Women's Rowing Gunning for Return Trip to NCAA Regatta

By Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

The Pacific Lutheran University women’s rowing team has lofty goals heading into the spring season after qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships and placing eighth at the national regatta last May.

For the Lutes, last spring was a return to the national regatta for the first time since 2022 and was the seventh all-time appearance for the program. PLU’s varsity eight boat placed eighth overall and was runner-up in the petite final with the second varsity eight boat having an identical finish in their races at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey.

Anchoring the program’s high expectations is the reality that eight of the nine crewmembers from the varsity eight and five of the nine from the second varsity eight return for the 2026 campaign.

The expectations (this year) are different because last year the team wasn’t expecting to make it to the national championships. That realization didn’t necessarily form until we were going through our spring season.

So the expectations and the pressure the student-athletes are putting on themselves is higher and that’s been fun to coach and navigate,

said 2025 CRCA Pacific Region Coach of the Year Matt Oclander who begins his second season as head coach of the Lutes.

2026 Roster

Leading the charge of a stacked veteran 1V8+ is Riah Heil. An All-Northwest Conference selection last spring, the Maple Valley, Washington native was one of just two Division III West Coast rowers to make the cut in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association’s Athlete to Watch list released in February.

“I was really excited to see Riah being named CRCA Athlete to Watch. It was the first time a PLU athlete has been named and I think it’s a really good sign for the program. She’s been consistently improving and she has a really good mindset and mentality which is good to see.

Riah has made a lot of really good gains and I’m excited to see what she’s able to do, whether she’s in stroke seat or not as we’ve tried a variety of lineup combinations.”

Also returning is Kennadi Jones who was also tabbed All-NWC at the conference regatta that the Lutes placed runner-up in the 1V race and second overall in the team standings.

“We’re aiming to get back to the national championships. I think in every metric that we’ve seen, we’re getting faster. We’re getting better at the sport of rowing. It’s not the same team as last year. We’re better but we’re different. I think that’s been exciting to coach and I’m excited to see what that turns into when we get into sunny spring.”

Rounding out the rest of the returners on the varsity eight is coxswain Louisa Compton along with crew members Abby Andrews, Adia Carei, Makyala Hall, Kat Judd, and Tate Trahan.

PLU Varsity 8 at NCAA Championships in West Windsor, NJ

People are in new seats and people are stepping up. We have some people who have put in the work and put in a good body of work to get a spot in that top boat. They also recognize how much work they have to do and that drives them day in and day out.

If we go back (to nationals), we’re not the same people from 12 months ago. So even if the personnel doesn’t change much, as athletes they’ve really stepped up and improved in so many different ways and I’m excited to see what they can do.

For Compton, it will be her third season quarterbacking the varsity eight as coxswain.

“Louisa was in an interesting position as she came into PLU with rowing experience but not coxswain experience. She quickly found her second rowing life in the coxswain seat and I think this year she’s really found ways to grow that skillset and that leadership. Louisa is also a team captain and she’s doing an incredible job leading and being a great resource for the team.”

Returning this spring is Hannah Miyasaki. A Honolulu, Hawaii native, Miyasaki rowed in the 1V8+ during the 2024 season before missing all spring last year while participating in a study away program.

Hannah’s been wonderful to have back and she’s been super excited to be back with the team and training super hard.

Two rowers from last year’s varsity eight that have made huge strides this offseason has been Adia Carei and Kat Judd.

“Adia’s been such a great leader being a really positive force. You really need that positive force on those cold, dark, February mornings, and she’s been that, and has really helped the people around her get better as well.”

A Port Orchard, Washington native, Judd looks to make an even bigger impact this spring after making her mark as a novice last spring.

“Kat’s putting forth a lot of really good effort. She was part of the group that raced at NCAAs. She missed some of the spring season last year with illness and she’s been determined not to miss a single practice or race. She’s been stepping up technically and on the rowing machine as well.”

