS at the conference championships a week ago by edging the Lumberjacks by a bow. The lineup for that boat was stroke Andrea Reichert (So., Bloomington, Mn.), Julie Vieselmeyer (Jr., Coeur d'Alene, Id.), Elyse Cansler (So., Longview, Wa./R.A. Long), Erin Cox (So., Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) and cox Joanna Hodgkiss (So., Tacoma, Wa./Puyallup).

The varsity four's second-place finish marked only the second time the Falcons failed to win in eight regattas. Pacific Lutheran, a close second to SPU at the NCRC last week, won with open water.

Race conditions were ideal, with no wind and flat water.

Women's Results

Varsity 4: 1-Pacific Lutheran 7:42; 2-Seattle Pacific 7:51; 3-UC Santa Barbara 7:54; 4-Seattle University 7:55; 5-Portland 8:05; 6-Sacramento State 8:09

Lightweight 4: 1-Seattle Pacific 7:55; 2-Humboldt State 7:56; 3-Puget Sound 8:00; 4-Colorado 8:13; 5-UC Santa Barbara 8:16; 6-California 8:22

Pair: 1-Seattle Pacific 8:22; 2-Puget Sound 8:45; 3-Willamette 8:45; 4-Colorado 8:57; 5-San Diego State 8:57

Novice 4: 1-Seattle Pacific 7:33; 2-Gonzaga 7:42; 3-Loyola Marymount 7:56; 5-UC Santa Barbara 8:06; 6-Pacific Lutheran 8:22

Men's Results

Lightweight 4: 1-California 6:47; 2-Pacific Lutheran 6:49; 3-San Diego 6;53; 4-Seattle Pacific 6:59; 5-Santa Clara 7:03; 6-Puget Sound 7:20

Pair: 1-Saint Mary's 7:28; 2-Loyola Marymount 7:30; 3-Sacramento State 7:33; 4-Seattle Pacific 7:35; 5-Willamette 7:46; 6-UC Irvine 7:48