Weekly report: Top local crews pushing others to prominence

The depth and success of the state's crew programs makes for strong competition — locally, at conference championships, even the NCAA Championships.

The Seattle Pacific women's varsity four, undefeated after four races this year, won back-to-back collegiate championships in 2000 and 2001 after placing third in 1999.

SPU sophomore rowers Sarah Zorn (Mercer Island) , Shannon Buehler (Eisenhower of Yakima) and Heidi Visser (Wenatchee) and junior Andi Martineau (Superior, Mont.) are 16-0 racing together.

Interim coach Jessie Pennington notes that opponents are often bigger.

"Comparatively they're welterweights, but they've got great chemistry," Pennington said. "Their ability to match up with each other, both physically and mentally, makes the difference out on the water."

The Gonzaga men's varsity crew won the Cal Cup Grand Final at the San Diego Crew Classic 10 days ago. The women's team finished sixth.

At Washington, four rowers return from the men's varsity eight crew that posted a third-place national showing in 2002. The Huskies have only one senior in the top boat and can improve their No. 3 ranking when they race against No. 2 Wisconsin on Saturday and No. 1 California (April 26).

Washington has five women returning from last year's NCAA champion varsity eight boat that is seeking a third straight national title. The Huskies fell from No. 1 to No. 3 in the rankings after a photo-finish loss to California April 6. The Huskies face top-ranked California again in Seattle on April 26.

"This is an interesting year," Washington Coach Jan Harville said. "There are several teams that can win the NCAAs. The level of the competition keeps going up. We are a contender, but things are wide open. We have four senior rowers who are three-time NCAA national champions."

In Washington State's only home regatta of the year, the women's varsity four came from behind to beat Washington last Saturday. The Cougars won the competition by just over a second, completing the 2,000-meter course in 8:54.37.

Western Washington men's team has four rowers back from a varsity eight that placed sixth in the Pac-10 Championships last year. The Vikings women's varsity eight is ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II poll.

Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific competed in varsity and novice races on March 29 at American Lake, with each school winning at least one race.

The Puget Sound men's crew team, which won three races and one exhibition at that March 29 race, are the 2001-02 Northwest Conference champions. The women's team won the conference title in 2002.

The women's rowing season concludes with the NCAA Division I, II and III Championships at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, May 30-June 1. The men's championship is the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship, May 29-31, on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Other Seattle Pacific sports

Gymnastics: The third-seeded Falcons seek their first national team title in six years when the USA Gymnastics Championships begin tomorrow in Denton, Texas. SPU, which has achieved a top-four Division II finish each of the past 19 years, is led by sophomore all-around performer Corrie McDaniel (Lawrence, Kan.), plus beam/bars specialists senior Kristen Strid (Kingsburg, Calif.) and junior Melissa Stanton (Rapid City, S.D.).

Track & field: Senior Sarah Kraybill (Ballard) puts a four-race win streak on the line Saturday when SPU competes at the Spike Arlt Invitational in Ellensburg. Kraybill has won seven of her 10 outings in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meters this season and is ranked No. 3 among NCAA 800-meter qualifiers.

Washington

Women's tennis: The No. 7 Huskies (5-2 Pac-10, 16-3 overall) take a four-match winning streak into their regular-season finale against Washington State on Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Huskies are coming off their first season sweep of USC and UCLA, including a 6-1 upset over the second-ranked Trojans last Friday. The Pac-10 Championships are next week in Ojai, Calif.

Men's tennis: The No. 15 Huskies (1-5 Pac-10, 15-5 overall) finish the regular season at Oregon on Saturday. UW is coming off its first victory over USC (4-2) last weekend. The Huskies will play in the Pac-10 Championships on April 24-27 in Ojai, Calif.

Western Washington

Softball: Senior pitcher Amanda Grant (Kamiak) took sole possession of the school's career record for victories at 45 and tied the career mark for shutouts with 16 as she allowed just one hit in an 8-0 win over Central Washington last Saturday. Grant, 10-3 this season with a 1.27 earned-run average, is the school's career strikeout leader with 351.

Track & field: The men's and women's teams both won titles at the Shotwell Invitational last Saturday. It is the second time this year that the Vikings have swept team titles, after taking both at the Salzman Invitational. The Western men are 3 for 3 in scoring meets this season, also winning at the WWU Vernachhia Classic.

Other colleges

Central Washington: Desi Storey is now tied as the winningest baseball coach in Wildcats history (234), matching the record set by Dr. Gary Frederick. Frederick, the current women's softball coach at CWU, had a 234-147-1 record from 1968-78. Storey is 234-278-1 in his 12th year at CWU.

Whitman: The 2003 Northwest Conference Women's Golf Championships are Friday and Saturday at Aspen Lakes Golf Course near Sisters, Ore. Competing schools are Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran, Linfield, Whitman, Lewis & Clark, Pacific and Willamette.

The Northwest Colleges Weekly Report is complied from submissions by sports information directors around the state.