April 23, 2005

LAKE STEVENS, Wash. - Western Washington University won the featured women's varsity eight race and claimed the women's team title at the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference Championships on Saturday at Lake Stevens.

The Vikings' eight, ranked No.1 nationally in the latest USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Poll, covered the 2,000-meter course in 6:41.0. Defending champion Puget Sound, rated No.4 nationally in Division III, was second in 6:42.2, followed by Lewis & Clark 6:54.6, Pacific Lutheran 6:57.2, Humboldt State 6:58.8 and Willamette 7:40.9.

Despite placing among the top three at nationals the last three years, including two runner-up finishes, Western had not won the varsity eight at the league championships since 2001, finishing second last spring and fourth the previous two years.

Seated in the Vikings' shell were coxswain Krissy Whaley (Sr., Woodinville), stroke Julia Gamache (Jr., Seattle/Blanchet), No.7 Staci Reynolds (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.6 Lindsay Mann-King (So., Colville), No.5 Kailyn McGrath (Jr., Fillmore, CA/Villanova Prep), No.4 Metta Gilbert (Fr., Helena, MT), No.3 Gail Lumsden (Sr., Everett/Mariner), No.2 Amelia Whitcomb (Fr., Spokane/Ferris) and bow Stephanie Parker (So., Marysville, WA/Marysville-Pilchuck).

In all, Western won five women's races. Besides the varsity eight, the Vikings were victorious in the second varsity eight (6:52.9), novice eight (6:44.1), second novice eight (7:43.6) and novice four (7:48.9). They placed second in the third varsity eight, second novice four, and second varsity four; and finished third in the varsity four.

"It was an awesome team effort," said program coordinator and head women's coach John Fuchs, who was named NCRC Women's Coach of the Year for the second time. "Every single person on the team contributed and every single person medaled. We had one third place, and all the rest were firsts and seconds."

Puget Sound took the men's team title, winning five races. The Loggers won the varsity eight in 6:11.0, with Lewis & Clark second (6:16.7), followed by Western (6:20.9), Humboldt State (6:24.8), Willamette (6:43.7) and Pacific Lutheran (6:48.5).

The Vikings took the novice eight with a clocking of 6:21.5 over Puget Sound (6:29.6). In Western's boat were coxswain Amber Jacobs (Fr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap), stroke Blake Herrington (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.7 Chris deVos (Fr., Seattle/Roosevelt), No.6 Jack Marolich (Fr., Sammamish/Eastlake), No.5 David Hancock (Fr., Shoreline/Shorewood), No.4 Erik Kalstad (Fr., Bothell), No.3 Kevin Cumming (So., Woodinville), No.2 Danny Buckley (Fr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley) and bow Eric Weishaar (Fr., Federal Way).

Western also placed third in the novice four and second varsity eight races, and finished fourth in the varsity four and sixth in the second varsity four.

Named NCRC Men's Coach of the Year was Lewis & Clark's Tessa Spillane.

Western next competes at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Apr. 30 and May 1 at Lake Natoma near Sacramento, Calif.

NORTHWEST COLLEGIATE ROWING CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Apr. 23 at Lake Stevens - Lake Stevens, Wash.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

MEN

Team standings - 1. Puget Sound 60, 2. Lewis & Clark 36.5, 3. Willamette 17.75, 4. Western Washington, 5. Humboldt State 16, 5. Pacific Lutheran 16, 7. Seattle Pacific 8

Novice 4 - 1. Lewis & Clark 6:44.8, 2. Puget Sound-A 6:45.7, 3. Western Washington 6:48.9, 4. Puget Sound-B 7:07.4, 5. Seattle Pacific 7:17.0, 6. Willamette 7:23.9, 7. Humboldt State 7:55.2

Varsity Lightweight 4 - 1. Pacific Lutheran 7:07.0, 2. Willamette 7:23.2, 3. Puget Sound 7:25.5

Novice 8 - 1. Western Washington 6:21.5, 2. Puget Sound 6:29.6

Varsity 4 - 1. Puget Sound 6:28.9, 2. Lewis & Clark 6:34.4, 3. Humboldt State 6:40.8, 4. Western Washington 6:41.2, 5. Seattle Pacific 6:45.3, 6. Willamette 6:47.3

