April 9, 2011

Photo Gallery |  Varsity eight race

MADISON, Wis. -The 10th-ranked Wisconsin men's rowing team opened its spring season on Saturday, sweeping No. 18 Michigan in each of its nine races on the waters of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wis. While the sky was overcast, the water was relatively flat on a Saturday morning.

Fans gathered outside Porter Boathouse and the Memorial Union to watch as the Badgers defeated Michigan in each of the four varsity eight races, as well as three freshman eight races, the varsity four and the freshman four races. 

"Michigan is good, they have a lot of depth," head coach Chris Clark said. "But our guys were going today and there's not much you can do to stop them."

UW pulled out to early leads in each of the first five races, while the fourth varsity boat was the only one to defeat Michigan by less than 10 seconds.

"You could really see it in the legs that guys were fired up to race," Clark said of his team who had only practiced twice in the water since the conclusion of the fall season.

The varsity boat of Anthony Altimari, Andrew Gallagher, Michael Kaufman, Tim Aghai, Luke Juckett, Daniel Gengler, Matthew Hinkamp, Cody Rissman and Sam Hoidal kicked off the morning's races by defeating Michigan by more than 15 seconds, while the second varsity eight boat of Michael Patinkin, Dave Lucas, Christopher Stiles, Zach Rodenbough, Dan Agostinacchio, Ben Ruble, Ryan Thompson and Connor Cahill picked up the win by nearly 17 seconds.

The Badgers found some young talent and early success in the three freshman races on Saturday as well. Each of the UW three freshmen boats defeated Michigan by over 15 seconds, as the Cardinal and White claimed wins by margins of 16.4, 17 and 25.3 seconds

In the third varsity eight race, the UW boat of Christopher Lawrence, Jack Yeksigian, Zach Niemayer, Steve Dudek, Liam Saunders, Charles Holtz, Lowell McNicholas, Tyler Dawson and Andrew Weiland defeated the Michigan boat by over 21 seconds.

The closest margin of the day came in the fourth varsity eight race, as the Wisconsin boat of Eric Rhiel, Will Porter, John Schoback, James Hadar, Michael Stone, Jason Koch, Brad Betts, Christian Leedle and Oldeschulte topped the Michigan boat by just over six seconds.

The Badgers also defeated Michigan in their two four races of the morning. The Wisconsin freshmen four boat of Oliver Buchino, Anthony Roberts, Peter Guerin, Travis Breunig and Ross McCaig got off to a rough start as the boat nearly flipped on the first stroke, causing the race to restart from the 200 meter mark. After the restart, Wisconsin was able to earn the victory by 39 seconds.

In the final race of the day, the Badger varsity four boat of Sean Heyrman, Eric Duhon, Sean Tuffy, Christian Leedle and Krupp claimed a 15.1-second victory over the Wolverines.

"It was a good start to the season," Clark said. "Our docks were in on Monday and we rowed on Tuesday for our first day on the water."

Wisconsin travels to Redwood City, Calif., next weekend where the teams top boats will compete in the Stanford Invitational from April 15-17. The Badgers remaining boats will host Minnesota and the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday, April 16 on Lake Mendota.


No. 10 Wisconsin vs. No. 18 Michigan
April 9, 2011
Lake Mendota
Madison, Wis.
2000 meters

Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:11.4, 2. Michigan, 6:26.8

UW Lineup: Coxswain Anthony Altimari, Andrew Gallagher, Michael Kaufman, Tim Aghai, Luke Juckett, Daniel Gengler, Matthew Hinkamp, Cody Rissman, Sam Hoidal

Second Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:16.6, 2. Michigan, 6:32.8

UW Lineup: Coxswain Michael Patinkin, Dave Lucas, Christopher Stiles, Zach Rodenbough, Dan Agostinacchio, Ben Ruble, Ryan Thompson, Connor Cahill

Third Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:26.1, 2. Michigan, 6:47.6

UW Lineup: Coxswain Christopher Lawrence, Jack Yesksigian, Zach Niemayer, Steve Dudek, Liam Saunders, Charles Holtz, Lowell McNicholas, Tyler Dawson, Andrew Weiland

Fourth Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:39.9, 2. Michigan, 6:46.5

UW Lineup: Coxswain Eric Rhiel, Will Porter, John Schoback, James Hadar, Michael Stone, Jason Koch, Brad Betts, Christian Leedle, Oldeschulte

Freshman Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:28.3, 2. Michigan, 6:44.7

UW Lineup: Coxswain Leonard Manning, Matt Sobotka, Alec Schlemmer, Leon Suvak, Logan Hietpas, Mitchell King, Vince Bertram, Michael Lindberg, Jonathan Smaglick

Second Freshman Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:45.9, 2. Michigan, 7:02.9

UW Lineup: Coxswain Oliver Buchino, Anthony Roberts, Peter Guerin, Travis Breunig, Ross McCaig, Matt Bakken, Beau Batty, Devin Hess, Chase Tarrier

Third Freshman Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:44.0, 2. Michigan, 7:09.3

UW Lineup: Coxswain Alex Kraft, Kyle Anderson, Lucas Kennedy, Zach Mueller, Woodrow Stensland, Charlie Clapp, Charles Optiz, Michael Gibson, Isaac Blackburn

Varsity Four
1. Wisconsin, 7:36.3, 2. Michigan, 7:51.4

UW Lineup: Coxswain Sean Heyrman, Eric Duhon, Sean Tuffy, Christian Leedle, Krupp

Freshman Four
1. Wisconsin, 7:31.7, 2. Michigan, 8:10.0

UW Lineup: Coxswain Oliver Buchino, Anthony Roberts, Peter Guerin, Travis Breunig, Ross McCaig