LAKEWOOD, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing team came up short by the slimmest of margins on Saturday morning with the Lutes' varsity eight boat finishing a split second behind boathouse rival University of Puget Sound in the 48th edition of the Lamberth Cup on American Lake.
"We're just really proud of how both of our crews raced today," said Head Coach
Matt Oclander.
"Tight racing is always fun racing, even if we came just shy of getting our bow ball in front in the 1V. That's the closest we've been to Puget Sound since I've gotten here, and we're excited to see how we progress between now and the end of the season."
Arguably the tightest finish in the storied regatta, the Lutes' varsity eight boat of coxswain
Louisa Compton and a crew of
Riah Heil,
Tate Trahan,
Kat Judd,
Makayla Hall,
Hannah Miyasaki,
Natalie Gregory,
Adia Carei, and
Kennadi Jones, trailed early after the Loggers got off to a fast start. PLU tried to reel in the Loggers but ran out of real estate in the 2,000-meter race, finishing a half second back of Puget Sound. PLU clocked a time of seven minutes, 24.5 seconds with Puget Sound's crew crossing the finish line buoy in 7:24.0.
PLU's time was over five seconds better than its performance two weeks ago at the PLU Invitational to open the spring racing season.
In the second varsity eight race, a Lute crew of coxswain
Sarah Hoskins, and a crew of
Kate Dery,
Joscelyn Barenaba,
Sareena Dhaliwal,
Ashley Teague,
Suzie Roberts,
Mackenzie Poppe,
Tlalli Ruiz, and
Adella Judge charged down the 2K course in 8:36.8 with rival Puget Sound winning the race in a time of 8:18.6. It was the second varsity eight's first competitive race of the spring after PLU didn't field a 2V at the PLU Invitational two weeks ago.
"The 2V did a great job of coming together in the last couple of weeks and putting together a solid first performance of the year. We can see a lot of potential from that group and we're really looking forward to getting into our spring break training and continuing to build more and more speed."
Saturday's regatta was the final home race for the Lutes who honored their four seniors—
Adia Carei,
Hannah Miyasaki,
Suzie Roberts, and
Ashley Teague— in a ceremony at the boathouse after the conclusion of the races.
"we're really grateful for our four seniors— Adia, Ashley, Hannah, and Suzie. They've given so much to this program, and been a part of its changes and growth. We're excited to see them in their cap and gowns in May, and we look forward the impact they will make on their communities!
Adia Carei always brings so much joy to her teammates. She is full of racing energy and we're going to miss having our very own Lightning McQueen.
Ashley Teague has been such an amazing and steadfast teammate. It's been so fun seeing her move her way up the record board in the erg room as well as make so much progress on and off the water.
Hannah Miyasaki was the first person to come welcome me in my new office my first day on the job, and she has welcomed so many new people to this team. She has been such a thoughtful and process driven rower, and always there to encourage her teammates to use all of the recovery and self-care resources in the ATR.
Suzie Roberts has been an amazing teammate and captain in the two years I have been here. She is always encouraging her teammates and bringing the 'ATTAWAY' energy to practice and to races. She's so passionate about her team and her people and is there with a listening ear and a comforting shoulder for her teammates. She makes everyone's day a little better."
The Lutes take the rest of the month off and return to action on April 11 when they battle some of the nation's best teams on the East Coast at the Barbara Grant Donahue Cup in Worcester, Mass.
