A glimpse of future. After an encouraging start to a new era of rowing at Seattle Pacific University, the fleet heads south to Vancouver Lake for the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference Invitational Saturday (Apr. 1). There, the Falcons will face, among others, some of the regional favorites for NCAA Championship berths. Next week SPU ventures into Oregon for the Covered Bridge Regatta.

The new deal. For the past seven years Coach Keith Jefferson has emphasized his fours to great success. But beginning this season, there’s a new objective for the women’s crew: Qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships. To get there, the Falcons must become competitive in the eights and fours, and the pinnacle of the regular season will be the Pacific Coast Championships, where the West Region’s berths will likely be determined. Seattle Pacific has not concentrated on women’s varsity eights since the mid-Nineties, when the Falcons had some success with lightweight eights, including a fourth-place national finish in 1998. Since 2000, SPU has won a total of four national titles in women’s fours. Western Washington, a fellow member of the NCRC, won the overall NCAA championship in 2005.

So far, so good. Jefferson’s squad has been hit hard by injuries and illness early on, but the Falcons have persevered. They won two of three varsity races in their Mar. 11 scrimmage with Pacific Lutheran, and then beat regional rival Humboldt State in the women’s varsity eight and men’s varsity four at last week’s Blue Heron Redwood Sprints. In the women’s featured race, Seattle Pacific and HSU were neck-and-neck, before the Falcons pulled away at the end, winning the race in a time of 6:52.99. The Jacks followed closely behind in a time of 6:55.51. It was the first victory by an SPU eight in four years.

Eureka recap. Finishing first in two races and runner-up in another, Seattle Pacific claimed the men’s team title at the Redwood Sprints. The Falcons won the men’s varsity four and novice four with plenty of open water and were second to Humboldt State by nearly 14 seconds in the varsity eight. The Falcons accumulated 19 points to edge Humboldt, 19-16. The women’s novice four placed second.

Last week’s results.

• Men’s varsity 4: 1-Seattle Pacific 6:42, 2-Humboldt State 6:57, 3-Cal Maritime 7:29, 4-Willamette 8:25
• Men’s novice 4: 1-Seattle Pacific 8:17, 2-Cal Maritime Lwt. 9:02, 3-Cal Maritime 9:07, 4-Willamette 10:20
• Men’s varsity 8: 1-Humboldt State 6:21, 2-Seattle Pacific 6:35, 3-Cal Maritime 6:52, 4-Willamette 6:59
• Women’s novice 4: 1-Humboldt State 8:17, 2-Seattle Pacific 8:20, 3-Cal Maritime 8:24, 4-Mills 8:55, 5-Willamette 9:18
• Women’s varsity 8: 1-Seattle Pacific 6:52, 2-Humboldt State 6:55, 3-Mills 7:22, 4-Willamette 7:25, 5-Humboldt State ‘B’ 7:30

Women’s lineups.

• Varsity 8: Stroke–Alicia Apple; 7–Katie Wolff; 6–Rachel Savage; 5–Liz Boettcher; 4–Holly Allan; 3–Rachel Ward; 2–Adrien Camp; bow–Katie Wilner; Coxswain–Megan Giske
• Varsity 4: Stroke–Alicia Apple; 3–; 2– ; Bow–Megan Sweeney; Coxswain–Megan Giske
• Novice 4: Stroke–Holly Allan; 3–Rachel Ward; 2–Adrien Camp; bow–Liz Boettcher; Coxswain–Matthew Shi

Men’s lineups.

• Varsity 4: Stroke–Jeremy Bryant; 3–John Chevigny; 2–Jonathan Dyk; Bow–Ben Zupke; Coxswain–Jeney Wierman
• Novice 4: Stroke–Jonathan Dyk; 3–Casey Esmond; 2–Justin Rowley; Bow–Zeke Schellberg; Coxswain–Matthew Shi

SPU Coaches. Keith Jefferson has steered Seattle Pacific University into uncharted waters in national prominence during his 15-year tenure as head coach. In the past seven years alone, Jefferson’s Falcons have claimed national titles in seven events, medaled in four others and won regional crowns in 10. A past oarsman, alumnus and assistant coach, Jefferson became the fifth head coach at Seattle Pacific University in the fall of 1990. In 2003 he took a leave of absence after being called up to active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. A lieutenant colonel in the reserves, Jefferson was an active member of the Marines from 1983-87. Jefferson succeeded Jim Schultz as coordinator of the program after serving two seasons as an assistant. A graduate of Bothell High School, Jefferson rowed for Seattle Pacific from 1979-83. He was a member of the light four which advanced to the semifinal at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia in 1982. Keith and his wife Lori have a son, Randy, and daughter, Emma, and reside in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. Andi Martineau, a member of championship fours in 2003 and ‘04, is in her first year as assistant. Kip Wassink, who stroked a varsity four at Dad Vail in 1999, is also new to the staff.

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