Pair - 1. Puget Sound-A 7:31.5, 2. Seattle Pacific 7:41.9, 3. Willamette 7:56.0, 4. Pacific Lutheran 8:23.8, 5. Puget Sound-B 8:40.7, 6. Lewis & Clark 9:31.2

Second Novice 4 - 1. Lewis & Clark 7:38.1, 2. Puget Sound 8:29.6

Varsity 8 - 1. Puget Sound 6:11.0, 2. Lewis & Clark 6:16.7, 3. Western Washington 6:20.9, 4. Humboldt State 6:24.8, 5. Willamette 6:43.7, 6. Pacific Lutheran 6:48.5

Novice Lightweight 4 - 1. Puget Sound 7:24.2, 2. Lewis & Clark 7:31.2

Second Varsity 8 - 1. Puget Sound 6:24.3, 2. Lewis & Clark 6:36.5, 3. Western Washington 6:59.2

Second Varsity 4 - 1. Puget Sound 7:09.0, 2. Humboldt State 7:22.4, 3. Seattle Pacific 7:27.5, 4. Lewis & Clark 7:32.3, 5. Willamette 7:35.8, 6. Western Washington 7:41.1

WOMEN

Team Standings - 1. Western Washington 64 2. Puget Sound 39.75, 3. Pacific Lutheran 34.25, 4. Willamette 31.5, 5. Humboldt State 26, 6. Seattle Pacific 15.5, 7. Lewis & Clark 15.25

Varsity 8 - 1. Western Washington 6:41.0, 2. Puget Sound 6:42.2, 3. Lewis & Clark 6:54.6, 4. Pacific Lutheran 6:57.2, 5. Humboldt State 6:58.8, 6. Willamette 7:40.9

Second Varsity 8 - 1. Western Washington 6:52.9, 2. Puget Sound 6:55.1, 3. Humboldt State 7:04.7, 4. Lewis & Clark 7:07.3, 5. Pacific Lutheran 7:12.0, 6. Willamette 7:15.2

Third Varsity 8 - 1. Lewis & Clark 7:34.5, 2. Western Washington 7:36.1, 3. Puget Sound 7:52.0

Novice Lightweight 4 - 1. Humboldt State 8:18.4, 2. Puget Sound 8:38.7

Varsity 4 - 1. Puget Sound 7:06.8, 2. Seattle Pacific 7:12.1, 3. Western Washington 7:19.0, 4. Pacific Lutheran-A 7:19.3, 5. Willamette 7:26.4, 6. Lewis & Clark 7:35.3, 7. Humboldt State 7:38.9, Pacific Lutheran-B 8:15.9

Novice 8 - 1. Western Washington 6:44.1, 2. Willamette 6:59.3, 3. Pacific Lutheran 7:07.9, 4. Puget Sound 7:08.4, 5. Humboldt State 7:11.1, 6. Lewis & Clark 7:30.8

Pair - 1. Seattle Pacific 8:25.6, 2. Willamette 9:11.0, 3. Puget Sound 9:14.7, 4. Pacific Lutheran 10:20.0

Varsity Lightweight 4 - 1. Willamette 8:08.9, 2. Willamette-B 8:22.8, 3. Pacific Lutheran 8:31.6, 4. Puget Sound 8:43.6

Second Novice 4 - 1. Pacific Lutheran 8:37.9, 2. Western Washington 8:44.1, 3. Lewis & Clark 9:00.5, 4. Puget Sound 9:00.7, 5. Humboldt State 9:16.0

Second Novice 8 - 1. Western Washington 7:43.6, 2. Humboldt State 7:50.9, 3. Puget Sound 8:02.7, 4. Pacific Lutheran 8:17.6, 5. Lewis & Clark 8:22.0

Novice 4 - 1. Western Washington 7:48.9, 2. Pacific Lutheran 8:01.2, 3. Puget Sound-A 8:02.9, 4. Humboldt State 8:15.1, 5. Puget Sound-B 8:24.1, 6. Seattle Pacific 8:32.3, 7. Willamette 8:35.1, 8. Lewis & Clark 8:46.6

