Latest Crew PostsIt was an amazing night at Conibear Shellhouse on Friday, with generations of Husky oarsmen gathering together to celebrate the Husky crew program's 2011 National Championship.
Guests were treated to drinks, appetizers and a photo montage throughout the night. What brought chills to the room was the video from the varsity eight's win in the IRA Grand Final, complete with audio from coxswain Sam Ojserkis. Guests included athletic director Scott Woodward and UW president Michael Young, among others. We've posted the best images from the celebration. Hope to see you at a regatta this spring!  
          Conibear Shellhouse was busier than usual this morning as the Huskies welcomed Rainier Valley Rowing to Montlake to teach the inner-city Seattle rowing group some elite-level tips. For two hours, the Huskies showed the children how to erg, row and work out like Huskies. The students moved station-to-station in groups, and had Husky varsity athletes helping them out at each turn. (Ed note: halfway through the visit, the Huskies had these kids pulling 1:20 splits on the erg! Just kidding.) The Washington Crew program makes its shellhouse available to many of the junior crews and rowers in the area who are interested in the sport, and will host another learn-to-row type event during the week of the 25th annual Windermere Cup. The Huskies made the point to show the children the sport is fun and great exercise. Rainier Valley Rowing is a group dedicated to teaching Seattle children, many of them minorities, the sport of rowing, hoping they take advantage of the aquatic resources the city has to offer. A big takeaway from the event was that rowing is primarily a team sport, and the Huskies noted several times that it takes many oarsmen and women to make boats move fast. Crazy to think that one of the signature University of Washington events is just 2 1/2 months away. While that seems like a long time out, here at UW we're already in the planning stages to make the 25th annual Windermere Cup one of the best ever.
 This week, several of the key players responsible for putting Windermere Cup together met at Conibear Shellhouse to begin the planning stages of the event. This meant coaches and administrators, along with the team from Windermere Real Estate. There's a lot of logistics that go with hosting a rowing event where more than 40,000-people attend, but it's one of the fun aspects of the Windermere Cup. And the student-athletes certainly appreciate all the community support. Windermere Cup will be held on May 7th on the Montlake Cut. The teams competing against the UW are still TBA. Junior Conlin McCabe has had an impressive career already at Washington, one that was made a little more sterling with his win at C.R.A.S.H.-Bs last weekend.
 Sweeping the medal stand in Boston created a big impact for Washington in the rowing world, particularly in McCabe's hometown of Brockville, Ontario. The 6-8 McCabe was profiled today in the Brockville Recorder, which discusses his win at the prestigious erg competition and his overall development as a rower. This summer/fall, McCabe trained in Victoria, B.C., with the Canadian national team, and he later competed under the Maple Leaf at the World Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand. "He's been training hard with the Canadian national team and I think (Canadian coach Mike) Spracklen got him in tremendous shape," said men's crew coach Mike Callahan. "He's just tough as nails right now and he really wants to prove he deserves a spot on the Canadian team." McCabe noted in the article he's now looking to break the UW 2K erg record after pulling a 5:48 in Boston. Always good to have a shellhouse full of motivated rowers. Cool article in the Seattle Times this weekend about Seattle children learning to row. Of course, there's no better resource for teaching rowing than the University of Washington, home to one of the best crew teams in the nation.
The article focuses on three Seattle middle schools learn what is a "classic Seattle sport" at part of Erg Ed, an initiative by Seattle public schools. But local students don't always have the reach to row, so the school district wants to make teaching an education available to the youngsters. As part of the event, students held an erg relay on Concept 2 rowing ergometers. And there are plenty of benefits to rowing, as the Seattle Times points out. On a more short-term scale, rowing is a skill that could carry students through college on a scholarship. Members of the University of Washington crew team joined the group at the middle school Friday to participate in the relay race and show middle-school students what their future could hold. At the forefront of the article is Portia McGee, wife of Husky assistant Luke McGee and a former Olympic rower. McGee now works alumni relations at the Bush School in Madrona/Madison Park. In the last seven days, the Washington crew program has experienced a pair of unfortunate passings. On Feb. 3, W. Hart Perry - step-father of women's crew assistant Colin Sykes - died at the age of 77. Perry had a distinguished career coaching rowing in the Northeast and was an instrumental figure in helping the Huskies' gain entry to the Henley Royal Regatta. Perry was also the executive director of the National Rowing Foundation. He lived his life to serve the sport he loved.
Last week, the Huskies also mourned the loss of Virginia Varnell Dunn. Her name is associated with the annual Class Day Regatta trophy, and last year she presented her father's trophy (George M. Varnell) to the winner of the men's class race on the Montlake Cut. Mr. Varnell was at one point in his career the sports editor of the Seattle Times. Ty Otto has had a busy year. The Husky senior rower was not only the team's captain last season, but he gained valuable international experience competing for USRowing at the U23's in Belarus.
This week, Otto caught up with Row2K, which posted a Q&A with the oarsman this morning. The interview focuses on Otto's decision to attend the UW, the team's rivalry with Cal and his plans after graduation. The best part was Otto's mature response when asked about losing by mere milliseconds to Cal at the IRA's last year. Otto said that loss is the motivation behind the team's grueling offseason workouts. The IRA hands down. Losing by a small fraction of a second to our biggest rival was an extremely unsatisfying end to an otherwise undefeated season. I have no doubt that everyone in our Husky crew laid it all out there, but I would love to have another shot at those last 300 meters because truly every little bit counted. It's hard not to replay and dissect that race in your mind, but now we're only focused on June 4, 2011. Washington rowing alum Seth Berling has embarked on a road trip, but this is not a weekend trip with buddies to the San Juan Islands. Berling and his brother Parker are biking from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (the northernmost point in the state) to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, a journey that will encompass 15 countries and more than 17,000 miles.
The purpose is to promote conversation in the Bristol Bay Watershed, or as Berling notes on his website: "preservation, protection and the restoration of watersheds throughout the Americas" Berling came to Washington from the Bay Area, and was a two-time National Champion rower for the Huskies. He's biked up-and-down the West Coast, but wanted a challenge. His motto, according to his bio, is "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." You can follow along the trip on Seth's blog. The brothers are currently in Argentina, and took some amazing photos of the Patagonia/Bariloche area. Well worth a couple of minutes to check out an amazing trip. Over the weekend, the Washington crew program helped plant trees at
 
 Under the cover of darkness, the men's crew team at Washington made a Veteran's Day trip to Mt. Si for a training exercise. This fitness test involved a time run up the 4-mile trail, which is a popular hiking destination for Seattle-area residents. It's also steep, full of switchbacks and a mental test for those who choose just to walk up the route.
Imagine what a sprint feels like? And of course, the competition was intense. But the taxing activity was also a way for the men's crew team to honor the veterans who have served in wars all over the world, and some of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice. The men's crew program has a storied history of sending rowers into the armed forces, and currently there are two student-athletes (Reiner Hershaw and Robert Squires) who spent the summer training with the Marines and Navy respectively. (Pictures forthcoming) What a fantastic win for the men's crew team at the Head of the Charles. Plenty of news circulating out of New England and across the country as well. When you win the championship eight category at one of the country's most prestigious regattas, it tends to resonate.
