Men's Rowing Takes First Conference Team Title Since 1946
May 18, 2008 | Men's Rowing
In a monumental day in Wisconsin rowing history, the Wisconsin men's rowing team won the Rowe Cup as team champion at the 2008 Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championships. Also known as the Eastern Sprints, the Badgers captured the team title at the regatta for the second time in school history and for the first time since 1946. Racing took place Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
Badger boats won two titles on the day, taking the varsity eight and second varsity eight crowns. It was the third time the UW won the varsity eight since the Eastern Sprints began in 1946 and the first time Wisconsin took the top two races - the varsity eight and second varsity eight - in school history. According to the earlier results, it appeared the Badgers had taken the second freshmen eight race, as well, but Harvard's first-place finish was left off the scoresheet.
Entering this year's event, the Badgers had won 12 Eastern Sprints crowns in the 71-year history of the regatta. The Badgers added two to the total this year, one title behind 2000 and matching the 2001 and 2002 teams, but none of those years included both the varsity and second varsity eight.
'Things don't always converge in this manner that often, but when it does you better enjoy it and I certainly do,' said head coach Chris Clark. 'Just three years ago we were 11th in the varsity eight and light years out of being anywhere near the lead. It shows you how quickly it can change when you get going in the right direction as we are now. It is pretty exciting.'
In the varsity eight (watch race and celebration here) , the second-seeded and third-ranked Badgers won by open water over No. 2 Brown and a field that included five of the nation's top-six, seven of the top 10 and 10 of the top 20 boats in the nation. Wisconsin took first among the 18 schools entered.
The championship crew, the UW's first varsity eight title since 2002, included coxswain Adam Barhamand, as well as Grant James, Ross James, Derek Rasmussen, Zach Krupp, Ed Newman, Max Goff, George Walters and Joe McMullin. The boat clocked a 6:09.719 over 2000 meters to beat Brown (6:13.210) by nearly 3.5 seconds. Fifth-ranked Princeton took third in 6:13.387. No. 13 Yale, No. 6 Northeastern and No. 9 Columbia rounded out the top six. Defending champion and fourth-ranked Harvard failed to make the final and placed eighth behind No. 11 Navy.
Wisconsin also won its second consecutive Eastern Sprints title in the second varsity eight. The Badger crew of coxswain Dan Connolly, Pete Helfer, Anthony Hoell, Dan Stevens, Cody Carlin, Paul Williams, Ken Rueden, Nick Janous and Kenny McMahon gave Wisconsin just its second boat to repeat at Eastern Sprints when it finished in 6:17.215. The boat squeaked by Harvard, which rowed to a 6:17.430. Brown was third in 6:21.482.
The only other boat to win back-to-back Eastern Sprints crowns in Wisconsin history was the third varsity eight, which actually won four consecutive titles from 2000-03.
The Wisconsin second freshman eight placed second, finishing behind Harvard, who won by four or five seats. The Badgers cruised for the silver medal in 6:19.607, with third-place Yale finishing over 10 seconds behind in 6:30.531. Cornell was fourth in 6:32.901.
Making up the second freshmen eight were coxswain Josh Markham and rowers David Lucas, Jay Heald, Mike Kaufman, Dan Moore, Jim Prey, Brendan Hedberg, Ken Huxtable and Cory Hatton.
'By all accounts, it was a pretty good day for the Badgers,' added Clark. 'Coach Alvarez lays out expectations for the athletic department, the strategic plans and the goals. I know one of them is conference championships, as it should be. I remember thinking in 2002 that it was great to contribute to that and I am happy that today we can add to the ledger again. I want to do our part for Badger athletics and we did. We held up our end of the bargain today, as did our lightweight women, which was great. Our openweight women had a great performance too. A good day for the Badgers. '
Next up for the title-winning Badgers is the race for the Walsh Cup at No. 11 Navy on May 30. The Badgers then close out their season June 5-7 at the 2008 IRA National Championships on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.
