WSU V8+ 3rd at ACRA National Championships!
05/26/10

After a season of historic highs, the WSU Men’s Crew team caps it all off with a bronze medal at the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Championships in the V8+.

The WSU V8+ had quite the journey this year, starting with beating rivals Gonzaga University 2 of 3 times in the fall head race season, capturing the Gonzaga Erg Dual title, a highest-ever 3rd place finish in the Cal Cup of the San Diego Crew Classic, and WSU’s first ever V8+ Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) title. Not to say that the season was without its lows: in the annual Fawley Cup regatta, a dual with Gonzaga University, the WSU V8+ lost a heartbreaker by 1.1 seconds. One could really see the anguish in the 9 athletes of that boat as they paddled back in to the breakwater. However, with a renewed sense of purpose, the V8+ resumed their training and came back with a vengeance at WIRAs, taking home the title and beating 4th place GU by 4 seconds.

This year was the first In Cougar Crew history that the team sent a varsity 8+ to the National Championships – in every other year in the history of the crew, WSU had sent small boats to IRAs or ACRAs, excepting last year’s 2nd place N8+.

Looking to do well against an extremely deep and fast field, WSU came in as the number 2 seed overall, after steadily moving up in the rankings from their pre-season position of 7. A relatively poor performance in the heat led to a second place finish, 2.5 seconds behind Bucknell. In the afternoon semifinals, the Cougar V8+ was matched up with no. 1 seeded Michigan, Grand Valley State, who had beaten the Cougars earlier in the season at the San Diego Crew Classic, and WIRA rivals UC-Davis. A fairly strong race lead to the Cougars finishing second, 3 seconds behind Michigan- good enough to qualify for Sunday’s Grand Finals. Unfortunately, extremely high winds picked up on Sunday and it looked, for several tense hours, like the entire regatta was going to have to be called off. However, after the water calmed down enough to be rowable, the Cougars headed out for their season finale. Lined up against Bucknell, Michigan, Virginia, Michigan State, and Grand Valley State, the Cougars looked to place well in the extremely fast field. Crossing the 1000 meter mark, Michigan and Bucknell were dueling for first place, while the Cougars, a length down, were trying to hold off a charging Virginia crew. Coming in to the sprint, the Cougs poured everything that had and fought through the stiff wind to finish in 3rd place with a time of 6:34.5, 6 seconds behind first place Michigan and 4 seconds behind second place Bucknell.

This result again firmly cements the Cougars as the fastest club team west of the Mississippi, and with only 3 seniors graduating from this 8+, next year looks promising as well.

The JV8+ finished 6th at ACRAs, after a disappointing last race. The crew, comprised of 5 lightweights, was heavily blown around by the wind in unprotected lane 7 and never got in to a rhythm, being beaten by such crews as UC-Davis, whom they had beaten at WIRAs. Despite this, the JV8+ also had a historic season: they took home the Fawley Cup in the JV8+ event for the first time in Cougar Crew history, and were also the first JV8+ from WSU to make it on to the podium at WIRAs, where they struck bronze. They were also, at one point, ranked No. 1 in WIRA and No. 2 in ACRA.

The N8+ capped their season with a 9th place finish -, with a 3rd place finish in the B final of the N8+ event at ACRAs. They came in just over 2 seconds behind Grand Valley State and 6 seconds behind the winner of the B final, Bucknell. Michigan won the Grand Finals of the N8+ event.

WSU set for ACRA National Championships
05/21/10

Looking to put a capstone on a historically successful season, the WSU Cougar Crew team is looking to put on a strong showing at the ACRA National Championships. The American Collegiate Rowing Association is composed of only club teams, and WSU is set to prove themselves as one of the top club teams in the nation.

Having already established themselves as the fastest club boat on the west coast, the V8+ are seeded second and out to take on the likes of Michigan, Virginia, Bucknell, Grand Valley State, Notre Dame, and WIRA-conference rivals UC-Davis. The V8+ will race in heats and semifinals on Saturday, and the finals on Sunday.

The JV8+, also seeded second, are out to defend their place as top club JV boat in WIRA as they are looking to further cement their historic, Fawley Cup winning season even further. The JV races in their heats on Saturday and their finals on Sunday.

The N8+, an event where the Cougars took 2nd last year behind Michigan, have upped their speed to another level in the weeks since WIRAs and look to improve on the 9th place seeding. They race in heats and semis on Saturday and finals on Sunday.

