WORCESTER, Mass. —  After finishing third in its morning heat, the Wisconsin men's rowing team's varsity eight took fifth in the afternoon petite final to finish 11th overall at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Championship Sunday at Lake Quinsigamond.
 
The Badgers finished 10th overall in the battle for the Rowe Cup, and the fifth varsity eight retained gold-medal status in Wisconsin's final weekend of racing before the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships in June.
 
The Badgers' varsity eight opened the morning with a third-place finish to advance to the petite final. Wisconsin crossed the finish line in six minutes and nine seconds to take fifth in the afternoon heat to secure an 11th-place overall finish.
 
The second varsity eight finished just a few seconds behind first-place finisher Syracuse with a time of 6:08.63 to take second place in its petite final.
 
The Badgers' third varsity eight earned a spot in its petite final after finishing third in the morning race. Wisconsin took fifth in the afternoon race with a 6:10.11 finish to take 11th.
 
Wisconsin's fourth varsity eight reached the grand final after finishing second in the morning heat behind Princeton. The Badgers raced to a fourth-place finish in the grand final with a time of 6:03.42.
 
The fifth varsity eight defended its 2017 title after beating out a previously undefeated Princeton boat by six hundredths of a second to claim the race. The Badgers completed the race in six minutes and three seconds to secure a victory.
 
Up Next:
The Badgers have three weeks to rest and gear up for the 2018 IRAs in June. The three-day regatta will take place on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
 
Straight from the lake
Head Coach Chris Clark:
On the regatta:
"Interesting day here for us. I felt that based on what I've seen during the year and what I see happening with the team in terms of speed, four of the five boats fit within my projection, the second through fifth varsity eight."

On the varsity eight:
"The varsity eight is not super strong. It's called heavyweight rowing, and we're not, so we had to execute perfectly. I figured our range of performances could have been from seventh to 11th, and we were at the bottom. There were a lot mistakes. It just got away from us. We expected more from them in this race."
 
On the second varsity eight:
"The second wasn't quite fast enough at this point to be in the grand final -- they got eighth. They had an excellent race. They keep getting better. I asked them how many times they've rowed together in that particular lineup, and I think it was eight times. So that's a good start. They're a rising boat."
 
On the third varsity eight:
"The freshman rowed in the third eight event, which is unprecedented for us. I knew they couldn't be finalists with five novices in the boat, but they needed to replicate the old freshman system. They needed to get two races under their belts, and it wasn't ambition or pulling that kept them out. It was just that they don't have the rowing skill at this point. They were 11th and they fought their way down the course in the petite final. They're right where I expected them to be and they killed it. It's an excellent class. Their growth will be unbelievable as walk-ons. They're just in over their heads skill-wise at this point."
 
On the fourth varsity eight:
"The fourth eight, I thought was fine. They were just outside of the medals. I know they're disappointed by it, but it was still pretty good. That was a tough field and they had a good race in the morning."
 
On the fifth varsity eight:
"The fifth eight, the kid stroking, Spencer Waldron, just about a month ago, wasn't being boated much. He said, "Hey can I try stroking?" I said,
"Sure why not." He just switched sides four days ago from starboard to port, and now they beat Princeton, who I believe was undefeated. We won the gold in that, which is good. Good for those guys."
 
On what's coming up:
"Three weeks from today is the national championship, and it's time for the seniors to prove themselves and time for the young guys to make a bid and a challenge. We have plenty of time to do it. It's a fun time. There's no school and it's nicer weather.
 
"Overall, you can start to see the racy-ness of our team. Racy-ness is a term we use a lot and if I had to build a team, that's my number one attribute. It either exists or it's the first thing you create, and when Beau Hoopman came a long, that's what started happening. You can see it in the younger groups. These guys no matter what will go out and attack and race. While the results look modest, I can sense it coming."
 
Eastern Assocation of Rowing Colleges Championships
May 13, 2018
Worcester, Mass.
Lake Quinnsigamond
2000 meters
 
Team Scores (Rowe Cup)
1. Yale, 39; 2. Princeton, 35; 3. Harvard, 32; 4. Northeastern, 27; 5. Brown, 26; 6. Boston University, 21; 7. Dartmouth, 20; 8. Syracuse, 19; 9. Cornell, 14; 10. Wisconsin, 10; 11. George Washington, 5; 12. Navy, 4; 13. Pennsylvania, 4; 14. Holy Cross, Rutgers, Georgetown, Columbia, 0

First Varsity Eight
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
1. Syracuse, 6:02.68; 2. Dartmouth 6:05.61; 3. Cornell, 6:05.62; 4. Pennsylvania, 6:07.92; 5. Wisconsin, 6:09.91; 6. George Washington, 6:10.51
UW Lineup: Theodore Van Beek, Tristan Amberger, Nickolas Montalvo, Andrew Griffin,Jonah Van der Weide, Jacob Wenner, James Bernard, Kyle McCarthy, Thomas Walker
 
Second Varsity Eight
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
1. Syracuse, 6:04.09; 2. Wisconsin, 6:08.63; 3. Cornell, 6:12.42; 4. Boston University, 6:12.83; George Washington, 6:19.26; 6. Navy, 6:26.85
UW Lineup: Cameron Pak, John Hollow, Alexander Butler, William Alt, Dylan Adams, Kurt Mueller, Nathan Petersen, Andrew Flannery, Tyler Stevens
 
Third Varsity Eight
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
1. Syracuse, 6:03.57; 2. Cornell, 6:03.75; 3. Brown, 6:04.91; 4. Navy, 6:08.49; 5. Wisconsin, 6:10.11; 6. George Washington, 6:11.72; 7. Columbia, 6:14.36
UW Lineup: James Catalano, Matthew Palmer, John Young, Adam Wehking, Caleb Sorenson, Samuel Williams, Luke VandenHeuvel, Tyler Berstein, Paul Sagraves
 
Fourth Varsity Eight:
Grand Final (Places 1-6)
1. Princeton, 5:53.91; 2. Harvard, 5:57.04; 3. Yale, 6.00.13; 4. Wisconsin, 6:03.42; 5. Brown, 6:03.83; 6. Navy, 6:06.12
UW Lineup: Ian Tunney, Jacob Hurlbutt, Evan Miller, Benjamin Waller, Erik Kernozek,Chase Covey, Jacob Buboltz, Henry Roberts, Philipp Bogdanov
 
Fifth Varsity Eight:
Grand Final (Places 1-6)
1. Wisconsin, 6:03.21; 2. Princeton, 6:03.81; 3. Navy 5V, 6:09.09; 4. Navy 6V, 6:12.70; 5. Brown, 6:15.43; 6. Harvard, 6:16.27; 7. Yale, 6:19.86
UW Lineup: Kaz Kishiue-Koval, Spencer Waldron, Tim Zogleman, Taylor Steeno, Theodore Boesen, Parker Brooks, Samuel Wheeler, Will Klauke, Timothy Glennon