University of Washington
Head of the Lake
Huskies Dominate At Head Of The Lake
November 08, 2015 | Men's Rowing
SEATTLE – UW men's crew put the finishing touches on a strong fall rowing season with dominant performances in the eights, fours and double sculls at the Head of the Lake on Saturday, Nov. 8 on the Montlake Cut.
“We have a really raw group. Raw is good,” UW head coach Michael Callahan said. “Raw is toughness before we've developed skill, so we like the position we are in now with months of development ahead. There's no secret, we know the standard. Our guys have to commit to a lot of hard work.”
The Huskies started the day in the Men's Collegiate/Open 8+, where the varsity eight took first with a time of 15:59.074, topping a field that included some of the Pac-12's best crews.
Immediately following the varsity eight, the Huskies swept the top two spots of the Men's Collegiate JV 8+ event, finishing in first with a time of 16:07.666 and second in 16:15.168.
“Our guys put together a solid day of rowing,” Callahan said. “We'll continue to develop throughout the rest of the fall and winter and we're excited for the upcoming season with this group of student-athletes.”
Completing the sweep of the eights events, UW finished in the top three positions in the Men's Collegiate 3V 8+. The top UW boat finished in the 16:37.906, the second in 16:48.150 and the third in 17:01.808. The fourth Husky entry finished in sixth place in 17:32.793, giving the Huskies four of the top-six finishers in the event with 11 entries total.
The Huskies entered five boats in the Championship Men's 4+ Sponsored by Pocock Racing Shells, and UW finished all five in the top six in a field of 16 entries. The first-place boat finished in 17:30.503, and the second- and third-place crews finished just under two seconds apart, in 17:55.641 and 17:57.431, respectively. The Huskies also placed boats in fourth and sixth place, with Oregon State taking fifth place.
The Huskies have been focusing on sculling and small boats throughout the fall, and had a six entries in the Men's Open 2X. UW finished in the top two spots, taking first in 19:00.401 and second in 19:06.247. UW also finished in fourth and fifth, to take four of the top five spots. The last two Husky boats took seventh and eighth.
“We've seen a lot of progress as we've trained on small boats and sculling,” Callahan said. “We want to tailor our training for each individual athlete and this has been a great tool for us.”
In the Huskies' final event, UW men's crew had two scullers compete in the Men's Open 1x as the rain started to fall. Kyle Helgerson was UW's top finisher in ninth place with a time of 22:17.888.
After leading at the halfway point, Pietro Zileri Dal Verme caught his oar on the final turn and flipped his boat. Showing a true can do attitude, Zileri dal Verme got back in his boat and finished the race in 22:48.064 for 12th place.
“We have a tradition at Washington of laking ourselves from the docks of the Conibear Shellhouse. Zileri went all in for that tradition on that final turn,” Callahan said. “In all seriousness, that was a great response after an unfortunate moment for Zileri.”
The Huskies begin their 2016 season on Saturday, March 26, with the annual Class Day Regatta on the Montlake Cut.
For more updates on Washington rowing, follow the Huskies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and @UWHuskyCrew.