Click here for the schedule
Click here for live video of the races!
Note: all race times are given in Central time! This is 2 hours ahead of the Pacific time we are used to!

Cougars off to Pac-10 Championships
05/14/10

After the most successful WIRAs in WSU history, Cougar Crew look to keep their momentum through to ACRA National Championships with a strong showing in Sacramento at the Pac-10s and the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships (PCRCs).

The 2-, comprised of Jimmy Johnson and Jake Logar, are competing on Saturday at the PCRCs. The Cougar pair won the event last year, and Jimmy was one half of the pair that qualified for the grand finals at WIRAs two weeks ago.

The V8+, JV8+, and 1N8+ are entered in to the Pac-10 championships that are occurring on Sunday. Looking to improve on their 7th place finish of last year, the Cougar V8+ are seeded 5th, the highest ranking for a club team in the conference. Having finished only 3.5 seconds behind Oregon State's time at the annual UW dual, the WIRA Champion WSU V8+ will seek to beat OSU for the first time in many years.

The JV8+ is the only club team entered in the event at this year's Pac-10s, and they also look to put out a strong showing in preparation for ACRAs.

The 1N8+ is coming off of a stunning upset last year at Pac-10s, where the 1N8+ at the time beat OSU to take 4th place, coming in less than 2 seconds behind Stanford's 1N8+, and are trying to repeat their success this year.

Schedule
Live video feed

Varsity 8+ Named row2k.com Crew of the Week!
05/07/10

In recognition for their huge win in the WIRA Grand Finals last weekend, the Men's Varsity 8+ was voted Crew of the Week on row2k.com! A big thank you goes out to all of the Coug fans out there that voted!

WSU V8+ Wins WIRA Conference Championships, also takes Team Trophy!
05/02/10

For the first time in Cougar History, the WSU V8+ won the WIRA Championships, taking first with a time of 6:13.0. The V8+ beat out the University of California – Davis’ 6:14.2, and University of California – Santa Clara’s 6:16.9, Orange Coast College, rival Gonzaga University, and the University of California – San Diego in the Grand Finals.

Battling through a tough, crossing wind, the Cougs were bowball to bowball with Davis coming through the 1000m mark, with several seats punched out the trailing crews of GU and UCSD. Coming in to the 500m mark, the Cougs were a few seats down on Davis, and used a strong sprint to pull out to a several seat lead and a 1.2 second victory. The Cougs also won their heat, again beating UC-Davis and turning in the second fastest time of the day, behind UC-San Diego. This victory was truly a historic moment of WSU Cougar Crew, which has never won an 8+ event at WIRAs. Coming from their 11th place finish last year, this turn-around bodes very well for the upcoming Pac-10 and ACRA Championships.

The Cougar JV8+ also collected a bronze medal, another record moment for the Cougs. The Cougars have never even made the grand final in the JV8+ event before at WIRAs, let alone sit upon the podium! The winning crew, UC-San Diego, turned in a time of 6:36.6, beating out GU by .2 seconds, and WSU’s 6:41.1 by nearly 5 seconds. The strong winds definitely hurt the Cougar JV8+, as they are composed of 5 lightweights and are therefore much more susceptible to getting blown around. The WSU JV8+ also turned in the second fastest time of the day in the heats, cruising to an easy 6:17.3.

In an interesting turn of events, the WSU Lightweight 8+ also collected gold medals and won their first ever WIRA trophy. Initially, the Cal Lightweights managed to beat out the Cougs by several seconds, but the Cal Lightweight team was disqualified for violating regatta rules.

The WSU 2- also made the grand finals, marking the third straight year the Cougs have gotten to the grand finals in that event. They finished 6th overall, behind eventual winner Loyola Marymount University.

The Novices also had a successful outing, with the 1N8+ qualifying for the grand finals with a furious sprint to beat out UC-Irvine. This also was the second straight year the 1N8+ has made it to the grand finals. They eventually finished 6th behind Orange Coast, the eventual winners.

The 2N8+ and 3N8+ also raced in the 2N8+ event, with the 2N8+ collecting silver medals and improving on the 3rd place finish that the Cougars achieved last year in that event. They finished with a 6:53.0 to Orange Coast’s 6:45.0. The 3N8+ finished 4th.

