In honor of the Wisconsin men's varsity eight winning the 2008 Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship, we are taking a look back at all of the Wisconsin men's rowing titles. Today we take a look back at the 1986 National Collegiate Rowing Championships.
Historically speaking, men's rowing is an interesting beast. There have been different attempts over the years to determine a 'true' varsity eight national champion. There appear to be two successful stretches in determining an official national champion to date. The first came in the form of the National Collegiate Rowing Championships, which took place from 1983-96 in Cincinnati. The second success is the current format in place since 2002 at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. Other than these two stretches, IRA Regatta conflicts with the Harvard-Yale race and various other circumstances prevented any kind of official championship. With all that in mind, Wisconsin can comfortably claim three official national championships and an additional six unofficial titles. The Badgers can argue for one more title, depending on how you spin things. Therefore, Wisconsin stakes its claim to three official national championships, and a total of either nine or 10 national championships.
Badgers Upset top Ranked Teams
At the Cincinnati Regatta at east Fork State Park in Bantam, Ohio, the Badgers Varsity Eight team did what the Badgers do best: upset the big dogs and claim victory. Lasting from the early 1980s until the mid 1990s, the Cincinnati Regatta provided a venue for the winners of the major regional regattas to have a race off for the national title.
In 1986, Brown, Harvard, Penn and California received automatic bids and all their expenses paid by winning their respective regional titles. Wisconsin and Yale merited an invitation but were left to fund themselves. No one, besides Wisconsin diehards, thought Wisconsin had a chance.
On June 14th, the Badgers stepped into the winners circle and beat Brown by a half a length. Penn finished third while Harvard, California and Yale rounded out the competition. Wisconsin's win secured them a trip to the Royal Henley Regatta in England where they lost to the British national team in the semifinals.
The Wisconsin women's varsity eight team also won the title at the Cincinnati Regatta. It was the first time a college men's and women's boat both secured the title at the same location.
The winning men's team consisted of junior Eric Moeller (Columbus, Ind.) at the bow, junior David Evenson (Madison, Wis.), senior Christopher Schulte (Pewaukee, Wis.), senior Mark Berkner (Vernoa, WI), sophomore Dan Gehn (Mazomanie, Wis.), junior Duncan Kennedy (New York, New York), junior Bryan Hanson (Middleton, Wis.), junior Kevin McAleese (Wauwatosa, Wis.) at stroke and sophomore coxswain Ray Mejia (Portage, Wis.).
Read more about the 1986 race by clicking on pdf below. It inlcudes the 1986 team roster and various releases and newspaper clippings surrounding the event.
To read the Sports Illustrated article titled "Say Cheese, Wisconsin," about the 1986 men's and women's championships, click here .
Also, click here for the Wisconsin Rowing History Web site's Comprehensive take on the 1986 season.