The Boston Globe leads off with an excellent article by noted rowing writer John Powers, who noted the Huskies came to Cambridge craving a victory after a "maddeningly close loss" to Cal in the IRA Grand Finals. The Boston Herald also had an HOCR writeup that featured the Huskies. Inside, the Herald discusses how men's coach Michael Callahan gleaned some local knowledge of the river by watching the Harvard, BU and Northeastern coxswains navigate during training. The USA Today published the AP recap, noting the Huskies time was just shy of the course record. One other thing to check out is the excellent race photo gallery published in the Globe. The Huskies will be without two of their top rowers when they head to the Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend. That's because Conlin McCabe and Anthony Jacob will be with Rowing Canada in New Zealand for the World Championships at Lake Karapiro.
One go-to stop for UW rowing fans should be Will Crothers' blog. The former Husky stroke is currently in New Zealand with the men's Canadian 8 and has posted pictures on site from Lake Karapiro.
There's also an interesting story from the team's trip to a local sheep farm, which was also chronicled in a daily New Zealand newspaper. The Kiwi farmhands had the Canadians take turns with some simple farm chores, not exactly easy for the B.C. and Ontario Huskies on the team.
"This is harder than it looks. I'm from Brockville, Ontario, so I'm a city boy and not used to farm life, but I loved this today," said McCabe.
We'll continue to link stories/results from all the Huskies who are competing in the World Championships, so stay tuned to the Dawg Blawg.
The iconic Head of the Charles Regatta does not begin until Sunday, Oct. 24. But the Huskies are en route to Massachusetts to begin training, and already the Boston Globe has checked in with an update of Husky crew team.
The stakes are higher this season in Boston because many of the champion/international 8 boats will be en route to New Zealand to compete for the 2010 World Championships. Therefore, a lot is at stake for the college teams (a la Washington) who will compete on the Charles River.
This was the crux of the story in Thursday's Boston Globe. Cal coach Mike Teti called the HOCR the "Rose Bowl of Rowing," and will have his Golden Bears prepared for the head race this weekend. So you can bet that Husky coach Michael Callahan is similarly motivated with his 8.
Interesting point brought up in an article for the Rowing News magazine this month. With the 2010 Rowing World Championships being held later than usual this year (Oct. 31 to Nov. 7) in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, there will be an opportunity for collegiate crews to showcase themselves better at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta, which takes place on Oct. 24 in Cambridge, Mass.
Traditionally, the top international crews battle for the top times and then the collegiate teams judge themselves based on their finish. But this year, crews like Washington have a chance to capture a win outright. "It's the year of the college, which opens it up again," said Fred Schoch, executive director of the Head of the Charles. "I remember in the '80s when the Naval Academy won the Charles three years in a row, which was sort of their heyday." The Huskies are close to finalizing their roster for the Head of the Charles, which they will announce next week. On Friday, Sports Radio 950 KJR AM -- the flagship station for the Washington ISP Sports Network -- held its KJR Kares A-Thon at Anthony's on Pier 66. Several Huskies -- including hoops star Isaiah Thomas, men's crew coach Michael Callahan, men's tennis coach Matt Anger and cross country and track coach Greg Metcalf -- all made the trek to downtown Seattle for an appearance. The annual event, hosted by KJR personality Mike Gastineau, is held to raise money for several Seattle-area charitites. Under an unusual interview format, all four Husky representatives took the stage at the same time for the interview. The segment started with all three coaches making their argument for which of their sports Thomas would be best suited to play if Lorenzo Romar let him tryout. It was discovered that Isaiah played tennis while in prep school, so I think Matt Anger won out on the argument. Each coach gave an update of their sports and what's going on this fall and Thomas talked about his team. There was a nice amount of purple being donned by the crowd in attendance, so the Huskies were well-represented off stage as well. Also in attendance were former Husky basketball great Mike Hayward, UW quarterback legend Hugh Millen and football and hoops play-by-play announcer Bob Rondeau. It was a great time had by all and a good opportunity for the Husky family to help out their flagship station in the community. For more info on KJR Kares A-Thon ... click here. To listen to the interview and other segments from Friday ... click here.
Just wanted to pass along a quick word that freshman rowing coach Luke McGee and his wife Portia welcomed their first child, Nora Taylor McGee on Aug. 25. The baby was delivered at full health, and considering both her parents competed internationally as rowers, Nora will make a nice addition with the rest of the class of '32 at Conibear Shellhouse.
McGee has led the Grunties (as frosh rowers are termed at UW) to back-to-back National Championships at the IRAs. He also directed the team to a win at the prestigious Royal Henley Regatta in July on the River Thames, against some of the best university competition in the world.  A scour of the old newsreel from a Washington rowing alum pulled up this small nugget: video of the 1936 Husky crew team qualifying for the Berlin Olympics. The short (and soundless) clip shows the Washington boat winning, and then the team tossing coxswain Robert Mach into the water.
That boat would famously go on to win gold at the Olympic games, doing so in Nazi Germany. Last year, the last surviving member of the boat (H. Roger Morris) passed away. The Seattle Times produced a well-written obituary on Morris, while also recapping one of the greatest moments in Seattle sports history. The video is located on CriticalPast.com, an archival research site that showcases powerful images/video worldwide. It's an oft-repeated success story for Washington crew, but one we never get tired of hearing. Before arriving in Seattle, Ryan Schroeder had never touched an oar. Now, he's not only a National Champion, but an international one as well.
A walk-on from Thousand Oaks, Calif., Schroeder rowed in the freshman 8+ that completed one of the more historic seasons in Washington history. The Grunties won a Pac-10 Championship, an IRA National Championship and, perhaps most impressively, a Henley title in England. Schroeder was the subject of a nice write-up in the Thousand Oaks Acorn. A long-time baseball player in the Los Angeles suburbs, crew wasn't even in the back of Schroeder's mind when he applied to join UW's aerospace engineering program. But at 6-5, he had the ideal build for rowing (height creates considerable leverage on the oar). When men's rowing freshman Max Mannisto returned home to the Bay Area, he discovered there was piqued interest with his recent win at the Henley Royal Regatta.
Mannisto was recently featured in The Daily Journal of San Mateo, which chronicled his trip to Henley and the Grunties' Temple Cup victory, one of the more historic moments in the crew program's history. The win capped an undefeated season for the Huskies, which included a Pac-10 Championship and a National Championship at IRAs. The Belmont native was a recruited walk-on to the University of Washington. But like all who come to row for the UW, he has embraced the experience. Part of what makes being a Husky unique is competing in events like Henley, a pinnacle moment for student-athletes. "Everyone in the rowing world knows about Henley," Mannisto said in the article. "Rowing is not really a spectator sport at all, and to see so many people there watching was unbelievable." When the Washington crew team headed to New Jersey for the IRA Championships earlier this month, it also served as a return home for a pair of coxswains.
