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 1990 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 Shatter Harvard's National Title Streak
All eyes were on the seemingly invincible Harvard and their rival Washington in the 1990 men's rowing collegiate nationals when the Badgers unexpectedly beat both teams by a full boat length.
Harvard and Washington dominated the 1989-90 season forming a heated rivalry. At an April Regatta, the Huskies beat Harvard but a protest led to a re-row where Harvard took their title. However, the decision to re-row was reversed and the Huskies reclaimed their crown. This event caused animosity between the two teams and they were prepared to duke it out for the national title at East Fork Lake on June 16th in Cincinnati.
However, the Badger men's varsity eight crew did not let that happen. In 90-degree heat, the Midwestern team that did not see water for five months during the winter trounced the competition. The Badger boat finished 4.34 seconds, a full boat length, ahead of second place Harvard. The seemingly invincible Crimson crew had won every national title since the race's inception in 1983, except when Wisconsin claimed the title in 1986. The Badger's win secured an invite to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta in England.
The winning men's team consisted of junior Nick Donovan at the bow, senior Paul Stevens, junior Dean Olson, senior Matt Dahl, junior James Almquist, senior Pat Wolf, senior Todd Hinrichs, senior stroke Fitz Dunn and sophomore coxswain Mark Sniderman.
The crew actually completed a sweep as it had earlier won the 1990 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championshipsin Syracuse, New York.
Read more about the 1990 race by clicking on the Web clippings listed below. A pdf with the 1990 team roster results and clippings is also below.
To read the Sports Illustrated article titled "Rude Red Crushes Crimson" about the 1990 men's championship click here .
Also click here for the Wisconsin Rowing History Web site's Comprehensive take on the 1990 season.
Also check out the small photo gallery from 1990.
