Novice 8+ Takes 2nd! LWT 4+ 5th 5/25/09
Redemption never tasted so sweet for the Novice 8+, as they took 2nd in the nation at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championships on Sunday. ACRA is in its second year as the national championship for club rowing teams.
After their impressive 4th place finish at the Pac-10 Championships, the Novice 8+ was seeded #2 coming into the weekend. They successfully defended that ranking, finishing just 3 seconds behind Michigan, a team with Varsity-Club status. Finishing the season as the second fastest club team in the country is a true testament to the hard work and determination of these rowers who began the year as true novice walk-ons.
Coming off of a convincing win in the Saturday repechage, the Cougs were focused and ready for the Grand Finals. The deep field of crews included Michigan, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Bucknell, and Minnesota.
After a close first 1000 meters, they moved on the other crews, separating themselves from New Hampshire and Notre Dame. "We came out and rowed our race and rowed it really well," said James Dorsey. "It was a really good way to end the season. A solid performance and we couldn't have asked for more."
The Varsity Lightweight 4+ finished 5th in their Grand Final, just 0.7 seconds off of Northwestern and 3.7 seconds off of third place Purdue. The 4+ posted its fastest time of the year and finished on a high note for departing senior Garrett Lyman. "I would say it was our best race of the year," said Garrett. "Even though we lost the race, we gave it our all."
Complete Sunday Results
ACRA Photo Gallery
Saturday ACRA Update 5/23/09
Both crews advance to Grand Finals!
Saturday saw the WSU Novice 8+ and Varsity Lightweight 4+ take to the water for their qualifying heats.
In their morning heat, the #2 ranked Novice 8+ raced a tough New Hampshire crew and came up just short, finishing 2nd. However, in the afternoon repechage they pulled a convincing a win over Purdue and Texas, claiming their spot in the Sunday Grand Final. The Grand Final takes place at 11:09 EST.
The Lightweight 4+ raced Purdue, Georgia, and Sonoma State in their morning heat. Jumping out quickly on Georgia, they hung with Purdue and Sonoma for the first 1500 meters, eventually finishing 3rd just behind. Tomorrow they will be racing in the Grand Final at 11:41 EST.
The ACRA Regional Coaches of the Year were released, and Novice Coach, Julia Gamache, was selected as the ACRA Coach of the Year for the West Coast Region!
At the awards ceremony following the races, the Academic All-Americans were recognized. Kramer Wahlberg and Garrett Lyman of the Lightweight 4+, made first and second team, respectively.
For complete Saturday results, click here.
For tomorrow's complete schedule, click here.
Saturday Photos
ACRA Website
Daily Evergreen article about Pac-10s and ACRAs.
PCRC/Pac-10 Championships 5/19/09
Men’s Crew Battles Heat and Tough Crews in Sacramento
Amidst the scorching heat, the Cougars fought hard in the Pac-10/Pacific Coast Rowing Championships in Sacramento.
At Pac-10s, the Novice 8+ pulled a 6:03.9 to upset Oregon State, placing 4th in a deep field of eight crews. Stanford narrowly escaped the Cougar attack, taking 3rd place by just half a length over the Cougs.
Also in competition were the Varsity and 2nd Varsity 8+, facing off against an elite field including three of the top five crews in the nation. The Varsity 8+ finished 7th and the 2nd Varsity 8+ finished 5th in their respective races.
In Saturday’s Pacific Coast Rowing Championships, the small boats took to the course. The Cougs took gold in the Open Pair event. Paul Ehlers and Alan Scott cruised to an open water victory in a field of four.
The Novice 4+ had a strong showing, placing 2nd with twenty seconds of water ahead of third place.
The WIRA Champion Varsity 4+ faced off against strong Cal and Santa Clara boats, finishing 3rd.
In the Lightweight 4+ event, the Cougs held off UC Davis to bring home the silver medal.
The Lightweight 8+ raced in the Open 8+ event because no other lightweight crews were present to race. They held their own against larger crews, finishing 5th out of seven.
PCRC Photos
PCRC Results
Pac-10 Results
Cougars Defend Gold, Capture Bronze in Three Events
The Washington State University Men’s Crew repeated a victory in the Men’s V4+ event Sunday at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, CA. With a time of 6:51.8 in their heats Saturday, they were the fastest time of any V4+. On Sunday their time of 6:46.0 was 5 seconds faster than the second place crew, giving the Cougars a dominating margin.