Both Seamus Labrum (Cape May) and Samuel Ojserkis (Atlantic City) are from the Jersey Shore and have raced on the Cooper River course while competing in high school. Labrum is soon headed with the rest of the National Championship-winning Grunties over to England, where the team will race in the Royal Henley Regatta, one of the coolest spectacles the sport of rowing offers. Leading up to the trip, Labrum was also featured in the Philadelphia Daily News by writer Michael Radano, who covered the Huskies in New Jersey as a freelancer for the Seattle Times. It's an enjoyable read on how he ended up in Seattle and the tremendous work he's accomplished already as a coxswain. Washington graduate Kris Sanford stepped down as the Syracuse women's rowing coach last week, and plans to pursue a career in nursing.
Sanford graduated from the UW in 1988 is widely considered one of the best rowers in the program's history, if not the Pac-10 Conference. She rowed in a boat that won four Pac-10 titles during her career on Montlake, and stroked the varsity eight to two National Collegiate Championships (which predated the NCAA's involvement) in 1987-88. In 14 years at Syracuse, Sanford's teams achieved considerable success. In 2000 she stewarded the program when it achieved a milestone - an at-large bid for the varsity eight to the NCAA Championships. In 2002, the program earned its first team bid. Sanford has also coached three Olympic oarswomen at SU. Featured in today's Seattle Times website, former oarsman Blake Nordstrom discussed with a reporter the evolution of the "Nordstrom Way" of doing business in the Pacific Northwest.
Nordstrom, who graduated from Washington in 1982 and rowed for the Huskies, is now the president of Nordstrom Inc. As a member of one of Seattle's preeminent families, he's felt a duty as head of one of the Puget Sound's most successful company to serve the region. "We're proud of our Northwest roots, and we really feel like it's served us well," Nordstrom said. Much like his dedication to the Seattle-area, Nordstrom is a proponent of the Husky rowing program. His father, Bruce ('55), also rowed at UW when the team still featured a lightweight boat, and was recently honored with one of the most distinguished awards the UW bestows on a graduate - the 2010 Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus. In the wide-ranging interview, Blake Nordstrom touches on a variety of topics that have affected the company in the modern business climate. But he remains committed to Nordstrom's core values, such as a positive shopping experience for the customer. "We take great pride in being a part of something that we think is pretty special," Nordstrom said. One of the hardest jobs in coaching crew is driving the shell trailer from the home base to a regatta location. For many of our races on the West Coast, it's a one-day trip down I-5. But when it comes time for IRAs, transporting the boats becomes considerably more difficult.
Each year, a group of coaches drive the trailer from Seattle to Princeton, N.J., where the Huskies train before moving on to Camden, N.J., for the National Championships. The trip is 2,839 miles from door-to-door. And you can probably guess it's a competition each year to see who can make it there the fastest. Now, it's important to emphasize the team drives CAREFULLY across the country. Shells are expensive. But where the coaching staff competes is maximizing fuel efficiency and riding tail winds. A log is kept in the trailer, noting how many miles were in each tank, and how fast the trip took. The record is 46 hours and 41 minutes, and the top tank efficiency is 523.3 miles. Additional rules of the trip go as follows: a) each gas stop requires a driver switch, so everyone can take turns resting, and b) no speeding. It's believed the trailer has never received a speeding ticket, although it has been stopped twice (thankfully nowhere near Pullman, Wash., or Berkeley, Calif.). This week, a team of men's coach Michael Callahan, along with assistants Ben Fletcher and Steve Full, completed the trip in 48 hours and 45 minutes, throwing some cold water on some pretty boisterous comments made before the trip. Another assistant Coach, Colin Sykes, holds the top spot and believes he will for some time, having used an oft-discussed tail wind to speed through the Midwest. Callahan did send a reminder that he saved on a tank of gas. On the way back, assistants Luke McGee and Sykes will handle driving duties. The return trip typically features a stiff headwind, making it impossible to challenge the record. Note: The Huskies will fly on Sunday from Seattle to Philadelphia, and then travel to Princeton to train for a week prior to the IRA Championships (June 3-5). GOLD RIVER, Calif. - All the Husky crews have filtered back to base camp at the Lake Natoma course. The semifinals are on tap today, and be prepared to see some of the toughest racing between the women's boats. With a finals berth on the line, it's hard to expect anything less.
The top three boats in each semifinal will advance to the Grand Final. All the others are headed to the Petite Finals. And for the Huskies to advance in the varsity eight, they'll need to beat a host of tough crews. The Huskies are seeded in Lane 6 and will face Yale, California, Virginia, UCLA and Michigan State. But with all the times recorded from yesterday's heats, the Huskies know the times and splits they'll need to hit. Going through the results sheet over at Jamco (the best place to follow the action), it's clear the Huskies need to ramp up the speed in the middle portion of the race (between the 500 and 1500-meter marks). This is the part of the race where crews have to be mentally strong. The Huskies have a reputation throughout the sport for being one of the strongest and fittest crews in the nation, so the fact that they rowed two races on Friday should not be a problem. Next up will be the J's - the second varsity. That crew is seeded in Lane 5 and has to battle with Virginia, Brown, Cal, Yale and Michigan State. Then the varsity four will cap the afternoon's racing with their semi. They're seeded in the coveted Lane 1 position (having won their heat), and will face Cal, Brown, Yale, Stanford and Michigan State. You can also follow along on our Twitter feed. GOLD RIVER, Calif. - There's a few handful of crews making their way back to the course on Lake Natoma for the final varsity eight race of the afternoon - the repechage. This will be an all-out, seven-team sprint to see which three teams will make the semifinals.
The seeding is done based on finish, so it encourages crews to race hard until the end. Otherwise you risk being seeded on the outside lane feeling the brunt of the crosswinds here in the Sacramento region. The other two Husky crews are done racing for the day, having punched their tickets to the semifinals. The second varsity eight finished with a time of 6:40.53, which put them third in their heat. The varsity four had the best race of the afternoon for a Husky crew, dominating their heat for a wire-to-wire win, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:14.71. The heat the varsity eight raced in had a definite Pac-10 feel to it. Not only did the Huskies lineup against Cal, but Washington State and USC were also in their heat as well. Washington held off the Cougars the entire length of the course, but were never able to pull out to more than a length's lead at any given point. Times for the repechage this afternoon will be on Jamco and the team's official Twitter feed. GoHuskies will have a full recap afterwards as well. RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - We're live and racing from Lake Natoma, where the Huskies are in a fight at the 2010 NCAA Championships.
 There are plenty of methods for Husky fans to keep track of all the action here at the course. We'll be tweeting all the results, so make sure you're following our feed at www.twitter.com/UWHuskyCrew. Jamco is also here, and will have instant results posted on the NCAA Championship page. After the day is over, cruise on over to GoHuskies.com for a full recap and more. The D-I heats are all finished, and the Huskies varsity eight is headed to the repechage. That means they'll race another heat this afternoon to force their way into Saturday's semifinals. UW finished fourth in their heat with a time of 6:29.29, nosing out Washington State at the end. The second varsity eight races are about to begin; Washington is set to compete at 10:00 a.m. (PST). RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - As we segue into the Day 2 of the Huskies trip to the NCAA Championships, the emphasis for the team has been on not being afraid to go fast. It sounds easier in theory, because in order to become a true boat-mover in the sport of rowing, you have to take yourself to a very dark place full of pain, etc.