And in a historic moment for WSU Cougar Crew, the inaugural Lightweight Women’s team took home 3rd place medals in the Novice Lightweight 4+ event, the first ever medal for the Lightweight Women’s team! They also finished 5th in the open weight novice 4+ heat, and the women’s novice lightweight 8+, racing in the varsity lightweight 8+ event, finished 7th, with Stanford’s women taking home the gold.

In a dramatic show of depth and force, the Cougars dominated the WIRA championships, and this was truly reflected in their taking of the Overall Team Points trophy, another first for the WSU Crew team. Although WSU Men’s Crew is a club program – and although they must fundraise more than 90% of their budget of $200,000 – they beat out Varsity programs, with full support of their athletic departments, such as Gonzaga University, UC-San Diego, University of San Diego, and Orange Coast College.

With the Pac-10 championships in two weeks, the Cougs look to take out USC and UCLA, and upset varsity programs such as OSU and Stanford. Following Pac-10s, the Cougs travel to the ACRA National Championships, where they are sending the V8+, JV8+, and 1N8+. The Cougs, who were ranked 7th in the V8+ prior to this week, look to move up in the polls after beating third ranked UC-Davis and 9th ranked Orange Coast College.

Coach Arthur Ericsson is extremely excited for his teams, saying, “We are so proud on two fronts. First, we won the premier Varsity 8+ event, and we are equally excited to have captured the Team Points trophy, showing the depth of our varsity, novice, and lightweight teams. The V8+ victory reflects the hard work over the past year, with 5 guys sticking it out from last year’s lineup [that took 11th], boosted by 3 second year rowers, to complete the formidable lineup.”

Friday/Saturday Photos
Sunday Photos
Video

WSU Heads to WIRA Conference Championships
04/30/10

After a year’s hard work, Cougar Crew seeks to cap their season with a successful run at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) conference championships. WIRAs serves as a capstone to the regular season, and is the final regatta where WSU sends all its rowers to compete.

One of the primary goals expressed by the team is to have every boat entered at WIRAs grace the podium. Given the strong performances by all boats in WSU’s fleet this year including a 3rd place finish for the V8+ a the San Diego Crew Classic, such a goal is entirely feasible. In fact, last year WSU managed to take 2nd in the overall points trophy competition, falling only to perennial powerhouse Orange Coast College – taking first would be signify the best performance at WIRAs in the team’s history.

The Varsity 8+ is coming off of an extremely narrow defeat to rival Gonzaga, a fellow WIRA conference member, at the Fawley Cup. Ranked 4th in the most recent Coaches’ Poll, the V8+ is poised to medal - or even challenge for first place - for the first time since 2005. Head Coach Arthur Ericsson notes, “This is the first year that we’re not diluting our top boats by doubling guys into fours as well. We’re putting everything we have just into the 8’s, going for big results in the big events. We’ve reached that level of depth.”

The JV8+ comes in seeded as the number one boat in WIRA, having knocked off GU by a margin of more than 4 seconds. A podium position by the JV8+ would be completely unprecedented, as WSU has never medaled in the event since joining the WIRA conference.

The Cougar Novice crews look to continue showing their depth, fielding three novice 8+s. The 1N8+ is seeded fifth, and is trying to repeat their historic performance of last year, where the 1N8+ took home bronze medals – the first novice crew from WSU to ever do so at WIRAs. The 2N8+, ranked 2nd, is also looking to avenge their extremely narrow loss to GU and place itself atop the podium. The 3N8+ is also racing in the 2N8+ event, and is trying to help complete a Cougar 1-2 in the 2N8+ event.

For the first time in Cougar history, the Lightweight Women’s team is entering several boats at the WIRA championships. In their inaugural year, the Lightweight Women had a successful Daffodil Cup and look to further that success at WIRAs. They are racing a lightweight 8+, a novice lightweight 4+, and an open weight novice 4+. Interestingly, the lightweight 8+ is racing as a varsity, rather than a novice, boat, as there is no novice lightweight 8+ event.

