SEATTLE, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's rowing team recorded a pair of victories on Saturday at the Falcon Regatta on Lake Washington Ship Canal.
 
The No. 5 nationally-ranked Vikings earned wins over host Seattle Pacific and Cal Poly Humboldt in the Varsity Four and Open Four races, and placed 3rd behind their GNAC counterparts in the Varsity Eight race.
 
Western dominated the Varsity 4+ competition with an open-water victory over SPU and Cal Poly Humboldt in a time of 7:50.9. WWU got off to a quick lead, built momentum over the course and closed out the win for the second consecutive week ahead of SPU by a 13-second margin. The same crew, led by coxswain Claudia Webster, earned the GNAC Crew of the Week award after winning its race at the Husky Open on April 2.
 
The Vikings Open Four started the day with a victory over a pair of SPU crews, covering the 2,000m course in 8:04.8. WWU battled through choppy conditions at the start and navigated the tricky open waterway course to hold off the both Falcon crews for a five-second victory (SPU-A was 2nd in 8:09.4).
 
In the final race of the morning, WWU's Varsity Eight placed 3rd in a very competitive and fast race behind Seattle Pacific (6:51.6) and Cal Poly Humboldt (6:51.9). The Vikings made a charge midway through the race, but were held off by both GNAC crews completing the course in a season-best 6:55.9.
 
Saturday's racing featured three of the top seven teams in the nation with WWU ranked No. 5, SPU No. 6 and Cal Poly Humboldt No. 7 in the most recent edition of the Pocock CRCA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll. The remaining GNAC rowing program, Central Oklahoma, is listed No. 1 in the national poll.
 
The Falcon Regatta featured two flights of racing Saturday morning on the Lake Washington Ship Canal, but WWU only competed in the first session. Full results are available at wwuvikings.com/RowViks.
 
Led by 24th-year head coach John Fuchs, the Vikings completed their third of five regular-season regattas leading up to the GNAC Championships on May 14 in Dexter, Oregon and the NCAA Championships May 27-29 in Sarasota, Florida. WWU is next in action April 30-May 1 at the WIRA Championships on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California and conclude the regular-season schedule May 7 at the Opening Day Regatta as part of the Windermere Cup on Montlake Cut.
  Here a look at the final results from the Falcon Regatta held Saturday, April 9 on the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The full 2022 season schedule and regatta results can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/RowViks.
 

Event	1st	2nd	3rd
Open 4+	WWU (8:04.8)	SPU (8:09.4)	SPU-B (8:14.1)
V4+	WWU (7:50.9)	SPU (8:04.1)	HUM (8:15.5)
V8+	SPU (6:51.9)	HUM (6:51.9)	WWU (6:55.9)

    Here are the crew lineups that raced for WWU in Saturday's Falcon Regatta:
 

Varsity Eight Valhalla	Varsity Four Mann King	Open Four Grit
Cox – Adele Houston	Cox – Claudia Webster	Cox – Kiana Doyle
Stroke – Morgan MacIntyre	Stroke – Emma Clark	Stroke – Ella Brinkman
7 – Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks	3 – Olivia Pells	3 – Phoebe Hafertepen
6 – Maddie Bangasser	2 – Lindsey Froelich	2 – Linnea Olix
5 – Yuki Saburi	Bow – Paige Donner	Bow – Madeline Kidd
4 – Lily Bjork
3 – Molly McDonald
2 – Haley Moss
Bow – Sarah Ernst

    The Vikings will take two weekends off from competition and return to action with the WIRA (Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association) Championships April 30-May 1 on Lake Natoma outside of Sacramento in Gold River, California. Heat races will run on the first day on Saturday, April 30 and the finals will be held on Sunday, May 1. The complete 2022 regatta schedule can be found online at wwuvikings.com/RowViks.