In fact, The Rowing News recently profiled UW men's rower Hans Struzyna, who provided some insight into what goes into the "kitchen-sink sprint" at the end of a 2K race. It's not for the weak, that is for sure.  This morning, the Huskies took to the water at 7 a.m. and went through a lot of their race prep. Early wake-up calls also led to the coaching staff making a quick Starbucks run (triple espresso, anyone?) before heading to the course. A few customers commented on our UW gear, including a former Husky student-athlete who played on the football team back in the Chris Chandler days. Once on the water, the sequences are varied, and the intensity is much harder than the paddle to team did upon arriving yesterday. After reconvening at the hotel for breakfast (a top-notch buffet of eggs, bacon, sausages and fruit), the crews rested in their rooms before the coxswains headed back to the Lake Natoma course for a meeting with the NCAA. These are relatively straight-forward, and the coxswains are instructed on such things as race protocol, etc. The weather has shifted a bit from the placid temperatures yesterday. A heavy rain storm pelted the Sacramento area last night, and more wet weather is expected today. Meanwhile the wind has also picked up considerably. Lake Natoma is infamous for some ferocious crosswinds, which can make racing difficult for those crews in the outside lanes. Then again, coming from Seattle, the Huskies are one of the best-prepped crews for rowing in sub-par conditions. Some good news, however, is that conditions should get much better this weekend. By the way, make sure to check out some pictures on our team's Facebook page. The Huskies grouped together by boats and took some snapshots in front of the race course, which is a small tradition for crews who make the NCAA Championships. RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - The NCAA women's rowing championships is quite a scene. To go along with the 16 Division I teams are numerous schools from the D-II and D-III ranks, from as far-flung as Maine (Bates) and Miami (Barry).
These make for exciting times in the sport, and as coach Bob Ernst put it, "Everyone has new life right now." No matter what happened in the regular season, any team is capable of walking away from here with a National Championship.  The Huskies arrived in Sacramento this afternoon and then caravanned over to nearby Folsom to relax at the team hotel, which they share with Michigan. Everyone then scattered for lunch, with the coaches and administrators heading over to a nearby taqueria to gobble down tostadas. There should be no complaints of boredom either, as the team hotel is located right next to a movie theater and a premium outlet shopping mall. After lunch, everyone headed over to the race course to rig the boats, put them on slings and then do a few practice laps on the course. The goal was to "shake off the cobwebs," according to Ernst, and loosen up after spending 90 minutes crammed into a seat on the flight down. Remember, you can continue following the Huskies trip to the NCAAs here on the Dawg Blawg, on GoHuskies.com, Twitter and Facebook. We'll have you covered. Powered by a pair of wins, the No. 7-ranked Washington women's crew team NCAA's rowing website.
The June issue of Rowing News is littered with mentions of Washington crew, from the current to the past.
On Page 36, you will find a feature on current men's varsity eight 2-seat Hans Struzyna, who recalled the furious sprint the Huskies used to win the IRA National Championships last year. Famously, Washington made a final push to move from third and take down Cal, just barely edging their bow ball past the Golden Bears.  A lot of what is involved in a sprint, according to Struzyna, is trust in your teammates. You have to know the other seven rowers will have your back when it comes time to make a "kitchen-sink" sprint towards the finish. "You have to look inside yourself and realize how much you want it and what you're willing to give to get it," Struzyna said. "Just accept that it's going to hurt and throw the kitchen sink at it." As part of the cover story chronicling the beauty of rowing's female athletes, Husky fans can also see a photo shoot with the current members women's USA national team. Included in the tasteful shoot is Husky oarswoman Megan Kalmoe, who is shown pumping some serious iron and rowing in a double. The June issue should be on newsstands soon, so check it out. On the water, the 24th annual Windermere Cup was a huge success for the Huskies, who swept all four marquee races against Oxford and Syracuse. For the fans who weren't at the Montlake Cut on May 1, you can experience all the action on GoHuskies.com.
This year's edition of the Windermere Cup was broadcast on FSN NW as part of a one-hour special. The races aren't the only story as Tri-Films, which post-produced the special, explores the history of the regatta as well as rowing in Seattle. To watch the broadcast, click on the media player on the right-hand side of the page. The video is hosted on the GoHuskies.com main site, as well as the men's and women's crew sites. Enjoy! The Windermere Cup has always been one of the most-anticipated athletic events the University of Washington hosts. With Oxford in the fold for the 24th annual race, the interest has spiked considerably.
Here's a look at the stories that have come out from this week's press event, which was held on Wednesday at the Conibear Shellhouse. ?» The Seattle Times took a look at Oxford's storied history and a big-picture perspective of the Boat Race. ?» The Everett Herald profiled Syracuse men's coach Dave Reischman, a local product who grew up in Arlington, Wash. ?» The Associated Press also put forth an in-depth look into the Dark Blues from Oxford. ?» Make sure to check out this excellent feature on Husky captain Ty Otto in the UW Daily. On Wednesday afternoon, the Washington men's and women's crew programs held a press conference with the local media to discuss this weekend's Windermere Cup event, which features Oxford & Syracuse.
 After lunch, Q13's Aaron Levine decided he would join the varsity eight for a light workout on the Montlake Cut after lunch. Just a paddle, right? But it would not be Washington crew if the intensity wasn't turned up just a little bit. Levine documented his experience in the ejector seat (three seat in rowing terminology), which thankfully for all involved, didn't end up with him catching a crab and taking a dip in Lake Washington. Here's the link for the video: http://www.q13fox.com/videobeta/a1e4884c-8e6d-477b-ae9c-0eb1c1753107/Sports/Aaron-Prepares-UW-Rowers-For-Windermere-Cup For those who have been around Conibear Shellhouse lately, you might have noticed the "W" on the road that cuts between the E-8 parking lot is looking a little glossier.
It's all part of Windermere Cup tradition.  Every year during this week, the freshmen on both teams come out and re-paint the "W," adding a little more gold paint to the logo. The oars that cut through the "W" also receive a touch up with white paint.On a sunny day, it's a cushy gig. Even if men's coach Michael Callahan is yelling at you to stay within the lines. The "Grunties" (as the freshmen rowers at Washington are called) were gathered in the captains' room inside Conibear Shellhouse on Thursday morning when their coach, Luke McGee, called them to his office.
