WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The 14th-ranked Wisconsin men's varsity eight beat its seed during a tough weather day on Mercer Lake, and the Badgers finished in 11th-place as a team on the final day of the 2018 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships on Sunday.
The schedule was moved up in anticipation of the weather, and the regatta began with the headlining varsity eight grand final at 7:30 a.m. local time, opposite of what normally takes place, which is the end of the day. After the grand finals of the eight, second eight, third eight, and the men's and women's lightweight eights, the Wisconsin varsity eight hit the course in the first of the petite finals.
The Badgers ended up 12th in the event, two places higher than their seed coming into the championships. UW's second varsity eight and third varsity eight both ended up 11th, with all crews battling deteriorating conditions through the morning. Racing was finally called before the varsity four finals started.
VARSITY EIGHT
Wisconsin placed sixth in the petite final in a time of 6 minutes, 42.048 seconds to grab 12th place overall. Northeastern won the petite final in 6:30.351 to take seventh place, just edging Syracuse's time of 6:30.539. Dartmouth ended up third in the petite final for ninth in 6:33.801. Boston University and Stanford took 10th and 11th.
Yale repeated as national champions by winning the grand final over Washington and California.
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Brown won the petite final in 6:47.053, while the Badgers ended up in 11th by taking fifth in the race. UW stroked to a 7:01.125 on the 2000-meter course. Wisconsin beat out Cornell (7:02.565) to gain its position.
Washington won, while California and Yale took second and third in the grand final.
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT
In a time more normally fitting a four because of the high winds, Wisconsin clocked 7:39.624 in the petite final to take 11th in the third varsity eight. Princeton won the petite final and took seventh overall in a time of 7:09.806. Dartmouth (7:16.988), Brown (7:26.394) and Syracuse (7:31.604) finished ahead of UW, while Cornell's time of 7:50.726 gave it 12th overall.
Washington won the third varsity eight to secure the Ten Eyck Trophy as team champion, while Harvard and then California crossed the line in second and third, respectively, in the grand final.
VARSITY FOUR
Wisconsin's varsity four was set to compete in the petite final for places 7-12, but racing was canceled before the start due to the high winds. The winds caused extremely choppy water and unsafe conditions for the rowers.
STRAIGHT FROM THE LAKE
Head Coach Chris Clark
On the Varsity Eight
"If there was any condition we would not want, it was what it was. A few weeks ago, we went to a very light and quick boat and it paid off and got us to where we were.
"I felt we had a smaller shot at ninth and a pretty good shot at 10th or 11th, but the conditions got the best of us. We were the lightest and probably least strong and the water was so terrible that any given small bobble we were like leaves blowing in the wind. It was not easy for us. They moved up into fifth at one point, but bobbled some more.
"There were a little disappointed just that they didn't have a chance to race in fair conditions. Everybody, I am sure, would have wanted that, not just us, because the conditions were really nasty. Sure enough, 30 minutes later, they cancelled the entire regatta.
"The four was cancelled. They thought I was joking, but they are tied for seventh."
On the season as a whole
"As far as the year, I thought we held serve pretty well.
"We have a slow climb back to what I would call respectability over the next couple of years. I like what I'm seeing in the team in particular, class-by-class. The seniors, juniors and sophomores have had the same freshmen coach in
Beau Hoopman, our Olympic champion coach, which is vital for consistency and that will make a big different in the long run. I can see it now and the entire boathouse is on the same page.
"I'm really looking forward to it. We just have to make that next leap. We need about five seconds to get back to the edge of that top group again. Hopefully we can pick that up.
"All-in-all, we held serve and hopefully we'll move forward from this and I feel like we're back on even keel now and from that we can build."
2018 IRA National Championships
West Windsor, N.J.
Mercer Lake
June 2
2000 meters
Ten Eyck Trophy Team Standings
1. Washington, 211; 2. Yale, 199; 3. California, 196; 4. Harvard, 186; 5. Princeton, 158; 6. Northeastern, 155; 7. Brown, 142; 8. Boston University, 131; 9. Syracuse, 122; 10. Dartmouth 119;
11. Wisconsin, 91; 12. Cornell, 79; 13. Stanford, 40; 14. Pennsylvania, 25; 15. Navy, 20; 16. FIT, 15; 17. St. Joseph's, 10; 18. George Washington, 5; 19. Bates, Oregon State, San Diego, Marist, UC-San Diego, Temple, 0
VARSITY EIGHT
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
1. Northeastern, 6:30.351; 2. Syracuse, 6:30.539; 3. Dartmouth, 6:33.801; 4. Boston University, 6:37.426; 5. Stanford, 6:40.962; 6. Wisconsin, 6:42.048
UW Lineup: Coxswain
Theodore Van Beek,
Nickolas Montalvo,
William Alt,
Jonah Van der Weide,
Andrew Griffin,
Dylan Adams,
Tristan Amberger,
Alexander Butler,
Thomas Walker
SECOND VARSITY EIGHT
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
1. Brown, 6:47.053; 2. Boston University, 6:51.619; 3. Syracuse, 6:53.505; 4. Dartmouth, 6:54.468; 5. Wisconsin, 7:01.125; 6. Cornell, 7:02.565
UW Lineup: Coxswain
Cameron Pak,
John Hollow,
Philipp Bogdanov,
Kurt Mueller,
James Bernard,
Kyle McCarthy,
Nathan Petersen,
Tyler Stevens,
Jacob Wenner
THIRD VARSITY EIGHT
Petite Final (Places 7-12)
1. Princeton, 7:09.806; 2. Dartmouth, 7:16.988; 3. Brown, 7:26.394; 4. Syracuse, 7:31.604; 5. Wisconsin, 7:39.624; 6. Cornell, 7:50.726
UW Lineup: Coxswain
Kaz Kishiue-Koval,
Matthew Palmer,
John Young,
Adam Wehking,
Will Klauke,
Tim Zogleman,
Luke VandenHeuvel,
Evan Miller,
Chase Covey
VARSITY FOUR
Petite Final (Places 7-12) - CANCELED DUE TO HIGH WINDS
Georgetown, Harvard, Dartmouth, Wisconsin, Northeastern, Brown
UW Lineup: Coxswain
Ian Tunney,
Parker Brooks,
Samuel Wheeler,
Andrew Flannery,
Tyler Bernstein
