Men's Rowing Second at Eastern Sprints
May 13, 2007 | Men's Rowing
No. 8 Wisconsin posted its best finish at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships since 2002, claiming a conference title in the second varsity eight and taking bronze in the varsity eight races, Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. As a team, the Badgers placed second among the 18 teams competing in the event.
In a day full of highlights, the second varsity eight headlined the UW performances, claiming first among 16 entries to remain undefeated on the season.
'In 1987, we won the Sprints in the second varsity eight and set the course record,' said head coach Chris Clark. 'The next time we won it was 2001 and we set the course record and won Eastern Sprints. We did it again this time, winning the Sprints and setting the course record.
'It is very exciting. The margin was pretty close, but we were in command the whole way. It was a clear win. We led wire to wire, so it was a great win. The guys are understandably excited, as you can imagine. That is our first win for us in the first or second varsity eight since 2002.'
Entering the day as the third-seeded boat, Wisconsin won its heat over Cornell by just under four seconds, before dispatching the field. The Badgers clocked a 5:36.212 over 2,000 meters to upset top-seeded Harvard, which timed a 5:37.023. Cornell was third in 5:41.629.
The victorious crew included Coxswain Adam Barhamand, Peter Helfer, Anthony Hoell, Zach Krupp, Ken Rueden, Ben Szymanski, Max Vice-Reshel, George Walters and Sam Austin.
Ranked No. 8 in the country in the varsity eight and seeded fifth heading into the event, the Badgers took the bronze.
'In the varsity eight, we average 183 pounds so it is a very light boat, ' said Clark. 'There was a tail wind, fortunately, and we got out strongly. We were anywhere from second to fourth, with Harvard clearly ahead. With maybe 200 meters to go, Princeton pulled ahead of use and we were in fourth. Then literally with 10 to 15 strokes our guys jumped on them and we sprinted through them and beat them by a few hundredths of a second.'
Harvard did indeed win the race, clocking a 5:27.005 to win by nearly two and a half seconds over Yale. The Bulldogs took second in 5:29.404. Wisconsin finished not far behind in a time of 5:30.236, which nipped Princeton's time of 5:30.320.
'We have three sophomores in the varsity eight, Grant James, Ross James and Ed Newman,' Clark said. 'The three of them learned to row at Wisconsin 18 months ago. That was the first strokes they took in their lives. It shows you that if you get good athletes with a good head on their shoulders in the right environment, they can thrive and thrive quickly. I love stories like that. It is real exciting because the upside for guys like that is just enormous.'
In other action, the UW freshmen eight won the petite final to place seventh, after just missing out on making the grand final. The UW's boat ended up in the fastest heat of the morning, with Brown and Princeton beating the Badgers in the morning and then placing first and third in the grand final, respectively. Brown won the event in 5:39.008, while the Badgers won the petite final in 5:47.506.
The defending champion third varsity eight, winners in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006, ended up in fifth place. Harvard, winners of the team title, took the third varsity eight in 5:47.100. Syracuse (5:48.100) and Brown (5:49.000) also reached the medal stand, with the UW time of 5:53.000 good for fifth.
"We finished second in the team conference championship," Clark said. "It would have been nice to win that. I know Wisconsin has won a lot of conference championships this year and I wish we could have added to that. That one is always tough for us. I think we won it once in 1946."
Wisconsin takes next week off before racing against Navy on May 27 for the Walsh Cup in Annapolis, Md.