"It's time for a history lesson," McGee said.  Inside, McGee had laid out a UW rowing jersey and a photo. On the jersey was the letters 1920. This is significant because the 1920 class was the first freshmen class to defeat Cal, who the Huskies race this weekend on the Redwood Shores. So as history goes on Montlake, the freshmen will race in a uniform bearing their class year, not the typical W, the only time in their careers they will do so. Should the Grunties win on Saturday, their class (2013) would be retired with the others. Considering how deep the roots of the Washington-Cal rivalry are, the tradition of the class jerseys are part of what makes the dual so special. The race gets underway at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. Results will be available on GoHuskies.com following the dual. AVONDALE, La. - Former Husky All-American Alex Prugh is competing in the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic this weekend at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La. The Spokane native is scheduled to tee off from the No. 1 tee at 1:20 p.m. local time (11:20 a.m. PT). He is paired with Briny Baird and Harrison Frazar. He enters this week 40th in the Fed-Ex Cup standings -- dropping six spots from 34th the previous week. Here is a sampling of some of the big names he is ahead of in the standings: Padraig Harrington (43), Sean O'Hair (44), Stewart Cink (46), Ryan Moore (47), Mike Weir (52), Zach Johnson (59), Vijay Singh (72) and Sergio Garcia (74). And, in case you're wondering, Prugh is 174th in the PGA Tour official World Rankings. Some guy named Tiger is No. 1 followed by Phil Mickelson. While the main boats at Washington are prepping for a much-anticipated dual with Cal on Saturday, the Huskies held a scrimmage with Seattle University over the weekend.
The Huskies swept all three races, racing a freshmen four, a varsity four and an eight, which was an intrasquad competition won by the UW 'A' boat. MF4+ 6:57.00 1st - UW cox: Ben Degang, stroke: Paul Pratt 3: Kevin Klauer 2: Corentin Morel Bow: Simon Wold 7:01.00 2nd - SU MV8+ 6:03.5 1st - UW "A" cox: Elyse Kelly, stroke: Robert Chavan 7: Garrett Rinden 6: Conrad Dobrowolski 5: Pat Marre 4: Beddome Allen 3: Josh Jaeger 2: Angus Jackson Bow: Joel Hummell 6:04.00 2nd - UW "B" cox: Aya Shimizu, stroke: Reiner Hershaw 7: Matt Mackinnon 6: Rob Squires 5: Tom Kicinski 4: Pavel Manchev 3: Steven Silverstein 2: Alan Meininghaus Bow: Jaimie North MV4+ 6:27.00 1st - UW "A" cox: Valaree Fowler, stroke: Niles Garratt 3: Roko Svast 2: Justin Hopkins Bow: Kit Culbert 6:34.00 2nd - UW "B" cox: Laura Denman, stroke: Matt Zapel 3: Noah O'Connell 2: Graham Oglend Bow:Jeff Gibbs 7:04.00 3rd - SU Take a walk through Conibear Shellhouse and you'll find the brand Pocock is synonymous with rowing at Washington. George Pocock, who helped found the legendary line of racing shells in 1911, is entrenched in the fabric of the program. The tradition carried on with his son Stan, who was an oarsman at the UW.
 In the April issue of the Seattle Business Journal, reporter Bill Richards profiles the company's roots in the Pacific Northwest and how the family-owned business is one of the lions of the industry. The advent of the Title IX generation of collegiate athletics spared the program in the 1970s as Pocock was able to design/build shells for a larger pool of collegiate programs. Over the years, Washington and Pocock have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship. Currently, the UW program has 63 Pocock shells housed at Conibear. A sidebar to the article also outlines how the sport of rowing is such an important part of the Pacific Northwest's culture. John Wilcox of the UW ('61) called crew a "door opener" because it was hard to do business in the Seattle area without bumping into someone who had rowed at the UW. Also chronicled was a list of prominent Seattle rowers (many of them Huskies who carried the white oars) who are stalwarts in their respective business, legal and medical communities: Carl Lovsted, UW '52, retired owner Lovsted-Worthington, local insurance brokerage (1952 Olympic bronze medalist) Chuck Alm, UW '58, retired senior executive, Olympic Stain Lou Gellermann, UW '58, retired "Voice of the Dawgs" announcer John Nordstrom, UW '58, retired senior executive, Nordstrom Lex Gamble, UW '59, New York investment banker, former managing director of Smith Barney, Morgan Grenfell, and Kidder Peabody & Co. Michael O'Byrne, UW '61, retired executive, Paccar John Wilcox, UW '61, retired executive compensation specialist Ron Wolfkill, UW '61, retired owner, Wolfkill Feed & Fertilizer, Monroe George Akers, UW '62, partner, Montgomery Purdue Blankinship & Austin John Magnuson, UW '62, founder, Magnuson Management Co., residential real estate management company C. Kent Carlson, UW '64, partner, K&L Gates Jon Runstad, UW '64, founder, Wright Runstad Dr. Paul Ramsey, Harvard '71, CEO, UW Medicine, and dean, UW School of Medicine Jesse Franklin, UW '77, partner, K&L Gates Mike Hess, UW '78, partner, First Western Development, commercial real estate development Ginny Gilder, Yale '79, co-owner, Seattle Storm (1984 Olympic silver medalist) Tom Hull, Dartmouth '79, telecom executive (1980 Olympic team) Dr. Douglas Wood, Harvard '79, chief of general thoracic surgery, UW Medical Center Charles Clapp, UW '81, investment banker, Boston (1982 World Championship gold medalist, 1984 Olympic silver medalist) Jim Pugel, UW '81, Assistant Chief of Police, city of Seattle John Zevenbergen, UW '81, investor (1981 World Championship bronze medalist) Blake Nordstrom, UW '82, president, Nordstrom Betsy Beard, UW '84, MD, pharmacist, Swedish (1984 Olympic silver medalist) Kyle Enger, UW '92, principal, BBI Financial Trevor Vernon, UW '92, owner, Vernon Publications John Kueber, UW '93, associate publisher, Tiger Oak Publications Phil Henry, UW '94, sales manager, Guidant Financial (World Championships 1997, '99 gold and '98 bronze medalist, 1999 Pan Am Games gold medalist, 2000 Olympic team alternate) For rowers, competing in an Olympic Games is often the pinnacle for their sport. David Calder (class of 2001) is in preparations to participate in his fourth in the 2012 London Games, which would put him in the upper-echelon of Husky rowers in the Olympics.
Calder - who competes for Canada - is the subject of a profile in the Toronto Star, was recently invited to an intensive team training camp in California, which means he's on a short list for selection to London. The 31-year-old British Columbia native won a silver medal at the Beijing Games in a coxless pair. His goal for 2012 is even higher - a gold. In the article, Calder talks about seeing the end of his athletic career, and how he wants to achieve the highest spot on the medal podium. "I have this weird self belief that just won't go away," Calder said to The Star. "I think I've realized that this really is the last kick at the can and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to win." There are 28 months separating Calder from London, plenty of time to make sure he's peaking at the most opportune moments. Olympic boat selection can be a cruel venture, and often out of an athlete's control, meaning Calder must be at his best at the right moment. If that spot for London 2012 does come, it obviously doesn't matter where. Calder feels he's versatile enough to contribute to any boat for Canada. "I want to be the guy that the coach feels can sit in any boat in any seat and if I can do that, it means I can win in the pair, I can win in the four, I can win in the eight. It doesn't matter." Calder has his own Web site, where he frequently blogs, and rowing fans can follow his progress towards the Olympics on Twitter as well. Earlier this year, men's crew coach Michael Callahan put the challenge to his rowers to match their success on the water with an equal effort in the classroom.
