Women's 4 Takes Gold, 3 Others Take Medals at WIRA
May 4, 2003

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (May 4) -- When it comes to championship races, there's no denying a certain Seattle Pacific University crew.

Rowers in the Falcons' varsity four came sprinted from fourth to first in the final 800 meters to claim the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship Saturday on Lake Natoma. It was this particular crew's fifth championship in as many tries over two seasons and their 18th victory in 20 races overall.

"They said it was a hard race, but that they sat and waited, then made their move," said interim head coach Jessie Pennington.

Seattle Pacific sat fourth, a boat-length out of first, through 1200 meters. The Falcons, who won the conference a week ago, then went into their sprint to overtake Puget Sound, San Diego State and finally Pacific Lutheran, finishing with a 2.7-second margin over the Lutes.

The varsity four of Sarah Zorn, Shannon Buehler, Heidi Visser and Andi Martineau -- who together won conference, regional and national titles as novices a year ago -- will go to the ECAC National Invitational Championships next weekend in Camden, New Jersey.

In all, SPU collected four medals in five grand finals. Thanks to late sprints, the men's varsity pair and lightweight four took second place in their respective finals, and the women's light four was third. The women's novice four finished fifth.

The men's pair featured a particularly late charge. Tyler Van Stright and Reid Shipley were in fourth until the last 250 meters. At that point they rowed through Sacramento State and UC Irvine, although they could not catch the Cal lights, which won by nearly two lengths.

The men's pair and women's light four will compete at the Dad Vail Regatta next weekend in Philadelphia.

Women's Results

• Varsity 4 (Grand Final): 1-Seattle Pacific 7:15.5, 2-Pacific Lutheran 7:18.3, 3-San Diego State 7:20.9, 4-Puget Sound 7:23.6, 5-St. Mary's 7:39.8, UC Santa Barbara 7:43.2
• Light 4 (Grand Final): 1-San Diego State 7:45.7, 2-UC Santa Barbara 7:50.0, 3-Seattle Pacific 7:55.0, 4-UC San Diego 7:59.2, 5-Cal Lights 8:03.6, 6-Long Beach State 8:17.0
• Novice 4 (Grand Final): 1-Gonzaga 7:40.7, 2-Pacific Lutheran 7:41.9, 3-Puget Sound 7;56.2, 4-Long Beach State 8:01.8, 5-Seattle Pacific 8:04.0, 6-Portland 8:07.3

Men's Results

• Light 4 (Grand Final): 1-Cal Lights 6:50.4, 2-Seattle Pacific 6:59.3, 3-Sacramento State 7:03.4, 4-UC Santa Barbara 7:05.9, 5-Puget Sound 7:07.5, 6-Portland 7:30.5
• Varsity Pair (Grand Final): 1-St. Mary's 7:25.4, 2-Seattle Pacific 7:39.6, 3-Sacramento State 7:43.3, 4-UC Irvine 7:43.7, 5-Portland 7:51.4, 6-Puget Sound 7:53.5, 7-Chapman 8:00.2
• Novice 4 (Petite Final): 1-Pacific Lutheran 7:37.4, 2-San Diego 7:416, 3-Seattle Pacific 7:42.7, 4-UC San Diego 7:43.3, 5-Colorado 7:47.2, 6-Long Beach State 7:47.2