The sun shone, the water rippled, the fans cheered. It was a day made for rowing. Seattle University Women’s Crew completed their spring season on Saturday at the Windermere Cup Regatta on the Montlake Cut, leaving no question about the stern resolve of this team.
Seattle U Crew brought tidings of victory with successes spread over several weekend meets. On April 11th women’s crew competed at the Covered Bridge Regatta in Eugene, Oregon, which pitted Seattle University against primarily Division 2 competitors and resulted in well-earned victories.
The weekend before last brought an increase in competitive intensity at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Sacramento, California. High placements in all of their races left a wake of success for a relatively new team.
“Winning is always fun,” Park said regarding the competition in Sacramento. “We made the Grand Final in both the novice and varsity teams…being a third year program, I think that is pretty good.”
The Windermere Cup marked the beginning of boat season, and the end of rowing. Taking part in two races, Seattle U Crew placed second in both events to a UW boat having beaten Western Washington University and UW’s B varsity.
The Women’s College Open 8 was raced by Emily Nielson as Coxswain, Catherine Abajian, Lucy Fu, Sydney Bonino, Katherine Ollenbrook, Molly Hammond, Larisa Brown, Abi Wells and Rebecca Ravits. Recovering from a slight deficit at the start, the team managed to maintain a solid middle ground, separating the UW teams.
The Women’s Varsity race sprinted through the finish tailing UW and leaving WWU in their wake, who finished over 30 seconds later. The final race before the off-season was crewed by Brooke McCulluch as Coxswain, Kaylin Zimmer, Rachel Wong, Jen Cruz, Meghan Ricci, Mariana Osuna, Olivia Smith, Kelsey Hopkins, and Shelby Johnson.
Seattle U completed the first race, the Women’s College Open 8, in 7:12.1. Meanwhile while Women’s 3rd Varsity completed theirs in 6:55.2. For a 2000 meter race, this puts both teams at an average of about 10-11 mph, or 9.3-9.6 knots, over the course of the race.
The spring yielded beautiful race days and successful finishes as Seattle U Women’s Crew continues to improve from season to season. As the city of Seattle celebrated opening day by putting their boats into the water, Seattle U Crew begins their off-season training for a new year of success.
