Willamette Places Fourth Overall at NWC Championship Regatta

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Willamette University placed fourth in the women's varsity 8+ and fourth overall at the 2016 Northwest Conference Championship Regatta at Vancouver Lake on Sunday, April 24. Pacific Lutheran University won the team title.

Sarah Fish (Jr., Issaquah, WA/Holy Names Academy) from Willamette's WV8+ was one of nine athletes chosen for All-Northwest Conference honors.

Racing conditions were nearly perfect. There was a tailwind of about three miles per hour and the skies were overcast.

PLU won the women's varsity 8+ in 7:09.50 to edge out Lewis & Clark College, which was second at 7:10.74. About 19 seconds later, University of Puget Sound placed third at 7:29.69, with Willamette in fourth place at 7:45.45 and Pacific University in fifth at 8:50.88.

Rowing for Willamette in the WV8+ were Carrie Moore (So., Walla Walla, WA/South Eugene HS) at stroke, Fish in 7-seat, and Hannah Puckett (Jr., Davis, CA/Davis HS) in 6-seat, with Elizabeth Crowther (Fr., Boise, ID/Boise High School) in 5-seat, Miranda Martin (So., St. Louis, MO/Ladue Horton Watkins HS) at 4-seat, Rachael Christman (Fr., Kennewick, WA/Southridge HS) at 3-seat, Julia Di Simone (So., Livermore, CA/Livermore Valley Charter Prep) in 2-seat and Anna Burdine (Fr., Seattle, WA/Mount Rainier HS) at bow. They were led by coxswain Kyra Farr (Fr., Bellevue, WA/Newport HS).

Willamette's novice crew competed in the women's second varsity 8+ and the women's novice 8+. Laura Polkinghorn (Fr., Camino, CA/El Dorado HS)  was the coxswain in both races.

The WU novice crew also included Natalie Branch (Fr., Cupertino, California/Homestead HS) at stroke, Allison Davies (Fr., Oceanside, CA/Mission Vista HS) as the 7-seat, Elspeth Charno (So./Fr., Port Angeles, WA/Port Angeles HS) at 6-seat, Clara Sims (Fr., Los Lunas, NM/School of Dreams Academy) in 5-seat, Brenda Mittelbuscher (Jr./So., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS) in 4-seat, Catharine Creadick (Fr., Honolulu, HI/Iolani School) at 3-seat, Carli Fawcett (Fr., Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Mission Viejo HS) in 2-seat, and Annie Jolliff (Fr., Chico, CA/Chico HS) at bow.

In the W2V8+, Pacific Lutheran placed first, crossing the finish line in 7:20.89. UPS was second at 7:30.47, while Lewis & Clark was third at 7:34.97. The Puget Sound WV38+ took fourth in 7:41.46, just in front of Willamette, which placed fifth at 7:43.75.

Willamette earned second place out of three crews in the WN8+. Lewis & Clark took first place in 8:01.40. The Bearcats followed with a time of 8:05.99 and had open water on Puget Sound. The Loggers placed third in 8:39.36

"It was good racing today by both boats," Willamette Head Coach Reba Knickerbocker said. "Im' very proud of the varsity and second varsity/novice boats. Their competitive racing skills have grown tremendously over the short weeks of the spring season. With one more race to go, I'm excited to see how they take on the competition at WIRA."

Pacific Lutheran claimed the NWC Championship with a score of 42 points. Lewis & Clark was second with 35 points, edging out Puget Sound, which placed third at 34 points. Willamette was fourth with 27 points and Pacific took fifth place with 18 points.

The Bearcats will compete at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. The regatta will be held at Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.