April 11, 2015

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The No. 11 Wisconsin men's rowing program met with No. 14 Syracuse at the Cayuga Lake Inlet for each team's spring opener.

"Both coaches agreed to race for similar situations. Our championship used to be in late June. Therefore, the northern teams (Cornell, Syracuse and Wisconsin) didn't have early races because they didn't need them. But we're in a different situation now," head coach Chris Clark said.

Poor weather conditions and strong winds moved the race from Syracuse, New York to Ithaca. 

"In a scenario we've seen before in Madison, for the first time the head coach Dave Reischman at Syracuse told me, we moved the down to Cayuga Inlet in Ithaca, where Cornell is. We raced there and even though it was windy it was good because it was protected," Clark said.

Varsity eights lined up at 8:45 a.m. to get the day started. The second and third varsity eights followed, each 20 minutes apart, to conclude spring's commensal race. 

With senior Kyle Smith stroking, the varsity eight pulled its way to a close victory, topping Syracuse by about two seconds. The Badgers crossed the line at 5:59.9 while the Orange made their way at 6:02.1.

"Both boats, Wisconsin and Syracuse, looked where we are in the year, which is just out of winter training. Syracuse was cleaner and neater than we were for certain. I thought we were more aggressive, if not a little splashier and a little more moving water than moving the boat. We did not execute in any way that looks like we've rowed 35-36 very much, which is a normal stroke rate," Clark said. 

"Syracuse definitely had more top speed than we did in the first and last 250 meters. We have a lot of tall guys and a number of people that haven't been in the first eight before. I think they were a little tight and weren't finishing the stroke, which is important for efficiency and having the boat move. One thing we do have is a decent base speed. Last year there's a good chance we would have lost this race because it wasn't easy. We pulled away steadily in the middle and probably got a little bit of open water at one point. They came back the last 250 and were confident," Clark elaborated. 

Wisconsin's second varsity eight fell to Syracuse in the second race of the day. After sailing down the 2000-meter course, Wisconsin finished 3.5 seconds behind Syracuse with an official time of 6:17.4.

"The 2V was a good example of what happens if you don't settle into it and let the rhythm make its course. The very tall people started shorting in and didn't finish, not sending the boat very efficiently. Syracuse was very patient and steadily moved away in the middle half of the race. We had four sophomores in there and you could really tell. It looked like young guys that were a little bit out of control," Clark explained after the second race. 

"This boat has good promise, though. Real good components, we just have to settle down and race as opposed to seeing how many strokes they can put in per minute, which at this stage does not win you any awards," Clark said.

Despite standing waves in the last 500 meters, the Badgers dominated the final race of the day, leaving open water behind them. As Wisconsin's third varsity eight's bow ball clocked in at 6:10.3, Syracuse's crew still had 9.6 seconds before they could do the same.

Clark was pleased to with how the freshman competed today. "The 3V busted off the line as if there was an all you can eat lifetime buffet at the finish line, that's how hard they went. That's something we haven't had the last couple years, which is great to see because that's what you're supposed to do, " said Clark. "They were gone and there was a little bit of a splashing fight with water all over the place, but that didn't matter. With some steering adventures, there were a number of things that cost them some time but they still came out by about 10 seconds. It was a good first race for the freshman."

Wisconsin will take part in two competitions next weekend. Part of the team will travel to the Stanford Invitational, a two-day event Redwood City, California while part will take on Minnesota and MSOE on familiar water, Lake Mendota.

"At least at this point, they [California] are the fastest crew in the country. It's very different for all of us next week. Underdog is an underestimation of our position in this particular race. It will be great; they'll get out there and fight it out against the best crew in the country right away," head coach Chris Clark said on the start of spring season.

"We're going to have to be a lot better than that, what we just did, to pull things together and make some progress," Clark said. "Then we have Oregon State and Stanford who beat us last season, so it's a great weekend coming up."

Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 5:59.9; 2. Syracuse, 6:02.1
UW Lineup: Coxswain James Roen, Kyle Smith, Sam Ginouves, Sam Weeks, Jim Letten, Matt Sobotka, Michael Knippen, Patrick Muto, James Lueken

Second Varsity Eight
1. Syracuse, 6:13.9; 2. Wisconsin, 6:17.4
UW Lineup: Coxswain Ben Flaherty, William Bleifuss, Laing Wise, Steven Thom, George Perrett, Jack Spencer, Steve Berg Jr., Andrew Stone, Alex Idarraga 

Third Varsity Eight
1. Wisconsin, 6:10.3; 2. Syracuse, 6:19.9
UW Lineup: Coxswain Theodore Van Beek, Nickolas Montalvo, Andrew Flannery, James Bernard, Tristan Amberger , Erik Kernozek , Andrew Griffin, Jonah Van der Weide, Jacob Hurlbutt