The Cougar Crew raced its strongest novice class in years. The first year rowers took third, finishing only seconds behind rowing powerhouses Gonzaga University (6:08.6) and Orange Coast College (6:03.9). Even in the less than favorable conditions, the Novice 8+ posted a 6:11.1, the fastest recorded Cougar time of the weekend. “The narrow margin of just 2.5 seconds reflects how fast our novice are as a club team at the national level, as the varsity Gonzaga team has now secured an entry in the national championships,” commented Head Coach Arthur Ericsson.
Also taking home bronze were the 2N8+ and the L8+ boats. The second novice boat raced a 6:30.3, taking third behind two OCC boats. The lightweight 8 came in at 6:22.0 behind Loyola Marymount and Cal Lights.
The Cougar Varsity 8 took 9th in a field of 17, beating their seeding in the WIRA polls. The JV 8 took 8th in its field to beat its last place seeding.
The Cougars also entered a N4+, which took 7th, a pair that took 4th even after catching a mid-race crab and a L4+ that placed 4th of 8.
The WSU Men’s Crew’s weekend was capped off with three additional awards. WSU Varsity rowers Garrett Lyman and Andrew Winters were honored with the title of Second Boat All-WIRA’s. This meant they were honored as two of the top 18 rowers at the regatta.
The third and perhaps most prestigious award was the Cougar’s second place finish in the points category. This honor was based on the number of events entered and placing in those events. With a very deep Cougar team that entered all but one men’s event, the Cougars managed to bring home the second place honors for the first time in recent memory.
WSU Men’s Crew will face off against even tougher opponents at their Pac-10 Championships in two weeks and will be competing at the ACRA club national championships in Tennessee in the novice 8 and varsity lightweight 4 events the weekend after that.
WIRA Results
Photos are up... Click here. Recap to come.
Results
Cougars Put up a Strong Fight Against Powerful Huskies
The Cougars had a tough duel with the University of Washington on Saturday, April 11, 2009 at what some people call the "Apple Cup of Rowing." The weather was fair, with a temperature of about 44F and very light winds with some rain. Luckily, despite the chill, the water stayed calm enough for good racing.
Starting the races off were the WSU V8+ and JV8+ against UW's 3V8+ and 4V8+. WSU's top boat felt confident in their strong start and even stronger sprint in the last 500 meters, but fell short of both the 3V8+ and 4V8+ with a time of 6:26.28 against UW's times of 6:15.39 and 6:24.87.
In the Novice event, WSU had a solid race but UW's second freshman eight proved to be faster with UW pulling a 6:17.11 ahead of WSU's A boat with a time of 6:24.9.
The Cougars also had the opportunity to race some fours, with the Novice and Varsity squads both racing two boats each.
After the tough day of racing, the Cougars hosted their annual "Mom's Row" with three eights of rowers and their moms competing against each other in short "sprint" pieces (usually rowing by just 6 people). Only a few crabs were caught, with only a couple of close calls of ejections. Luckily the weather cooperated and the rain stopped just before the Mom's Row. It was a great way to ease the stresses of racing, to cool off and remember our first time in a rowing shell.
Results
Racing Photos
Mom's Learn-to-Row Photos
Varsity 8+ Struggled for 5th Place Finish in Third Finals while Novice 8+ Excelled with 3rd Place Finish in Petites
The San Diego Crew Classic started in the early 1970s with just two rowing clubs gathering for a small duel. Over the past thirty years the event has grown to host thousands of people and many renowned schools such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, Harvard, and the University of Washington.
Washington State Men's Crew had many fierce challengers in California at the Crew Classic, their first major spring regatta. The Varsity 8+ competed in the third event on Saturday, April 4 against very fast crews such as University of San Diego and University of California at Los Angeles. The men and their coxswain were disappointed with their time of 6:41.80. They made it to third finals, which they raced that same same day at 2:50pm and finished a much more satisfying race with a time of 6:28.91, a fifth place finish. The Varsity finished 17th overall, out of 20 crews.
The novice team did very well in their event. Their boat includes no athletes that have previously rowed in high school, and even one (bow seat Andrew Wilcox) began rowing just three months ago at the start of spring semester. The N8+ competed against highly acclaimed crews such as the University of Washington and Orange Coast College, and finished with a fourth place finish of 6:33.67. Their time took them to the petite finals where they finished third behind University of California at San Diego and University of Michigan, with a solid time of 6:25.26, just 5 seconds behind first place UCSD.
The WSU Men's Novice crew has proved to be both mentally and physically tough this year and will continue to shine this spring. Both the Novice and Varsity boats had to race twice on Saturday, which was extremely difficult especially due to the intense California sunlight that the men weren't accustomed to. The Cougars came back to Pullman slightly sunburned, but very happy with the long weekend.