Second Varsity 4 - 1. Humboldt State 8:03.9, 2. Western Washington 8:07.5, 3. Pacific Lutheran 8:11.0, 4. Seattle Pacific 8:16.0, 5. Willamette 8:21.3, 6. Puget Sound-A 8:29.9, 7. Lewis & Clark 8:35.6, 8. Puget Sound-B 8:52.8

Western Washington Lineups:

Women's Varsity 8 - Coxswain Krissy Whaley (Sr., Woodinville), stroke Julia Gamache (Jr., Seattle/Blanchet), No.7 Staci Reynolds (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.6 Lindsay Mann-King (So., Colville), No.5 Kailyn McGrath (Jr., Fillmore, CA/Villanova Prep), No.4 Metta Gilbert (Fr., Helena, MT), No.3 Gail Lumsden (Sr., Everett/Mariner), No.2 Amelia Whitcomb (Fr., Spokane/Ferris), bow Stephanie Parker (So., Marysville, WA/Marysville-Pilchuck)

Women's Second Varsity 8 - Coxswain Coree Naslund (Jr., University/Curtis), stroke Tanya Kaufman (Fr., San Anselmo, CA/Sir Francis Drake), No.7 Samantha Marikis (Fr., Republic), No.6 Courtney Moeller (Sr., Renton/Liberty), No.5 Jordan Tobler (Fr., Langley/South Whidbey), No.4 Katrina Anderson Jr., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage), No.3 Alyssa Thornley (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak), No.2 Katie Fadden (Jr., Lake Forest Park/Shorecrest), bow Quinn Sanford (Sr., Olympia/Capital/Cottey JC NV)

Women's Third Varsity 8 - Coxswain Robin Fitzpatrick (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak), stroke Michelle Gilluly (Fr., Issaquah/Bellevue CC), No.7 Mary Burchard (Fr., Okanogan), No.6 Elise Santini (Fr., Oregon City), No.5 Katie Saelens (Fr., Clinton/South Whidbey/Edmonds CC), No.4 Mandy Brassfield (Fr., Anchorage, AK/Service/Alaska Pacific), No.3 Alexa Skilling (Fr., Kirkland/Forest Ridge), No.2 Megan Marquett (So., Shelton/South Puget Sound CC), bow Sarah Yerkan (Fr., Silverdale/Central Kitsap/Olympic CC)

Men's Novice 8 - Coxswain Amber Jacobs (Fr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap), stroke Blake Herrington (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.7 Chris deVos (Fr., Seattle/Roosevelt), No.6 Jack Marolich (Fr., Sammamish/Eastlake), No.5 David Hancock (Fr., Shoreline/Shorewood), No.4 Erik Kalstad (Fr., Bothell), No.3 Kevin Cumming (So., Woodinville), No.2 Danny Buckley (Fr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley), bow Eric Weishaar (Fr., Federal Way)

Women's Varsity 4 - Coxswain Krissy Whaley (Sr., Woodinville), stroke Julia Gamache (Sr., Seattle/Blanchet), No.3 Kailyn McGrath (Jr., Fillmore, CA/Villanova Prep), No.2 Lindsay Mann-King (So., Colville), bow Gail Lumsden (Sr., Everett/Mariner)

Women's Novice 8 - Coxswain Elisabeth Johnson (Jr., Seattle/Franklin), stroke Amelia Whitcomb (Fr., Spokane/Ferris), No.7 Samantha Marikis (Fr., Republic), No.6 Tanya Kaufman (Fr., San Anselmo, CA/Sir Francis Drake), No.5 Jordon Tobler (Fr., Langley/South Whidbey), No.4 Metta Gilbert (Fr., Helena, MT), No.3 Alyssa Thornley (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak), No.2 Sarah Fletcher (Fr., Port Townsend/Sequim), bow Staci Reynolds (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River)