So it's no shock his team was up to the task. For the winter quarter, the men's crew team posted a 3.15 GPA, which gave them the top spot out of all varsity sports at the University of Washington. This bumped their overall GPA for the year to 3.05, another goal the program had set going into the new year. Given the hard work associated with rowing, it's no surprise many student-athletes from the University of Washington are successful in their post-collegiate pursuits. Recently, the UW and president Mark Emmert bestowed two of the highest honors possible in recognizing its distinguished alumni.
Bruce Nordstrom, who is a retired president and chairman of the board of Nordstrom Inc., was given the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus. Nordstrom remains one of the iconic Seattle business. The award is one of the most prestigious the university hands to a graduate, and recognizes a lifetime of achievement in a person's field. The other nominee was Lex Gamble, who received the Alumni Association's Distinguished Service award, given to individuals "who make outstanding efforts on behalf of the UW Alumni Association." Giuseppe Lanzone is already a household name in local, national and international rowing circles, but he's increasingly becoming famous for his off-the-water work in modeling as well.
A 2005 Washington alum, Lanzone currently lives and trains in Princeton as an Olympic rower. Today, Lanzone was featured in a Wall Street Journal photo shoot featuring Olympic athletes such as Ryan Lochte and Jason Rogers, a fencer. Lanzone is pictured in a J. Crew fine stripe jacket and button down shirt, sporting a pair of oars. In the caption, Lanzone discusses his fashion preferences and his racing mantra, which is to leave it all out on the water. The Peruvian-born Lanzone has also done previous modeling work for G.Q. and Polo, which currently sponsors all of the the U.S. Summer & Winter Olympic teams. With the demise of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last winter, many wondered about the future of the annual Sports Star of the Year Awards. After all, the event had been around since former P-I sports editor Royal Brougham started the awards in 1935. However, the Sports Star of the Year Awards are alive and well and now is in its 75th year. The Seattle Sports Commission and Seattle Children's Hospital have teamed up to continue the awards, which will take place on Jan. 19 at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. For the first time voting will take place online. Visit www.seattlesports.org until Jan. 15 to vote. Winners will be announced at the event on Jan. 19. Tickets can be ordered here. The UW's Jake Locker, Nick Taylor, Lorenzo Romar and the IRA national champion men's crew are nominees for the Male Sports Athlete of the Year. On the women's side, Washington's Tamari Miyashiro, Kendra Schaaf and the NCAA national champion softball team are among the nominees. Todd Dybas with SeattlePI.com wrote this great summary of this year's event. A trio of rowers took advantage of the record cold weather in Seattle recently to pay homage to their Canadian heritage through art.
 Noah O'Connell, Anthony Jacob and Conlin McCabe chiseled an Inukshuk out of ice, and it's currently residing on the dock outside Conibear Shellhouse. O'Connell and Jacob are from British Columbia, while McCabe is a resident of Ontario. An Inukshuk is typically built out of stone by tribes in the Arctic regions of Canada, and vary depending on the tribes/culture of the regions. There is still time to come over to Conibear and see the artwork before Mother Nature takes over and we return to our regularly scheduled December weather conditions. If the sculpture design looks familiar, it's because the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is using an Inukshuk in their official logo. Photo credit goes to men's crew coach Michael Callahan.  The NCAA released its annual report of graduation success rates among Division I instititions and, once again, the University of Washington showed it ranks second in the Pac-10 and second among all public institutions on the West Coast. Washington's football federal graduation rate is just two percent shy of the rate for all Division I student-athletes. For the complete story and links to the NCAA reports, visit this piece posted yesterday on GoHuskies.com. The Associated Press also wrote a good story on the topic, which you can find here. A couple of facts that were not widely reported included the graduation success rate (GSR) among football programs in the Pac-10. Among scholarship athletes, the Huskies rate second in the league in both graduation success rate and the four-year rolling federal graduation rate average. Below is a chart showing how the UW fares against league rivals.
A couple of other key facts that the report revealed about the academic success of various UW sports programs:
? The graduation rate for UW scholarship student-athletes who exhausted their eligibility at the school during this reporting period was an impressive 90 percent. A total of 503 student-athletes fit into this category. The Rowing News was all over coverage of the Canadian National Rowing Championships last week in London, Ontario.
The University of Washington featured prominently in that race, as Conlin McCabe and Anthony Jacob took first place in the pair. Two rowers from last year's IRA National Championship winning eight, Will Crothers and Rob Gibson, took sixth. In their wrap-up story, the Rowing News talked with McCabe about his win and how the pair boat rowing that is part of Washington's fall training factored heavily. "Our experience training and racing came through for us today," said McCabe. "Moving small boats well is about developing skills together, and as teammates at the University of Washington, we can get in some extra training sessions in the pair." The Washington crew program will test itself for the final time this fall in the Head of the Lake Regatta. The men's team has their lineups set for the race, which will get started early morning on Sunday, Nov. 8. For more info, check out GoHuskies or the Head of the Lake official site.
Varsity/Open 4 Boat A Bow Ty Otto 2 Max Weaver 3 Max Lang Stroke Blaise Didier Cox Michelle Darby Boat B Bow Anthony Jacob 2 Mathis Jessen 3 Tom Lehmann Stroke Conlin McCabe Cox Dan Kavanagh Boat C Bow Roko Svast 2 Niles Garratt 3 Casey Dobrowolski Stroke Hans Struzyna Cox Valaree Fowler Boat D Bow Andrew Perkins 2 Alex Keats 3 Tom Kicinski Stroke Reiner Hershaw Cox Elizabeth MacKeen Boat E Freshman Collegiate 8 Boat A Freshman Boat B Bow Jeff Gibbs 2 Justin Hopkins 3 Simon Taylor 4 Matt Zapel 5 Rob Munn 6 Ambrose Puttmann 7 Jay Thompson Stroke Nenad Bulicic Cox Laura Denman Boat C Bow Jamie North 2 Rob Squires 3 Alan Meninghaus 4 Jethro VanThul 5 Noah O'C onnell 6 Stephen Silverstein 7 Matt MacKinnon Stroke Kit Culbert Cox Sam Ojerskis Boat D Freshman Recently, Washington Husky athletic department officials and student-athletes showed their appreciation to its scholarship donors at its annual luncheon in the Don James Center. Husky student-athletes Victor Aiyewa and Danielle Lawrie presented thanks to the benefactors on behalf of all of the UW's scholarship student-athletes. Check out this great photo gallery from the event. Women's soccer coach Lesle Gallimore gave a passionate speech that outlined the tremendous responsibility each coach accepts as they makes decisions on who and when to award athletic scholarships. "As a coach I am entrusted with the task of awarding scholarships to young women whom my staff and I determine are worthy of your generosity," said Gallimore. "This is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I have done nothing for the dollars that I am doling out. It is not my hard work that has made these scholarships possible and yet it is my duty to select people that will live up to their commitment of striving for athletic and academic excellence.  A handful of Husky athletes and coaches have been featured on the new Husky bus - a Gray Line coach which was recently wrapped in purple and gold for team travel. Women's soccer star Kate Deines joined National Softball Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie and men's basketball head coach Lorenzo Romar on one side of the bus while the other side features cross country head coach Greg Metcalf along with quarterback Jake Locker and volleyball star Jill Collymore. The men's rowing team is featured on the back of the bus. To view photos of the bus, click here. The varsity eights aren't racing yet, but that doesn't mean Washington can't make news at the Head of the Charles.