Photos to come!!
Click here for results
The Cougs are sending the Varsity 8+ and the Novice 8+ to compete in the San Diego Crew Classic this weekend, April 4th and 5th. The Varsity 8+ preliminary heat race will be Saturday morning at 7:50 AM. The Novice 8+ race shortly after, at 9:30 AM.
All of the races are being streamed live over the internet at the Crew Classic website!
The finals race times for both crews depend upon the heat finishes. Potential finals on Saturday are: Varsity 3rd Final 2:50 PM, and Novice Petite Final 5:10PM. The Sunday finals are: Varsity Petite Final 8:40 AM, Varsity Grand Final 10:30 AM, and Novice Grand Final 11:10 AM.
Click here to view Saturday lane draws and the complete schedule!
Victories in Varsity 4+ and Novice 8+ Events Highlight Cougars Strong Start to Spring Racing
The 2009 Daffodil Cup, held at American Lake in Tacoma, WA, was chilly to say the least. Beginning at 9:00am on Saturday, March 28, the Cup was the first 2K regatta for many crews.
Racing in heavy rain/snow mix conditions for the athletes was not easy, but WSU proved to be tough, possibly due to practices at home on the Snake River in far worse weather. The Cougars started the regatta strong, with the Heavyweight 8+ finishing a close second behind UPS, and the Lightweight 8+ finishing fourth with times of 6:49.8 and 7:08.9, respectively.
WSU again proved their power in the Men's LW4+ event with a respectable margin over PLU of almost 8 seconds (WSU 7:36.3, PLU 7:44.0). In the Men's 1V4+ the Cougars again took an early lead and finished first with a time of 7:08.2.
The Novice events were impressive, with the N8+ A and B finishing first and second, with times of 5:43.4 and 6:10.4. The Cougars finished off the event with a first place finish in the Men's 2V4+ with a time of 7:09.4.
Despite being drenched and freezing, the Cougars had a victorious first 2K regatta. Three out of the six coxswains were launched into the Lake following the regatta in elation of the wins.
Click here for race results!
Click here for photos!
Also, be sure to read the latest issue of the Pull Hard Newsletter.
Cougar Crew Days and More...
Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for Cougar Crew Days 2009, it was a huge success! Down at the river, the Alumni fielded three eights, with the top Alumni 8+ winning the race against the Class Day winning Sophomore class. The inaugural 'Slow Row' event was a hit, featuring the Meat Wagon IRA 4+ rowing together 30 years after winning their National Championship. This year, the banquet and silent auction were moved to the CUB Senior Ballroom and held the largest crowd in the history of the event.
Click here to read a full recap of Cougar Crew Days 2009!
Click here for photos from the action down at the river. Stay tuned, as more photos will be posted as soon as they become available.
Be sure to check out the new History of the Crew. This living history project, created by team Historian Lauren Curtis, details the story of Cougar Crew from the beginning through the present. This history will continue to grow as you submit your own portion of history to fill in the gaps and enrich the stories already told.
Additional Rent-a-Rower Dates
Due to the recent snowstorms, Men's Crew will be offering two additional Rent-a-Rower dates this Spring. They are Sunday, March 29th, and Sunday April 19th. Click here for more information and to reserve your spot.
Fall 2008 Pull Hard Newsletter
The Fall 2008 edition of The Pull Hard Newsletter has been posted, give it a read here!
Palouse Summer Rowing 2009
Interested in rowing? The Palouse Summer Rowing Program will be taking place in Summer 2009. There are programs for both experienced and novice rowers.
Click here for more information.
Western Washington Duel Results
Matching apples with apples, WSU fielded two varsity and two novice oarsmen into each four towards parity with WWU's similar lineup. The race was too close for most spectators to call with WSU's 4 (rowing the Ron Neal II: bow Jake Logar, 2 Justin Bodolay, 3 Nick Estvold, stroke Mark Hoffman, cox Karri Simao) unable to fend off WWU's final charge.
WWU's all novice 8 hung tough for the first 2k against WSU's 8's (each with 6 novice and 2 JV) but their late start on the water this fall (trimester vs. semester system) gave them less experience to work with. The winning WSU lineup rowing the Ken Abbey was: bow Joe Sudar, 2 Ian Compton, 3 JC Hockett, 4 Chris Culverwell, 5 Josh Wadagnolo, 6 Steve Barnes, 7 Garrett Heiman, stroke Jimmy Johnson, cox Kate Sweitzer.
