PORTLAND, Ore. – The Lewis & Clark College men's and women's rowing teams open the 2026 spring season Saturday at the Pacific Lutheran University Invitational.
Saturday's regatta marks the first of six races on the schedule for both programs. Four regular-season events lead into the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Championships on April 18 in Vancouver, Wash. Last season marked the final year the Northwest Conference sponsored women's rowing, and the end-of-year championship has since been renamed.
This weekend, the River Otters will compete against teams from across the Pacific Northwest and one program from the Midwest. The Milwaukee School of Engineering will travel to American Lake in Tacoma, Wash., for the PLU Invite. Former NWC members Pacific University, the University of Puget Sound and host Pacific Lutheran University will be joined by the University of Oregon, Western Washington University and Seattle Pacific University.
Lewis & Clark has boats scheduled in 10 events across the men's and women's races.
Next week, the River Otters travel to the Hagg Lake Invite hosted by Pacific. Lewis & Clark then heads to Eureka, Calif., for the Blue Heron Regatta on March 28, hosted by Cal Poly Humboldt. A short trip to Eugene, Ore., for the Covered Bridge Regatta on April 4 rounds out the regular-season schedule before the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Championships on April 18 and the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta on April 25-26 at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
Head coach Charlotte Copp's roster includes 28 returners, one transfer and 14 novices. The novice class features six men, six women and two coxswains. Lewis & Clark has trained through early-season rain and strong river conditions during on-the-water practices, a common challenge in the Pacific Northwest. The 2025 novice class will make its racecourse debut Saturday.
"I am really happy with the development of the team overall this year," Copp said. "While our men's team is really young this year, with 50 percent in their first year of rowing, it is exciting to see so many new people engaged with the sport. The men's novice class is bringing a lot of energy to the squad while the varsity are leading the way in how things should be done."
The women's team, known as the W-Squad (pronounced "dub squad"), returns with the goal of challenging defending conference champion Pacific Lutheran for a berth at the NCAA Division III Championship Regatta in June. All-NWC senior Sadie Meredith-Andrews and CRCA Athlete to Watch sophomore Meredith Lybbert return to lead the squad. Senior coxswain Ella Radvany and junior coxswain Morgan Anderson also bring experience to a lineup that graduated three seniors last season.
"The W-squad is very experienced," Copp said. "The nine seniors are providing competitive energy and setting a new standard for the program. The W1V8 is one of the most disciplined crews I have ever seen."
On the men's side, the program graduated two seniors from last year's roster. A core group of returners includes senior Eliot Woods, junior Lewis Grimes and senior coxswain Sophie Homolka. The trio brings experience from last spring's Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association competition into the six-race schedule.
"The W2V8 has a mix of experience levels but is rowing quite well together and learning a ton every day," Copp said. "It is going to be a great racing season. I cannot wait to see what happens."
