Wisconsin Men's Rowing Sprints Toward the Finish
May 12, 2004 | Men's Rowing
The Eastern Sprints, also known as the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships, takes place for the UW men's program Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The Badgers' conference championships, the Eastern Sprints are one of just two competitions left for men's crew before the national championships the first weekend of June in Camden, N.J.
Wisconsin has enjoyed unparalleled success at the Eastern Sprints over the last four years. Eight UW boats boast Eastern Sprints titles in that time, compared to just two Eastern Sprints titles for the Badgers from the start of the championships in 1946 and 1999.
This season, the Badger appear in contention for continuing their streak of four consecutive years with at least one championship boat at the event. The final seeding poll for the championships has the Badgers seeded third in both the varsity eight and second varsity eight, while its third varsity eight and second freshmen eight check in as the fifth seed, and the freshmen eight garners the eighth seed.
In the varsity eight race, where Wisconsin must deal with the nation 's No. 1 boat in Harvard, and the No. 2 squad in Princeton, 12 boats ranked among the nation's top 20 will participate. No. 5 Wisconsin must overcome a strong field if it hopes to keep its unbeaten season in tact. In addition to Harvard and Princeton, challenging the UW's perfect mark are No. 6 Navy, No. 8 Northeastern, No. 9 Cornell, No. 10 Yale, No. 11 Brown, No. 12 Dartmouth, No. 13 Boston University, No. 14 Rutgers and No. 18 Syracuse.
Coxswain Mike Lucey, Alex Cockerill, Tyler Resch, Mike Tupek, Micah Boyd, Jason Devlin, Anders Boyd, Shawn Wanta and Kyle Schaible have made up the UW 's top boat up to this point this season.
Should the Badgers claim the varsity eight title, it would be their third in school history. Wisconsin won the inaugural Eastern Sprints varsity eight race in 1946, then captured the championship just two years ago during the 2002 race.
Ten Wisconsin boats boast Eastern Sprints titles over the years, with Wisconsin's third varsity eight currently maintaining a four-year streak. In addition to the varsity eight's two championships and the third varsity eight 's four wins, the second varsity eight took crowns in 1987and 2001 and the freshmen eight and second freshman eight won in 2000.
Last year, the UW varsity eight finished second behind this year 's favorite Harvard. The second varsity eight and freshmen eight was third, while the second freshmen eight took fourth. Wisconsin's lone Sprints title last spring came in the third varsity eight.
The Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) includes 16 schools located east of the Mississippi River, with all but Wisconsin east of Ohio. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) runs the annual race day.
Follow coverage of this year's race at www.row2k.com .