WWU was presented with a plaque from a 1979 Western Washington DARE race in honor of their fours victory today to begin a perpetual trophy for this annual fall regatta, scheduled to be hosted by Western Washington next year.
Click here for complete results.
WWU Duel Photo Gallery
The annual Head of the Lake Regatta has been held for 27 years. This year, the 3 mile course returned to its "classic" roots, starting on Lake Union, continuing east through the Montlake Cut to Lake Washington and finishing near the University of Washington's Conibear Shellhouse. The perennial powerhouse UW crew finished first in the Men's Collegiate Open 8+ with a time of 15:57:34. Following the UW were University of British Columbia and Gonzaga University with times of 16:10:97 and 16:12:80, respectively. Washington State University narrowly lost to the University of Puget sound, with times of 17:15:41 and 17:04:38, respectively, to finish 5th overall in a field of 9. The WSU alumni boat, a composite of former Cougar Crew oarsmen who come together once a year, finished fourth in their event, narrowly missing a medal with a time of 18:05:62. Click here for the results.
Dad's Weekend Learn to Row
 |
On the dock |
In honor of WSU Dad’s Weekend, the Cougar oarsmen hosted a Dad’s Learn-To-Row session on Saturday, November 8th. Although the Varsity 8 crew was in Seattle racing in the Head of The Lake Regatta, remaining rowers paired up with their dads and showed them what rowing is all about. After learning how to carry and launch the boats, the dads were given a crash coarse in rowing terminology, and then sent onto the water to show off to their sons. They started rowing by pairs, but soon moved up to fours and even sixes. One especially experienced boat was able to row by all four, as both of the dads in the boat had previous rowing experience.  |
Learning the technique |
With the ever present watch of Novice coach, Julia Gamache, and volunteer instructor, Brandon Caesar, the oarsmen and their dads rowed down towards Granite Point, and then back to the boathouse. Varsity coxswain Michelle Holroyd said “It was amazing how well the dads did; they were all really cooperative and eager. When we were rowing by sixes, we were really moving.”  |
Coming into the dock |
It appeared that all of the dads enjoyed the experience, especially the opportunity to spend time with their sons. Following the row, David Compton, father of novice oarsman Ian Compton, said "I have a better appreciation for what you guys go through and how difficult it is to do, and now I understand why you need the rowing clothing.” For any moms interested in the fun, the team looks forward to hosting a Mom’s Learn-To-Row, which is currently scheduled for April 11, following the UW duel. Details will be available closer to the date. WSU Men’s Crew thanks all the Dads for their participation this weekend, and hopes to have everyone back for Dad’s Weekend next year. Click here to view the Dad's Row gallery.
Looking on to Head of the Lake
The Cougar Varsity 8+ will be traveling to Seattle to compete in the Head of the Lake Regatta on Sunday, November 9th. Racing will begin at 8:00 AM with the Men's Collegiate 8+, featuring the V8+. WSU is also entering an Alumni 8+, scheduled as Event 9 of the day. Click here to view the racing schedule.
Head of the Snake Schedule Posted
WSU Men's Crew will host the Bulldogs of Gonzaga University for the Head of the Snake Regatta on Friday, October 31st. Click here to view the racing schedule.
Head of the Spokane Results
 |
Varsity 8+ Heading Out |
The Bulldogs of Gonzaga University proved to be too much for WSU Men’s Crew. In the premiere race, GU’s Varsity 8+ topped WSU with a time of 15:58 to WSU’s 17:12.GU returns a strong class of Varsity rowers as well as a Novice class that was ranked 13th in the nation last year. WSU beat two of the three GU V4+ boats in the Varsity 4+ race, but GU’s C boat took the heat with a time of 18:06. WSU’s 4+ B also beat their 4+ A’s time of 18:53.  |
Varsity 4+ at the Finish |
WSU’s second Varsity 8+ lost by about a minute to GU with a time of 17:20 to GU’s 16:21. In the Novice 8+ races, GU C boat won with a time of 16:39, their A boat trailing with a time of 17:31. Following closely behind were WSU’s Novice 8+ A, C, and B boats with times of 17:41, 18:40, and 20:38, respectively.  |
Novice 8+ Finishing Strong |
Freshman Sean Stoops said of the WSU Novice squad, “We were really pleased with how the Novice raced today. For the first race our boat has ever had, it really felt powerful and determined.” Determination and power may be the motif for both GU and WSU throughout the rest of the 2008-2009 Men’s Crew season. Click here to view complete race results. More photos can be found in the image gallery.
