Results

SEATTLE, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing squad wrapped up its 2026 season on Saturday, racing through the Montlake Cut with crews from around the world at the Windermere Cup/Opening Day Regatta.
 
The Lutes entered just one boat on Saturday, racing the varsity eight boat in the collegiate open race. The PLU boat of coxswain Louisia Compton and crew of Riah Heil, Makayla Hall, Hannah Miyasaki, Natalie Gregory, Kat Judd, Tate Trahan, Adia Carei, and Kennadi Jones, finishing third overall, covering the 2,000-meters through the Montlake Cut in seven minutes 10.975 seconds. 

The Lutes finished just over nine seconds off a boat from Division I University of Washington (7:01.273) and placed 32 seconds ahead of the crew from Division II Seattle Pacific University (7:43.130). A boat from Division II Western Washington University won the race with the Vikings finishing in 6:56.405. 
 
PLU's varsity eight got off to a blazing start, sitting second overall after 500 meters of racing and was just over two seconds back of the Huskies at the halfway point. 

"What a great day to be a Lute! You couldn't have asked for a better day of racing or a more electric environment to close out our season. Windermere, The Cut, the crowd, all of it was the 'greatest setting'. I'm incredibly proud of how this crew represented our team and university. They really embraced the unique energy of this regatta and executed a hard-fought race," said Head Coach Matt Oclander. 

"They really wanted to get their bowball in the mix, and they did exactly that, getting out ahead of SPU's 2V and UW and then forcing that strong UW crew to earn every inch through the finish line. We also hit some internal benchmarks, closing the gap on the WWU and SPU 1Vs while outpacing the Seattle U 1V on the clock. Louisa Compton did an incredible job today. Windermere is a coxswain's race, and she put her crew in a position to perform their absolute best. Bravo!" 
 
Saturday was the season finale for the Lutes, a successful campaign that saw PLU win the varsity four race at the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Championships while both the varsity eight and second varsity eight made the grand final last weekend at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships with the second varsity eight finishing fifth and the varsity eight placing sixth. 

"This season's progress was immense, both objectively and subjectively. By the numbers, we reached new levels in our rowing. From erg scores to water time to training volume, every metric trended upward this year. Objectively, I'm incredibly proud of the athletes' commitment to the process and to each other all year.
Rowing is a tough sport, especially in the early hours of the early months, and it's a sport that almost no one on this team envisioned for themselves when they first walked onto campus. I'm grateful for the incredible student-athletes who have shown their commitment to this team. We're only in year two of this project, and I look forward to seeing just how far this group can go and how hard they are willing to work to get there. Our goal is to be the best in the Northwest and a top contender nationally in DIII. This season, we proved we belong in that conversation."