UW Rowers Take Walsh Cup From Navy
May 27, 2007 | Men's Rowing
No. 6 Wisconsin captured the Walsh Cup for a second consecutive year, defeating No. 16 Navy's varsity eight on the Severn River in Annapolis, Md., on Sunday morning. The Badgers captured the Walsh Cup for the 16th time in 30 tries, dating back to 1967.
'It was a pretty good day for us,' said head coach Chris Clark. 'We won six races and we were happy with that.'
In a close varsity eight race for the Walsh Cup, the Badgers edged Navy by under a second. Wisconsin clocked a 5:40.52 over the 2,000-meter course, while the Midshipmen timed a 5:41.40.
Wisconsin's varsity eight lineup included coxswain Chase Phillips, Scott Wallen, Derek Rasmussen, Grant James, Nate Millin, Ed Newman, Ross James, Joe McMullin and Matt Donoghue.
'The varsity race was a nice battle,' added Clark. 'Navy really came after us and led us for the first 300 or 400 meters and we slowly got through them up to maybe a length at most. They rowed higher than we did the whole way, but we were just relentless. I thought our guys showed a lot of poise. They maintained a lower cadence, which is not really our thing. We have a very lightweight crew, but we stayed at one rate and didn't really get rattled at all. We just waited until the very end to make a move and make sure we got a win.
'The water was flat and that was the fastest time we rowed at the Naval Academy. I don't know that our varsity has rowed faster and their coach said it was about four seconds off the course record. It is always gratifying to leave Annapolis with a win, any win, because it is never, ever easy here.'
Wisconsin then completed a sweep of the remaining eight races, winning the second varsity eight and freshmen eight events. The second varsity eight stayed unbeaten on the season with the victory.
The Badgers also took three of the five small boat races, winning the varsity four with coxswain, open four with coxswain and varsity pair. Navy was victorious in the varsity four without coxswain with its lightweight four, and also the freshmen four with coxswain.
The Badgers now look ahead to next week's 2007 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships from Thursday through Saturday, May 31 to June 2. The Badgers race on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J., where they look to cap an unbeaten second varsity eight season with a national title, and look to reach the grand finals of the varsity eight for the first time since 2003.
'The Naval Academy race is always difficult because it is coming off a bit of a layoff, we have to travel to do it, we bring our whole squad, and there is a little bit of a time zone change, so it is never easy,' concluded Clark. 'It is one of those things that you are always happy you did it once you are done and we feel the same way today. We take it as the opening round of the IRA. After our layoff it is especially helpful to get 2000 meters in against a quality opponent every time, win, lose or draw just to prepare yourself for the coming races.'