Head of the Spokane Schedule Posted
The Head of the Spokane racing schedule has been posted. Click Here to read.
Head of the Spokane, Row-a-Thon, Pictures
Fall racing season is upon us! On Saturday, October 25th, the Cougs will travel to Gonzaga for the Head of the Spokane race. Racing is scheduled to begin at 9:00am and will feature all crews, varsity and novice. Click here for directions.
 Novice 8+ at Head of the Spokane 2007 During the daylight hours of Tuesday Oct. 21 and Wednesday Oct. 22, the hard-working men and women of Cougar Crew will be rowing 2,000,000 meters for our anual Row-a-Thon fundraiser. Donations will be collected, a portion of which will be donated to the March of Dimes, a charity dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. The ergs will be set up on the Mall in front of the CUB, stop by and show your support! Many picures taken during practices this year have been added to the image gallery, check them out here!. Also, our historical photo archive continues to grow, including photos from the '73 and '74 season. To submit photos, simply send them to the webmaster.
In honor of Dad’s Weekend at WSU, the Crew will hold a Dad’s Learn-to-Row on Saturday, November 8th, at morning practice. We invite you to come down to the river and hop in a boat to see what we've been up to this Fall. Don’t miss this fun opportunity! More info to come, stay tuned.
Several important dates have been changed for the upcoming year: November 9 - Head of the Lake Reggatta, Varsity Only
November 15 - Duel vs. Western Washington University March 16-20 - Spring Break Training March 21 - Cougar Crew Days 2008-2009 Schedule
Rent-a-Rower is back and the WSU Men's Crew Team is ready to help the Pullman/Moscow community. This Fall, rowers will be available for help on September 13/14 and October 11/12. For more information or to submit a request for rowers, click here. Remember, reservations are on a first come, first serve basis. Thanks for your support!
In hopes of better documenting the history of Cougar Crew, I have uploaded all of the old photos that I have to the image gallery.
Those that were labeled have been placed in their corresponding year collections. However, most are unlabeled. This is where you come in! If you are able to identify a picture's year, location, or the people/event taking place, simply do so using the comment feature.
Furthermore, these few hundred pictures are just a start. If you have any old photos to add to the archive, don't hesitate to send them my way. Eventually, my hopes are to have a complete visual representation of the history of Cougar Crew.
Spring Pull Hard Newsletter
Ex-Publisher and new Commodore, Andy Winters, has put the finishing touches on the Spring edition of the Pull Hard Newsletter. This issue includes recaps of Cougar Crew's exciting Spring racing season, information about a new mentorship/internship program, a brand-new Alumni Spotlight, Cougar Crew Days recap, and a Novice Spotlight.
More info on the Mentorship/Internship Program can be found here.
The Winter 2008 Pull Hard has also been uploaded to the archive.
Q&A with new Novice Coach Julia Gamache
Click here to read the interview!
New photos have been added to the image galleries, including a set from the IRA National Championships. Big thanks go out to Steve Huhta for supplying these high quality pictures.
IRA Gallery |
PCRC Gallery |
Pac-10 Gallery |
Cougar Crew Days Gallery
As always, if you have photos from any Cougar Crew event that you would like to see online, send an e-mail to the Webmaster and it will be worked out.
Note: Most of the photos have been compressed and downsized before being uploaded. If you are interested in the full, uncompressed file, send an e-mail to the Webmaster to see if it's available.
Welcome to the NEW CougarCrew.com!
I would like to welcome you to the new face of Cougar Crew! This revamped version of CougarCrew.com is designed to provide a more user-friendly environment with a fresh new look.
All content from the previous site has been preserved, however, you may notice changes to the links in the navigation bar. The website is designed to be best viewed at a resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher. The "News" box will automatically populate with recent news posts, utilizing the awesome RSS feed capabilities of CougarCrew.com. To subscribe to the RSS feed, click here. The "Upcoming Events" box will be frequently updated with date, time, location, and any other pertinent event information. The ads on the right will change with time and reflect any urgent news or events. Be sure to check out the new image gallery. The new Plogger interface allows users to leave comments, make use of it!
This new site has been tested and troubleshooted with the four major browsers, and is known to be compatible with Internet Explorer versions 6-8, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. However, if you come across something that doesn't appear to be loading correctly, or just looks strange, send an e-mail to the website administration and the issue will be fixed.
As always, comments and suggestions are welcomed, particularly in this time of overhaul.
Big Thanks to Tim Duffey, for spearheading this new design and for sharing his wealth of knowledge!
|
Subscribe to the WSU Men's Crew RSS Feed