Day One Results

PHILADELPHIA (May 8) ­ Bidding for the school's first national championship for a men's boat, the Seattle Pacific University lightweight four crew was unable to keep pace with the top contenders and consequently finished sixth in the grand final of the Dad Vail Regatta Saturday on the Schuykill River.

Favored Fordham went ahead early and was not threatened by North Carolina, coasting to a 2.18-second margin to take the James J. Lynch trophy. Seattle Pacific, said assistant coach Jessie Pennington, rowed a strong race but faced a superior field. Perhaps a bit unsettled by a quarter headwind and choppy water, it finished the 2000-meter course in 7 minutes, 7.41 seconds­two-lengths behind fifth-place Army.

Earlier in the day, the Falcons had grabbed the sixth and final spot in the grand final by taking second place behind Fordham in their semifinal heat.

The light four's lineup was stroke Joel Braman (Sr., Wyoming, Mi.), No. 3 Trevor Winters (Sr., Spokane, Wa./North Central), No. 2 David Stalsbroten (So., Anacortes, Wa.), bow Ryan Suess (So., Ferndale, Wa.) and coxswain Emily Thomas (Jr., Grants Pass, Or.).

In the men's novice four semifinal, Seattle Pacific was eliminated from championship contention by taking third. Jacksonville­which went on to place second in the grand final­seized control in the opening strokes and won the heat with plenty of open water. SPU was even with Colorado for the first 1000 meters before the Buffaloes pulled away to finish second by 10 seconds.

The novice lineup was: stroke Phil Chase (Fr., DuPont, Wa./Charles Wright), No. 3 Jeremy Bryant (Fr., Gig Harbor, Wa.), No. 2 Jason Mobley (Jr., Burien, Wa./Highline), bow Danny Simmons (Fr., Boise, Id.) and cox Emily Fletcher (Fr., Issaquah, Wa.).

That concludes the men's season.

The women's varsity four defends its national title Sunday at the ECAC National Invitational Championships in Worcester, Mass. Both the varsity and JV crews will be in action May 15-16 at the Pacific Coast Championships in Rancho Cordova, Ca.

• Novice 4 (semifinal): 1-Jacksonville 6:32.8, 2-Colorado 6:39.2, 3-Seattle Pacific 6:49.1, 4-New York Maritime 6:52.5, 5-Vermont 7:07.8, 6-Mighigan State 7:12.4
• Lightweight 4 (semifinal): 1-Fordham 6:36.1, 2-Seattle Pacific 6:51.5, 3-Central Florida 6:55.1, 4-Merchant Marine 7:00.8, 5-Lowell 7:02.3
• Lightweight 4 (grand final): 1-Fordham 6:45.29, 2-North Carolina 6:47.47, 3-carnegie Mellon 6:53.33, 4-Georgia 7:00.05, 5-Army 7:00.32, 6-Seattle Pacific 7:07.41