Megan Kalmoe ('06) won the Championship Doubles category with a time of 18:01.766, a good forty seconds better than the second-place finisher, a duo from the London Training Center. Kalmoe, affiliated with USRowing, teamed with Ellen Tomek for the victory. Reminder, both the men's and women's varsity eights will race tomorrow afternoon. The men are the defending champion in the championship eight event. Keep up to date on the results on GoHuskies.com and the crew team's official Twitter page. It seems the Washington crew program is drawing some significant interest from the Boston media in the buildup to the Head of the Charles.
The venerable John Powers at the Boston Globe delivered this in-depth preview of the men's Varsity Eight, with a particular mention towards the grueling selection process and "meritocracy" system the team uses for the HOCR. Michelle Darby, who will cox the men's V8, is a local native from nearby North Andover, and was the coxswain for the Philips Academy team that made it to the semifinal of the Henley. The junior was the subject of this profile in the Boston Herald. Both teams will race on Sunday, Oct. 18 against a packed field. Be sure to check back to GoHuskies.com for updated information. For those stuck in rainy Seattle for the weekend, take solace in the fact that at least it's not snowing like it is in Boston, according to Coach Michael Callahan. A couple of news nuggets are filtering in from Boston, where the Washington rowing program will compete among an elite international field at the Head of the Charles this weekend on the Charles River.
The Boston Globe has a nice preview of the event, and gives a nod to former Husky and IRA National Champion coxswain Katelin Snyder, who will cox the women's Great Eight, a boat made up of Olympians and global medalists.
Snyder, then a senior at Washington, coxed the men's varsity eight last season that won in dramatic fashion at the IRAs in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Snyder also steered the men's eight that won the Head of the Charles last fall.
In order to determine who would head to Boston for the HOCR, the UW program recently held a race among its rowers. .
Be sure to keep checking GoHuskies.com and the Dawg Blawg for more information about the race. Both the men and women's eights will be racing on Sunday.
For Head of the Charles info, you can also follow them on Twitter (@hocr).
Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan will provide his signature style of storytelling to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and fans of the crew program at Washington - and rowing in general - should tune in.
On Monday, Oct. 19, Showtime will debut Bud Greenspan Presents: Beijing 2008 - America's Olympic Glory at 7 p.m. PST. The film is the 12th in the series, which features behind-the-scenes interviews with the participating athletes.
Included in the two-hour piece will be a section devoted to the gold-medal winning women's eight in Beijing, the first for the United States since the 1984 Olympics. Two former Huskies are prominently featured. Mary Whipple coxed the wire-to-wire winning boat, while Anna (Mickelson) Cummins rowed in fiveseat.
"We're proud our story will be told for the American public," said Whipple. "Rowing is not a mainstream sport, and I believe this documentary captured the essence of the dedication it took to achieve something this greatin the sport of rowing. I'm proud to be able to share the experiencewith our supporters."
Other notables in the documentary will be stories on American swimmer Jason Lezak, as well as American gymnast Nastia Liukin, both of whom won Gold Medals in Beijing. Fans of the Washington crew program will want to be in attendance at Saturday's football against Arizona (7:00 p.m.) at Husky Stadium. The rowers will be recognized at halftime of the game for winning the 2009 IRA National Championship in the varsity eight, the second varsity eight, the freshman eight and the open four, as well as the Ten Eyck Trophy for team points. Also, swing by The Zone where members of the team and coach Michael Callahan will be live on-air with Dave "Softy" Mahler at 5:30 p.m. Softy will then introduce the team during a tailgate at The Zone at 6 p.m. Crew coaches will also provide periodic updates of the experience on the team's Twitter page. Tickets are still available for the game with the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200. We also put up a primer to get fans ready for Saturday's game. Husky crew alumnus Giuseppe Lanzone ('05) has rowed in almost every major regatta in
 theworld, including the 2008 Olympics. Now he's taking on major publications.Lanzone is featured in this month's (October) issue, coming in on page 86. There's a good little interview with Lanzone and then a series of exercises designed to help you get fit like a world-class athlete. Buy your copy, on newsstands now. Three-year varsity men's eight coxswain and UW alumna Katelyn Snyder has brought in quite the haul of medals over her career. Here's a feature story that ran in her hometown newspaper, the Winter Park / Maitland (Fla) Observer. Four Husky alumni were named to the U.S. national rowing crews that will compete in the World Championships, August 23-30 in Poznan, Poland. Katelin Snyder was selected to cox to women's eight. Snyder, who won gold with the 2008 women's U23 eight, recently graduated from the UW, where she coxed the men's varsity eight for three years. Snyder was the coxswain of the 2009 IRA national champion men's eight. Olympian Megan Kalmoe, racing with her partner EllenTomek, was named to the senior team back in mid-July after she won the double scull event in the World Cup at Lucerne. Olympians Brett Newlin and Giuseppe Lanzone were both named to the men's straight four, the same event they raced in at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Beijing, the crew finished ninth. Newlin and Giuseppe recently picked up bronze in the four at the World Cup in Lucerne. For the complete release, click here.  H. Roger Morris, the last surviving member of Washington's legendary 1936 men's crew, has passed away at the age of 94, the Seattle Times reported today.The '36 Husky crew gained fame during the Berlin Olympic Games of that year, when it won the gold medal. The entire crew was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame. Morris, who was born and raised in Seattle, is survived by daughters Joan Mullen and Susan Hanshaw, son, James Morris, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Here's a link to an excellent story in the Seattle Times, written by Bud Withers. Here's much more info on the 1936 crew, including photos, at huskycrew.org (scroll down to 1936). The entire UW athletics family sends its thoughts and sympathy to Mr. Morris' family. Adriene De Leuw and Victoria Nenchev won the Women's Intermediate 2- event Sunday at the 2009 USRowing Club Nationals, defeating the second place crew by open water. The pair clocked a 8:02.56 to win the race.
The 15 Huskies who made their national teams will compete in the U23 World Championships this weekend (July 23-26) in Racice, Czech Republic. For more information, click here. Huskies Kerry Simmonds and Heather Young won the senior straight pair this morning in Oak Ridge, Tenn., dominating the second-place crew by nearly 14 seconds.