Ashley Teague rowed in the 2V8+ at the NCAA Championships but appeared in both boats over the course of the spring, and looks to take the next step heading into the 2026 racing slate.

“Ashley’s continued to climb her way up the record board on the erg and she’s really been making huge leaps and bounds on the water as well to bring all that power to the crew.”

In addition to Teague, the Lutes also return Sareena Dhaliwal, Mackenzie Poppe, Suzie Roberts and coxswain Sylvie Manz from the second varsity eight.

Rowing is a sport built on dedication, commitment, and grit, but for Oclander he has been particularly impressed with the five Lutes on the team that are nursing majors and are balancing early morning practices with long days of clinical rotations.

Sareena Dhaliwal, Makayla Hall, Louisa Compton, Riah Heil, Kate Dery. Those are five student-athletes that are all going through the nursing program right now, and they’re in the midst of clinicals. I’ve been amazed watching them balance that. It’s been hard work but I’ve been im-pressed with their ability to balance it. They’re tired for sure but they get it done.

Among the first-years on the team, Oclander has been particularly impressed with Washington natives Joscelyn Barenaba and Tlalli Ruiz along with Minnesota native Kate Dery.

Jocelyn and Kate are the two standout novice rowers. Both have been putting in a lot of effort and it’s been fun to see them take their very first strokes and put together some really great pieces on the water.

Tlalli has been a total gadget athlete, being in the coxswain seat and also hopping in and rowing. She’s been doing a really great job of doing both and brings a ton of positivity and grit to her work.

Pacific Lutheran enters the spring coming off a successful fall slate of racing with the Lute varsity eight boat defeating Division I Seattle University at the Head of the Lake on the Mountlake Cut in Seattle back on Nov. 2, while earning a head-to-head win over boathouse rival University of Puget Sound six days later at the Fall Fixture on American Lake.

The Head of the Lake regatta has always traditionally been the crown jewel of the fall racing calendar for the Northwest. Beating a D1 opponent put a lot of confidence in the crew. That was a really positive experience and I’m excited to see how they can carry that through the spring.

The Fall Fixture gave the team a glimpse of what they’re capable of and we really want to cap-italize on that.

Fall is very different than spring but it gave some confidence and we know were going to have to work super hard to stay there.

The Lutes first test of spring comes this Saturday, racing crews from Lewis & Clark College, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Pacific University, and the University of Oregon club team at the PLU Invitational on American Lake.

“We realized last year that we peaked a little early and also realized we want to commit more time to rowing in mixed lineups and working to develop the whole squad together, especially during the early parts of the season.

Most people will be getting on the course three times on Saturday. The goal is not to be at our top speed at the PLU Invite. Our goal is to see where we are because we see everyone again at the end of April and that’s what we’re focused on. So I just want to see some really good pieces put together.

I want the group to show off the work they’ve put in during this first training block. Our goal is to peak at WIRA because that’s the race that really determines what happens next, and it’s been a while since PLU has been in the grand final. So I think focusing on getting to our peak there and then having another gear to go for NCAAs, I think is really important.”

The PLU Invite is the first of two regattas on home turf with the Lutes battled University of Puget Sound on March 21 in the annual Lamberth Cup race.

This year the Lutes will also make a return to the East Coast, racing on Lake Quinsigamond in Massachusetts against some of the nation’s best teams in mid-April.

It’s a huge blessing that we even get to go and race cross regionally. I’m really grateful that we were invited to go out and race this year. Going up against the best, that’s the only way to really test yourself and going there for four races over two days against some of the best in the country will be great for us as we continue to build into a program that can be in the top half at the grand final and on the podium at NCAAs.

Just a week after the East Coast trip, the Lutes will be racing on Vancouver Lake outside Portland at the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Championship. The following weekend will be in Sacramento, California and Lake Natoma for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, the last big meet for the Lutes to impress prior to the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships that are held this May on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia.

But for now, the first step is Saturday’s PLU Invitational where racing on American Lake gets underway at 8:30 a.m.

2026 Spring Schedule