Four plus four make two. For the fifth and sixth time in four years, Seattle Pacific University's rowing program conquered the nation's best and arrived home as national champions. The Falcons won the women's lightweight four category in the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia May 10, with the women's varsity four claiming a title at the ECAC National Invitational Championships in nearby Camden, New Jersey, the following day. The men's varsity pair advanced to the semifinal round at Dad Vail.

Lights go on. This was the first SPU lightweight crew to win a national crown while it was the third victory for a varsity four since 2000. For the lights, it capped a remarkable year. They lost bowman Erin Cox (Jr., Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) early in the season and replaced her with Kristina Richards (Jr., Boise, Id./Timberline), a former coxswain and technically a novice. Despite rowing against open weight junior varsity boats on a couple occasions, the crew won six of nine races. At Dad Vail, Richards, Andrea Reichert (Jr., Bloomington, Mn./Jefferson), Julie Vieselmeyer (Sr., Coeur d'Alene, Id./Lake City), Elyse Cansler (Jr., Longview, Wa./R.A. Long) and cox Joanna Hodgkiss (Jr., Tacoma, Wa./Puyallup) were dominant. They coasted to a 10-second winning margin in the opening heat and were pulling away as the crossed the finish line in the grand final.

"Mentally, they were really together going into the race," said SPU interim head coach Jessie Pennington. "They got a good start and rowed relaxed the rest of the way."

Two for two. Just as impressive was the SPU varsity four, which had cheered on the lights from the shores the previous two days. The same quartet of rowers which had gone unbeaten as novices, stepped up to the next level and vanquished the field in Camden. After posting the best time among the three qualifying heats, the Falcons surged ahead early in the grand final and continued to widen the gap throughout the race, finishing with more than two boat-lengths of open water over the nearest rival. On the season, the crew of Sarah Zorn (So., Mercer Island, Wa./Lahser), Shannon Buehler (So., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower), Heidi Visser (So., Wenatchee, Wa./Wenatchee), Andi Martineau (Jr., Superior, Mt./Superior) and cox Lindsay Dilschneider (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) finished first in eight of 10 races, including a sweep of the conference, regional and national championships.

"The fact that this is a varsity category and we are second-year rowers going against more experienced people, that makes this pretty sweet, sweeter than last year," said Pennington.

Seattle Pacific has won the last three varsity four national grand finals in which it has raced (they did not enter in 2002).

National Championship Results

SPU Coaches. Keith Jefferson has steered Seattle Pacific University into uncharted waters in national prominence during his 12-year tenure as head coach. In the past four years alone, Jefferson's Falcons have claimed national titles in four events, medaled in four others and won regional crowns in seven. A past oarsman, alumnus and assistant coach, Jefferson became the fifth head coach at Seattle Pacific University in the fall of 1990. This spring he has taken a leave of absence after being called up to active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. An active member of the Marines from 1983-87, Jefferson, a major in the reserves, will retire from the reserves upon his return in June. Jessica Pennington, assistant to Jefferson for the past year, will serve as interim head coach. She will be assisted by Trisha Sawatzky. Pennington was oarsman of the year and an all-region selection as a senior in 2001 when she rowed in the national title varsity four. Sawatzky was a member of last year's national championship pair, all-region pick and SPU co-athlete of the year. Under Jefferson, the Falcons have emerged as a regional force in small college rowing. Both men's and women's boats have proved competitive at the national level in recent years. The women's varsity four won back-to-back Avaya Collegiate Championships in 2000 and 2001 after placing third in 1999. Sawatzky and Kimberly Tschetter won the varsity pair title in 2002 along with the novice four. The men's four finished fifth in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association in 1995, the lightweight four was second at Dad Vail in 2000 and the novice four third in 2001. Regionally, Jefferson's fleet has medaled 18 times at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association and Pacific Coast Rowing Championships, including seven golds. SPU has totaled 36 Northwest Collegiate Rowing titles since 1994, punctuated by the school's first overall conference women's crown in 2001.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.