Head of the Charles brings greatness to fall
October 21, 2011 | Women's Rowing
Oct. 21, 2011
MADISON, Wis -- For any crew, the Head of the Charles is always the premier fall rowing event.
Whether it's the 1,953 boats and 8,868 rowers, or the 34 states and 19 countries being represented, the race brings out the best. The famous three-mile race is the world's largest two-day rowing event with 61 races scheduled. Started in 1965 and held on Boston's Charles River, as many as 300,000 spectators are expected to attend the races.
This weekend, 29 Badgers will compete in five races, and for the first time since 2002, all three Wisconsin teams will be racing.
Wisconsin will race one boat in the men's eight, women's eight and lightweight women's eight. UW will also race in the men's four and have a representative in the women's double.
The men will compete Sunday in the championship eight event, a race they have won three times in the 46-year history of the regatta. The Badgers' most recent victory came in 1973. This will be the first race of the season for the men's squad, which faces a tough 33-boat field, which includes defending-champion Washington, Harvard, a USRowing development team and Germany's U23 team.
In the four, the men will compete in the championship four race. The Badgers will be looking to reclaim first place after winning the event in 2009. USRowing has won the race three of the past four years.
"This may be the smallest group we've ever boated here," men's head coach Chris Clark said. "This selection really favors the tough, as the oars will be punished. We'll stick to the race plan, which is go like heck."
The women, who will be making the trip to Boston for the first time since 2003, will be racing in the championship women's eight. UW has won the race four times since 1965, most recently in 1988.
"The Head of the Charles is a really fun event in the middle of the fall season where everyone gets to come together and race against the best," women's head coach Bebe Bryans said.
Wisconsin's lightweight team will compete in the lightweight women's eight race, an event it has won four times. The two-time defending champions, the Badgers set a record time in 2010. UW is the only college crew to win the event in its 21-year history, winning it in 2000 and 2001 as well.
"It speaks to the strength of our program that we are the only college to ever win that race," lightweight head coach Erik Miller said. "I expect to see more colleges win it in the future because they are spending more time devoted to lightweight eights, though we'd like to keep the title for a few more years."
Along with the four UW crews, six more boats with strong Wisconsin ties will be competing in Boston.
Current Wisconsin rower Taylor Fries will race in the championship women's double event with Oregon State's Tina Vernazza. Fries is entering her final semester as a Badger rower and has spent most of the fall rowing in a single or double.
World Rowing Cup champion Kristen Hedstrom will be competing in the lightweight women's single, as will Claire Wallace, both UW alumnae.
Coach Clark will join his former University of California teammates and race in the senior men's eight. Clark graduated from Cal in 1983 with a degree in political science.
The women's alumni eight race will feature a UW entry, coxed by current assistant coach, and former Badger coxswain, Heidi Hunsberger. The boat will feature rowers from several eras of Wisconsin rowing.
After driving the boat trailer more than 1,100 miles to Boston, UW's four boatmen will race alongside the Badger men in a four. They will be racing as members of the Camp Randall Rowing Club.
| Wisconsin at the Head of the Charles | ||
| Saturday | ||
| Women's Alumni Eight | 11:25 a.m. | |
| Senior Master Men's Eight 50+ | 2:26 p.m. | |
| Championship Women's Double | 3:17 p.m. | |
| Sunday | ||
| Lightweight Women's Single | 12:40 p.m. | |
| Championship Men's Four | 2:10 p.m. | |
| Championship Men's Eight | 2:31 p.m. | |
| Championship Women's Eight | 2:46 p.m. | |
| Lightweight Women's Eight | 4:23 p.m. |
