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.
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.
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On the dock |
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.
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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.”
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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.
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.
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.
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Varsity 8+ Heading Out |
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.
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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.
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Novice 8+ Finishing Strong |
Click here to view complete race results.
More photos can be found in the image gallery.
The Head of the Spokane racing schedule has been posted. Click Here to read.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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