Adriene De Leuw and Victoria Nenchev will race Sunday in the Women's Intermediate 2-.
For complete results, visit row2k.com Megan Kalmoe and her partner Ellen Tomek won gold yesterday in the double sculls at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. Kalmoe then turned around three hours later and subbed into the quadruple scull, helping the U.S. to a second gold medal.
Recent grad Katelin Snyder coxed the women's eight to a silver medal, finishing just a half a second back from the Germans. Brett Newlin and Giuseppe Lanzone picked up bronze in the four, closing out a very successful day for the Huskies. Complete results and recap can be found here. And last, not an alumnus yet, but here's a profile on Husky Rob Munn, member of the national champion and UNDEFEATED 2009 freshman eight: Megan Kalmoe, UW alumna and member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, once again teamed up with sculling partner Ellen Tomek to win their heat at the 2009 Rowing World Cup Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. The duo won their heat by almost three seconds to advance directly to the final, slated for Sunday.
Washington alumni Giuseppe Lanzone and Brett Newlin, also a members of the 2008 Olympic Team, raced to a second-place showing in their heat of the men's four, earning them a spot in the finals on Sunday. Lanzone also raced in the men's eight that finished third in its heat, giving them a chance to race again Saturday in the repechage. For more information, check out the US Rowing website press release. Sunday's event finals will be streamed live here. The King County Council is set to recognize the UW's most recent national champions Monday as they honor both the softball team and the men's crew during their meeting at 11am at the King County Courthouse.
The softball team will be introduced by Councilmember Phillips, who will invite other councilmembers and the King County Executive to make short remarks and read the proclamation. Members of the 2009 Husky softball team will be able to speak briefly before being presented with an official recognition by the King County Council. The men's crew will then be introduced by Councilmember Phillips, who will repeat the process with the rowers. All athletes in attendance will have their pictures taken with the King County Council and the King County Executive. The meeting will be broadcast live on KCTV (channel 22) and online here. It will also be archived for later viewing at the same address. Go Huskies!
This Saturday will be very unique as the Huskies will be represented at both Cheney Stadium in Tacoma and at SAFECO Field in Seattle. Tacoma-native Isaiah Thomas will throw out the first pitch before the Tacoma Rainiers' game at 7 pm as the Rainiers celebrate "Paint-the-Park-Purple". The team will be wearing purple uniforms to honor all-things Husky. Tickets for the game are $15, with $5 from each ticket directly benefitting scholarships for UW Tacoma students. At the same time, north on I-5, the national championship men's crew team will be represented by the Varsity 8 boat at SAFECO. The team will be introduced and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Mariners-Diamondbacks game at 7:10 pm. Either way, go enjoy a professional baseball game and support the Huskies!!
 We had a good turnout for the men's crew IRA national championship celebration last night. A couple hundred Husky fans came out to show their support and watch the race footage from the varsity eight championship.Watching the footage again was emotional... It was such a powerful and incredible win. Tough to put into words, but it touched a lot of people in that boathouse. I saw lots of tears, from rowers to parents, alumni to administrators. It was great to feel the Husky pride in the Conibear Shellhouse last night. Congratulations, again, to the 2009 IRA National Champion Washington Huskies! GO DAWGS!!!
With the UW softball team winning the 2009 national championship last night, the question has come up about Washington's officially recognized NCAA championships. Here is a quick list:
2009 Softball 2008 Women's Cross Country 2005 Women's Volleyball 2001 Women's Rowing 1998 Women's Rowing 1997 Women's Rowing Other National Championships
1991 Football (coaches' poll and others) 1960 Football (Helms) 2007 Men's Rowing (IRA ... Intercollegiate Rowing Association) 1997 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1984 Men's Rowing (Cincinnati National Championships ... from 1983-94, this was the national title regatta) 1970 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1950 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1948 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1941 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1940 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1937 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1936 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1926 Men's Rowing (IRA) 1923 Men's Rowing (IRA) (women's rowing didn't become an NCAA sport until 1997 ... the NCRC regatta was the recognized national regatta before 1997) 1988 Women's Rowing (NCRC ... National Collegiate Rowing Championships) 1987 Women's Rowing (NCRC) 1985 Women's Rowing (NCRC) 1984 Women's Rowing (NCRC) 1983 Women's Rowing (NCRC) 1982 Women's Rowing (NCRC) 1981 Women's Rowing (NCRC)
Also, the UW is on track to have an excellent finish, perhaps the best-ever, in the annual Director's Cup standings. Here is a year-by-year look at the UW's finish in the Director's Cup.
It's pouring rain here in Cherry Hill, NJ, complete with thunder and lightning. The weather is supposed to clear up overnight tonight and it's supposed to be around 80 and sunny tomorrow, which certainly beats the 103-degree weather Washington competed in at the Pac-10 Championships in Rancho Cordova, Calif. two weeks ago! The first day of racing went according to plan. All three Husky boats advanced to the semifinals, set for tomorrow morning. The ladies seemed relaxed and happy after the first round of racing... Lots of laughter and joking. After the completion of the heat races, all 20-odd athletes walked back to the hotel, showered and relaxed for a few hours. Then they hit the water again at 4:30pm ET for a quick lap around the race course, just to "get the blood flowing," according to second varsity coxswain Isabelle Woodward. Meanwhile, the repechages were being held for the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four boats that failed to qualify for semis this morning. The top three from each repechage moved on to the semis. Of the 16-team field, only two failed to qualify for the semifinals in any of the three events: Dartmouth and Oregon State. Those two will race in the third finals on Sunday to place out 15th and 16th. After the repechage races, lane assignments were drawn for the semifinal races tomorrow. Those can be found on a GoHuskies.com. Washington is in the first varsity eight semifinal at 9am ET, the second 2V8 semifinal at 9:45 ET and the first varsity four semifinal at 10:00 ET. And if your rowing jones isn't sated yet, check out the great story and photogallery in today's Seattle Times or by going here. Steve Kelley did a really good job of capturing the sport. More from New Jersey tomorrow!
Swimmer Yonatan Cohen was named first team Academic All-District and will move on to the national ballot for the At-Large ESPN Academic All-America team.
Cohen boasts a 3.97 cumulative GPA in math and physics. He swam the second-fastest 100 breast and third-fastest 200 breast times in school history at the 2009 Pac-10 championship. Cohen also helped set the school record in the 400 medley at the 2009 NCAA championship. Venise Chan, who ended her sophomore season yesterday in the NCAA tennis singles tournament opener, and junior coxswain Isabelle Woodward, who will cox the second varsity eight in next week's NCAA rowing championship, were both named third team Academic All District VIII.
Chan, a first-team All-Pac-10 pick, ended her season with a 28-7 record at No. 1 singles. A business major, Chan carries a 3.74 cumulative GPA. Woodward has a 3.75 cumulative GPA and majors in international business. She also studies Arabic and plans to work in the Middle East after graduation. Congrats to all three Huskies honored Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)! IMPORTANT LINKSMOST RECENT POSTS
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