Day One Recap

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. (Apr. 30) ­ Although they rowed significantly faster than their preliminary heat, the Seattle Pacific University men's varsity four crew was unable to bring home a medal from the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships Sunday on Lake Natoma.

The Falcons finished fifth in a very competitive grand final, which was won by Western Washington in 6 minutes, 25.7 seconds. SPU came across the finish line some 10 seconds later, in 6:36.4­16 seconds ahead of their pace Saturday. All six boats remained in contention until the final 1000 meters.

In the women's varsity eight petite final, Seattle Pacific had little trouble in winning by 30 seconds over Colorado. In fact, the SPU time of 7:14.8 would've been good enough for fifth in the grand final.

SPU will send its two varsity fours to the Opening Day Regatta next Saturday in the Montlake Cut.

Men's Varsity 4 (Div. II-III Grand Final): 1-Western Washington 6:25.7, 2-Long Beach State 6:26.6, 3-Oregon 6:31.2, 4-Puget Sound 6:32.6, 5-Seattle Pacific 6:36.4, 6-Loyola Marymount, 6:37.2

Women's Varsity 8 (Div. II-III Petite Final): 1-Seattle Pacific 7:14.8, 2-Colorado 7:44.0