Men's Crew Prepares for National Championships
May 27, 1998
Intercollegiate Rowing Association 96th Annual National Championships 1998 Washington Mens Crew Notes Washington Huskies - Defending Champions
The Event: The 96th Annual Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships will take place Thurs. - Sat., May 28-30, on the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey. Racing begins at 8 a.m. Thursday and Friday and at 6 a.m. Saturday. The final race, the Varsity Challenge Cup, is slated for 4:30 p.m. EST.
Washington is the defending champion in the varsity eight, junior varsity eight and freshman eight races.
The IRA is the oldest collegiate rowing championship in the country and remains the premier event for national rowing honors for college men. The championship is conducted by the IRA and was organized at the beginning of the century. It consists of five eastern, traditional rowing schools, the original three schools, Columbia, Cornell and Pennsylvania, plus Navy and Syracuse. To this day, the association is comprised of only these five schools and all other colleges participate as invited guests.
A Look Back at 1997: Last season, the Husky varsity, junior varsity and freshman eight swept the top three races at the IRA Championships. It marked the second time in school history the Huskies had accomplished the feat, with the first sweep coming in 1950. In the prestigious Varsity Challenge Cup, it was the 11th time in school history the Huskies claimed the top honor, dating all the way back to the first win in 1923. The junior varsity crew picked up its 10th all-time victory in the Kennedy Challenge Cup as did the freshmen in the Stewards Cup. The victories capped an undefeated season for all three crews.
Race Notes: The Husky varsity returns four men who were a part of the IRA championship crew in 1997; coxswain Sean Mulligan, stroke Bob Cummins, seven seat Brett Reisinger and two seat Aaron Beck ... Beck rows in the bow seat this year while the others are in their same positions ... current two seat Steve Todd was a part of the junior varsity crew last season ... four sophomores round out the varsity boat; 6-Mike Chait, 5-Dave Calder, 4-Eric Funk and 3-Whit Hammond ... all were in the undefeated frosh boat last year ... the Husky varsity had continued its undefeated string from last year until just two weeks ago, when the crew lost to California at the Pac-10 Conference Championships (May 17) ... it was the Bears first victory over UW in three tries during the season ... varsity coxswain Sean Mulligan should be a hometown favorite this weekend; he is from nearby Lansdale, Penn. and attended La Salle College High School.
Varsity Challenge Cup: The UW varsity will compete with 19 crews for the Varsity Challenge Cup. Presented to the IRA by Dr. Louis L. Seaman, in 1998, the silver cup goes annually to the college crew winning the varsity race. Washington won the 1997 race in a time of 5:51, ahead of Brown. The Challenge Cup victory was the 11th overall in the history of the UW program, dating back to its first victory in 1923.
Washington Varsity Eight
Cox: Sean Mulligan (Lansdale, Penn.), stroke- Bob Cummins (Everett, Wash.), 7 - Brett Reisinger (Kent, Wash.), 6 - Mike Chait (Seattle, Wash.), 5 - Dave Calder (Victoria, B.C.), 4 - Eric Funk (Atlantic City, New Jersey), 3 - Whit Hammond (Kirkland, Wash.), 2 - Steve Todd (Kirkland, Wash.), bow - Aaron Beck (Langley, Virginia).
Varsity Eight Preliminary Heats (all times are Eastern Standard) *The winner of each heat advances to semi-finals Friday; all others to repechage heats Thursday afternoon.
H1-10:36 a.m. H2 - 10:48 a.m. H3 - 11:00 a.m. H4 - 11:12 a.m.
Lane 1 New Hampshire Navy Northeastern Michigan
Lane 2 Temple Rutgers Cornell Oregon State
Lane 3 Pennsylvania Princeton California Washington
Lane 4 Syracuse Dartmouth Columbia Grand Valley
Lane 5 Georgetown Boston U. Brown Wisconsin
Kennedy Challenge Cup: The UW junior varsity will compete with 17 crews for the Kennedy Challenge Cup, originally presented to the IRA in 1899 by Davidson Kennedy to four-oared winners. The trophy is now annually awarded to the winner of the second varsity race. Washington won the 1997 Kennedy Challenge Cup in a time of 6:09, ahead of Brown. It was the Huskies 10th Kennedy Cup victory.
Washington Junior Varsity
Cox: Adrian Dahood (Princeton, New Jersey), stroke- Kevin Dolan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), 7 - George Dowell (Alexandria, Virginia), 6 - Brent Starace (Woodinville, Wash.), 5 - Pat Ormond (Lake Forest Park, Wash.), 4 - Dan Shapiro (Madison, Wisc.), 3 - Kurt Vigeland (Vancouver, Wash.), 2 - Erik Brand (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), bow - Chris Forrest (Whistler, B.C.).
Junior Varsity Eight Preliminary Heats
*The winner of each heat advances to the Grand Final Saturday; all others to repechage heats Friday.
H1 - 11:24 a.m. H2 - 11:36 a.m. H3 - 11:48 a.m.
Lane 1 Cornell Washington Princeton
Lane 2 Wisconsin Syracuse Brown
Lane 3 California Virginia Michigan
Lane 4 Temple Dartmouth Oregon State
Lane 5 Rutgers Northeastern Boston U.
Lane 6 Pennsylvania Navy Drexel
Stewards Cup: The UW freshmen will compete with 20 crews for the Stewards Cup, first presented to the IRA in 1900. Washington won the 1997 Stewards Cup in a time of 6:07, ahead of Wisconsin. It was the 10th Stewards Cup victory and first since 1969 for the Huskies.
Washington Freshmen Eight
Cox: Andrew Yeung (Hong Kong), stroke - Kelsey McDaniel (Shawnigan Lake, B.C.), 7 - Kyle Duncan (Everett, Wash.), 6 - Peter Robbins (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 5 - Doug Adams (Aiken, South Carolina), 4 - Ivan Douttchak (Kiev, Ukraine), 3 - Hans Hurn (Redmond, Wash.), 2 - Jesse Huey (Arlington, Virignia), bow - Tim Bacon (Seattle, Wash.).
Freshman Preliminary Heats
*The winner of each heat advances to semi-finals Friday; all others to repechage heats Thursday afteroon.
H1 - 9:48 a.m. H2 - 10:00 a.m. H3 - 10:12 a.m. H4 - 10:24 a.m.
Lane 1 Princeton Dartmouth Pennsylvania Wisconsin
Lane 2 Columbia Michigan Brown Navy
Lane 3 Georgetown Northeastern Purdue Syracuse
Lane 4 Boston U. California Orange Coast College Cornell
Lane 5 Rutgers G. Washington Virginia Washington
Lane 6 MIT
*Repechage = second chance
