Husky Rowers Celebrate Class Day
March 25, 2000
SEATTLE - The Washington women's junior class won The Seattle Times Trophy and the senior men won the George M. Varnell Trophy as the Huskies kicked off the 2000 racing season with their annual Class Day Regatta on the Montlake Cut Saturday morning. The day pits the each class - freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors - against one another for bragging rights at the shellhouse.
The junior women can claim back-to-back victories for The Seattle Times Trophy, as they were the winning crew at Class Day last year, as sophomores. They covered the 2,000 meter course in a time of 6 minutes, 12.8 seconds. The senior women followed in second place at 6:17.8. The freshmen were third, at 6:21.2, and the sophomores were fourth, at 6:21.6.
The senior men won the George M. Varnell Trophy in a time of 5:47.7, followed by the sophomores (5:49.88), freshmen (5:51.4) and the juniors (6:02.68).
Prior to the class races, the novice women staged a challenge, with the first boat across the finish line at 6:50.4 and the second boat across at 6:55.0. In the men's varsity/freshman challenge, the elder men crossed first at 6:07.0 and the frosh crossed at 6:09.0.
In other Class Day activities, Washington announced its team captains for the 2000 season. Senior Mike Chait (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside), who enters his third year in the varsity eight and who was a national champion as a freshman in 1997, will be the men's captain. Sabina Telenska (Prague, Czech Republic), entering her fourth season as the varsity stroke, will be the women's captain. Telenska was a part of Washington's back-to-back NCAA Championships, in 1997 and '98.
Chait also was presented with the Schaller Award for the second year in a row, awarded to the rower with the highest grade point average. He carries a 3.77 gpa and is majoring in communications. Sophomore Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash./Newport), who rowed in the varsity four that won an NCAA title last year, was the women's winner with a 3.70 gpa, also in communications. The Chuck Holtz Memorial Scholarship, awarded to an outstanding student-athlete from the state of Washington, was presented to junior Hans Hurn (Redmond, Wash./Redmond).
The Husky men's Most Inspirational Award was presented to sophomore Jake McCann (Seattle, Wash./Garfield). The women honored co-recipients, presenting junior Rika Geyser (Pretoria, South Africa) and Mickelson with their Most Inspirational Award.
The highlight of Class Day was the presentation of a scuplted, bronze plaque honoring former Washington coach Dick Erickson, who led the Huskies from 1964 through 1987. A Husky Hall of Fame inductee as both an oarsman and a coach, his crews won the 1984 national championship and 15 Pacific Coast Rowing varsity titles during his tenure. At the 1977 Henley Royal Regatta in England, Erickson led Washington to one of its greatest performances, as the Huskies won both the Grand Challenge and the Visitor's Cup, the first college crew to do since 1957.
As an undergraduate, Erickson was a part of the 1958 Washington crew that rowed at Henley. The Huskies lost to the Leningrad Trud Rowing Club of the Soviet Union by one-and-a-half boat lengths in their attempt to win the coveted Grand Challenge Cup. Washington challenged the Soviets to a rematch in Moscow, where they went on to win the Moscow Cup by one-and-three quarters lengths on the Khimkinskoe Reservoir course.
His plaque will hang in the Conibear Shellhouse, the home of UW rowing, alongside those of legendary Washington coaches Hiram Conibear (1907-17) and Al Ulbrickson, Sr. (1927-58). Erickson, 64, is currently an Events Manager in the UW Department of Athletics.
Washington officially opens its 2000 season at the 25th annual San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay, April 1-2. The Washington women swept the three major races for the second year in a row at San Diego in 1999. The varsity aims to extend its streak of eight consecutive Whittier Cup victories while the junior varsity will also look for its ninth in a row. The UW novice women have won four of the last five grand finals, including the last two in a row. The freshmen boat captured the lone victory for the Husky men in '99. The varsity eight, which snapped a streak of four straight last season, will aim for its 14th Copley Cup crown since 1973. The junior varsity has also won 13 of its grand finals since '73, but has lost the last two.
Washington also hosts the Husky Invitational, April 1, on the Montlake Cut, for local area colleges.
Class Day Results - Montlake Cut, Lake Washington, 2,000 meters, Overcast, cool weather
The Seattle Times Women's Eight
1. Junior Class 6:12.8 (Shell: Mike Lude, cox: Maile Barber (Lynden, Wash), stroke - Nicole Borges (Mississauga, Ontario), 7 - Noelle Anderson (Marysville, Wash), 6 - Rika Geyser (Pretoria, South Africa), 5 - Nicole Rogers (Larkspur, Calif.), 4 - Sarah Good (Port Orchard, Wash), 3 - Mandy Nelson (Enumclaw, Wash), 2 - Romany McNamara (San Francisco, Calif), bow - Leslie Rattan (Madison, Wisc.)
2. Senior Class 6:17.8
3. Freshman Class 6:21.2
4. Sophomores 6:21.6.
George M. Varnell Men's Eight
1. Senior Class 5:47.7 (Shell: Husky Clipper II, cox: Tim Lewis (Buffalo, NY), stroke - Whit Hammond (Seattle, Wash), 7 - Eric Funk (Margate, NJ), 6 - David Calder (Victoria, B.C.), 5 - Mike Chait (Seattle, Wash.), 4 - Tim Brislin (Harveys Lake, Pa.), 3 - Pierce Hofman (Vancouver, Wash.), 2 - Perry Estevenin (Fublaines, France), bow - Brent Mueller (Folsom, Calif.)
2. Sophomore Class 5:49.88
3. Freshman Class 5:51.4
4. Junior Class 6:02.68.
Novice Women's Challenge
1. Husky-A 6:50.4 (Shell: Jeanne Grainger, cox: Robyn Johnson (Seattle, Wash.), stroke - Meika Kalinoski (Syracuse, NY), 7 - Holly Devlin (Drexel Hill, PA), 6 - Lisa Krikava (Issaquah, Wash.), 5 - Esther Foote (Des Moines, Wash.), 4 - Natalie Ritchier (La Jolla, Calif.), 3 - Emily Crandall (Springfield, Wash.), 2 - Karen Etsell (Seattle, Wash.), bow - Ellen Galbraith (Park City, Utah)
2. Husky-B 6:55.0.
Men's Frosh / Varsity Challenge
1. Varsity 6:07.0 (Shell: Matthew Kelly, cox: John Freed (Encino, Calif.), stroke - Lucas Ahlstrand (Oakland, Calif.), 7 - Alex Wahnsiedler (Eugene, Ore), 6 - John Clark (Orlando, Fla.), 5 - Jurgen Koenig (Montclair, Va.), 4 - Jacob McCann (Seattle, Wash.), 3 - John Moore (Los Angeles, Calif.), 2 - Connor Dempsey (Seattle, Wash.), bow - Jim Schaff (Tacoma, Wash.)
2. Frosh 6:09.0.