Men's Varsity 4 - Coxswain Austin Jenkins (Sr., Vancouver/Hudson's Bay), stroke Andy Foltz (Jr., Sumner), No.3 Phil DuBois (Sr., Olympia/Capital), No.2 Nate Pedersen (Jr., Peaks Island, ME/Portland), bow Danny Buckley (Fr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley)

Women's Second Novice 4 - Coxswain Robin Fitzpatrick (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak), stroke Megan Marquett (So., Shelton/South Puget Sound CC), No.3 Mary Burchard (Fr., Okanogan), No.2 Sarah Fletcher (Fr., Port Townsend/Sequim), bow Katie Saelens (Fr., Clinton/South Whidbey/Edmonds CC)

Men's Varsity 8 - Coxswain Austin Jenkins (Sr., Vancouver/Hudson's Bay), stroke Andy Foltz (Jr., Sumner) No.7 Phil DuBois (Sr., Olympia/Capital), No.6 Jack Marolich (Fr., Sammamish/Eastlake), No.5 Chris deVos (Fr., Seattle/Roosevelt), No.4 Erik Kalstad (Fr., Bothell), No.3 David Hancock (Fr., Shoreline/Shorewood), No.2 Blake Herrington (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River), bow Eric Weishaar (Fr., Federal Way)

Men's Novice Lightweight 4 - Coxswain Amber Jacobs (Fr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap), stroke Jack Marolich (Fr., Sammamish/Eastlake), No.3 Chris deVos (Fr., Seattle/Roosevelt), No.2 Erik Kalstad (Fr., Bothell), bow David Hancock (Fr., Shoreline/Shorewood)

Men's Second Varsity 8 - Coxswain Brittany Poirson (So., Oberlin, OH/Elyria Catholic), stroke Nate Pedersen (Jr., Peaks Island, ME/Portland), No.7 Kevin Cumming (So., Woodinville), No.6 Danny Buckley (Fr., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley), No.5 Jason Merrifield (Fr., Lynnwood/Meadowdale), No.4 Paul Hoover (Fr., Tacoma/Decatur), No.3 Jarrod Eckhout (Fr., Fall City, WA/Colorado Timberline Academy), No.2 Chris Ippolito (Fr., Fall City/Mount Si), bow Stephen Carlson (Sr., Suquamish/North Kitsap/Olympic CC)

Women's Second Novice 8 - Coxswain Robin Fitzpatrick (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak), stroke Michelle Gilluly (Fr., Issaquah/Bellevue CC), No.7 Mary Burchard (Fr., Okanogan), No.6 Elise Santini (Fr., Oregon City), No.5 Katie Saelens (Fr., Clinton/South Whidbey/Edmonds CC), No.4 Mandy Brassfield (Fr., Anchorage, AK/Service/Alaska Pacific), No.3 Kaitlyn Harun (Fr., Camano Island/Stanwood) No.2 Megan Marquett (So., Shelton/South Puget Sound CC), bow Anika Ahmed (Fr., Bothell)

Women's Novice 4 - Coxswain Elisabeth Johnson (Jr., Seattle/Franklin), stroke Amelia Whitcomb (Fr., Spokane/Ferris), No.3 Staci Reynolds (Fr., Vancouver/Columbia River), No.2 Metta Gilbert (Fr., Helena, MT), bow Alyssa Thornley (Fr., Mukilteo/Kamiak)

Women's Second Varsity 4 - Coxswain Elisabeth Johnson (Jr., Seattle/Franklin), stroke Courtney Moeller (Sr., Renton/Liberty), No.3 Samantha Marikis (Fr., Republic), No.2 Tanya Kaufman (Fr., San Anselmo, CA/Sir Francis Drake), bow Jordan Tobler (Fr., Langley/South Whidbey)

Men's Second Varsity 4 - Coxswain Brittany Poirson (So., Oberlin, OH/Elyria Catholic), stroke Paul Hoover (Fr., Tacoma/Decatur), No.3 Jarrod Eckhout (Fr., Fall City, WA/Colorado Timberline Academy), No.2 Jason Merrifield (Fr., Lynnwood/Meadowdale), bow Stephen Carlson (Sr., Suquamish/North Kitsap/Olympic CC)