April 10, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- The day couldn’t have been more perfect for the Wisconsin men’s rowing team as it opened its spring season this Saturday with an 8-0 sweep over Michigan on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wis. The water was virtually flat and the skies a clear blue, early on a crisp 45-degree Saturday morning.
Fans watched from the Porter Boathouse throughout the morning as Wisconsin took first in each of the seven eight races (four varsity, three freshman), and first and second in the freshman four race, and while the winning was not a rare occurrence for UW, the incredible weather conditions were.
“Since 1999, this is only the third time we’ve rowed in front of the boathouse due to conditions,” head coach Chris Clark recalled. “2005 was the last time we were able to [row in front of the boathouse]. So that’s a small pleasure.”
Aside from the conditions, Clark also observed some positives on his team’s performance.
“One thing that I noticed on our team, and you can see this on the times, was that they were all fairly close. That’s the good news—that we have a lot of good guys. The bad news is the lack of separation we had. We’re a long way from determining who’s who. This is sort of like the spring football game—you have a lot of guys, but you’re not sure who’s first, second or third string at this point.”
The Badgers enjoyed stretching their muscles on open water for the first time competitively this spring, dominating the first two races of the day. The varsity eight boat of Tim Altimari, Tim Aghai, Roger Huffman, Matt Lojkovic, Max Goff, Luke Juckett, Steve Dudek, Daniel Gengler and Sam Hoidal defeated Michigan by more than 10 seconds, while the second varsity eight boat, including Matt Francsis, Michael Kaufman, Zach Rodenbough, Paul Williams, James Hadar, Jack Yeksigian, Andrew Gallagher, Ryan Thompson and Eric Duhon grabbed the win by 23.4 seconds.
“This was a good race to start off our season. It was a confidence builder and gives us a good foothold for our next race next weekend out in Californina,” senior Max Goff stated at the conclusion of the races.
Michigan fans had something to cheer about in the third race, in which Wisconsin freshmen Christopher Lawrence, Andrew Weiland, Evan Robertson, Alec Hub, Matthew Hinkamp, Tyler Dawson, Drew Miller, Justin Chaudoir and Ben Ruble rowed in the first freshman eight race. The Wolverine boat was neck-and-neck with Wisconsin until they reached Porter Boathouse, when the Badger rowers turned it on to earn the four-second win.
In other varsity races, Michael Patinkin, Will Porter, John Ludders, Mark Jaffee, Dave Lucas, Connor Cahill, Daniel Moore, Brian Whyms and Christopher Stiles rowed to a 13.8-second victory over Michigan, and James Neitzel, Sean Tuffy, Matt Masterson, Anders Corbett, Cory Hatton, Tim Wartinbee, Ryan Blasiak, Brad Betts and Jay Heald earned first with a 15.9-second winning margin.
“The third and fourth eight were really impressive,” Clark noted. “Those guys raced like there was a winning lotto ticket at the end of the finish line. You really love to see that, especially from the third and fourth boats.”
The Badgers compete again on next weekend at the Stanford Invitational in Redwood City, Calif., from Friday, April 16 to Sunday, April 18.
“Stanford, next weekend, is a whole other thing,” Clark commented on the upcoming races. “We race Cal, who is arguably within the top two fastest in the country, and we’re going to have to step up our game a lot or they’re going to crush us. We have to be ready for that.”
They will also host border rival Minnesota in Madison, Wis., on Saturday, April 17 for their second home regatta in two weekends.
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Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 5:59.3; 2. Michigan, 6:11.5
UW Lineup: Coxswain Tim Altimari, Tim Aghai, Roger Huffman, Matt Lojkovic, Max Goff, Luke Juckett, Steve Dudek, Daniel Gengler, Sam Hoidal
Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:04.4; 2. Michigan, 6:27.8
UW Lineup: Coxswain Matt Francsis, Michael Kaufman, Zach Rodenbough, Paul Williams, James Hadar, Jack Yeksigian, Andrew Gallagher, Ryan Thompson, Eric Duhon
Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:10.8; 2. Michigan, 6:24.6
UW Lineup: Coxswain Michael Patinkin, Will Porter, John Ludders, Mark Jaffee, Dave Lucas, Connor Cahill, Daniel Moore, Brian Whyms, Christopher Stiles
Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:17.1; 2. Michigan, 6:33.0
UW Lineup: Coxswain James Neitzel, Sean Tuffy, Matt Masterson, Anders Corbett, Cory Hatton, Tim Wartinbee, Ryan Blasiak, Brad Betts, Jay Heald
Freshman Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:18.8; 2. Michigan, 6:22.8
UW Lineup: Coxswain Christopher Lawrence, Andrew Weiland, Evan Robertson, Alec Hub, Matthew Hinkamp, Tyler Dawson, Drew Miller, Justin Chaudoir, Ben Ruble
Freshman Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:27.5; 2. Michigan, 6:38.1
UW Lineup: Coxswain Eric Rhiel, Jacob Warhuus, Lowell McNicholas, Samuel Michaels, Patrick Last, Charles Holtz, Cody Rissman, Michael Stone, Bryan Rowntree
Freshman Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:28.8; 2. Michigan, 6:47.9
UW Lineup: Coxswain Sean Heyrman, Casey Klein Kennedy, Brady Steinbach, Kyle Spurlock, Matthew Zahares, Zach Neimeyer, Alex Grunyk, Christopher Miller, Christian Leedle
Freshman Four
1. Wisconsin A, 6:56.6; 2. Wisconsin B, 6:59.8; 3. Michigan, 7:26.1
UW A Lineup: Coxswain Eric Rhiel, Michael Stone, Calvin Nuthals, Charles Holtz, Cody Rissman
UW B Lineup: Coxswain Christopher Lawrence, Jacob Warhuus, Lowell McNichols, Sameul Michaels, Patrick Last
RACE ORDER: 1V, 2V, 1F, 2F, 3V, 3F, 4V, 4FV
