Recaps »»  Day One  Day Two  Day Three

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (May 27) ­ Seattle Pacific University rallied to win the women's varsity eight petite final Sunday as the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships concluded on Melton Hill Lake.

The Falcons trailed Florida Tech early, then pulled even at the midway point and finished with open water on their opposition.

SPU completed the course in 7 minutes, 24.93 seconds and FIT finished in 7:32.76. The Falcons also achieved their goal of posting a faster time than the fourth-place boat (Nova Southeastern, 7:28.30) in the grand final.

Western Washington's victories in both the varsity eight and four grand finals earned the Vikings their third consecutive NCAA championship. Western won both races by one length over UC San Diego.

"We achieved our two primary goals," said coach Keith Jefferson. "We were racing for respect, and again they rowed an excellent race. The times for everyone were slower, but everyone's feeling pretty good and we consider this a launch point for the future."

The Seattle Pacific lineup: stroke-Rachel Savage (So., Encinitas, Ca/San Dieguito), 7-Katie Wolff (Jr., Bridgewater, Vt./Mid Vermont Christian), 6-Amy Burns (So., Palm Springs, Ca./Desert Chapel), 5-Rachel Strand (Sr., Shoreline, Wa./King's), 4-Kay Chikos (Fr., Renton, Wa./Kentridge), 3-Erin Arkin (Fr., Tacoma, Wa./Academy Northwest), 2-Melissa Blevins (Fr., Walla Walla, Wa.), bow-Katie Wilner (So., Everett, Wa./Everett), coxswain-Megan Giske (Sr., Gig Harbor, Wa./Gig Harbor). Alternates­ Denise Filley (Fr., Mesa, Az./Dobson) and Heather Waggoner (Fr., Sandy, Or./Mount Si).

NCAA Div. II Team Scoring 1-Western Washington 20, 2-UC San Diego 15, 3-Dowling 8, 4-Nova Southeastern 5

Varsity Eights Petite Final 1-Seattle Pacific 7:24.93, 2-Florida Tech 7:32.76 Grand Final 1-Western Washington 7:03.80, 2-UC San Diego 7:09.51, 3-Dowling 7:12.93, 4-Nova Southeastern 7:28.30

Varsity Fours Grand Final 1-Western Washington 8:08.72, 2-UC San Diego 8:14.71, 3-Nova Southeastern 8:44.83