WSU V8+ loses a Heartbreaker; JV8+ beats No. 1 ‘Zags!
04/17/10 By Paul Ehlers

In an up-and-down day of racing for the Cougs, the highest note came from the WSU JV8+. Leading the race wire-to-wire, the retooled JV lineup beat the Gonzaga JV by 4 seconds and open water! The Gonzaga JV8+ was ranked No. 1 in the latest WIRA coaches poll, but the powerful Cougars punched out seats on the start and never trailed in their victory. Crossing the line with a time of 6:09.96, the Cougs beat the 6:13.81 posted by Gonzaga, and the 6:35.38 posted by the Cougar 3V8+. Kramer Wahlberg, stroke of the victorious 8+ and a 3rd year oarsman, was extremely pleased with his race. “We took seats off of the start and had nearly a length by the 500m mark. After that, we kept them off of our bow and maintained our lead through the end of the race.” Historically, the Cougs have not beaten Gonzaga in the JV event for at least 15 years, making this a particularly sweet victory.

The V8+ came in to the Fawley Cup premier race with very high hopes, and were looking to be only the second crew in 20 years to reclaim the vaunted trophy. Taking several seats off of their start, the V8+ led by half a length crossing the 1k mark, and were poised to take home the cup with a 2 seat lead entering the last 500m. Unfortunately, the Cougs ran out of gas and were passed with just 15 strokes to go, falling to Gonzaga and their 5:58.52. WSU crossed the line just over a second later, with a time of 5:59.64.

The Novice 8+ were unable to take revenge for last year’s race, falling to Gonzaga. GU finished in 6:20.45, with WSU finishing in 6:34.70.

The 2N8+ was also an extremely close race, where WSU was leading with 300m to go before GU picked up their sprint and nosed out in front. Gonzaga’s 2N8+ finished in 6:26.45, while the WSU 2N8+ finished just behind them in 6:27.52. WSU’s 3N8+, also racing in that race, finished in 7:02.17.

While losing the V8+ was extremely tough on the WSU crew team, the victory of the JV8+ was a great boost to morale, and the team looks to carry these fast times in to the WIRA championships. Coach Arthur Ericsson says, “All of our crews got faster and left everything on the water. There are many insights that we can take from these races into the championships that will transpire over the next five weeks.”

Click here for photos from the racing. Click here for family row photos.

The 2010 Fawley Cup Regatta – GU vs. WSU
04/15/10

One of the premier rivalries in northwest rowing, the annual Gonzaga vs. WSU dual – the Fawley Cup – is going to be contested once again. After a 3rd place finish for the V8+ at the San Diego Crew Classic and a strong showing at UW last weekend, WSU Men’s crew looks to earn just their second Fawley Cup in the last 20 years. Racing will take place on the Cougar home course, the Snake River at Wawawai landing. Directions can be found here.

For the first time in many years, the WSU V8+ beat Gonzaga in two out of three head races in the fall, finishing ahead of the ‘Zags at the turbulent Head of the Snake and on the neutral water of the Head of the Lake regatta in Seattle, WA. The WSU V8+ also captured the annual Erg Dual for the first time in recent history. The JV8+ is also looking very powerful after some lineup changes, and is looking to beat Gonzaga for the first time in at least 15 years. Additionally, the WSU team will show its depth by also fielding a competitive 3V8+ in the JV8+ event. Coach Arthur Ericsson is optimistic for his team’s chances, saying ,”In six years of coaching at WSU, I can not foresee a more epic battle than the one that will take place along the 2000 meter buoy line at 4:50 pm this Saturday.”

The novices are also eager to avenge their loss of .8 seconds last year, and capture the first novice victory against Gonzaga since current seniors Mitch Williams, Jaron Lindbom, and Weston Spivia accomplished the feat as freshmen in 2007.

Varsity lineups are as follows:

1V: Bow: Nick Estvold, Mark Hoffman, Paul Ehlers, James Dorsey, Mitch Williams, Weston Spivia, Jaron Lindbom, Stroke: Alan Scott, Cox: Nichole Martin

2V: Bow: Joe Sudar, Evan Egerstrom, Brandon Close, Andrew King, Jonathan Detzler, Eric Demaris, Josh Wadagnolo, Stroke: Kramer Wahlberg, Cox: Lauren Curtis

3V: Bow: Colby Farvour, Brian Chapman, Jimmy Johnson, Justin Leber, Garrett Lyman, Garrett Heiman, Jake Logar, Stroke: Justin Bodolay, Cox: Caitlin Aldrich

Schedule:

4:00: (1N8) WSU, GU
4:10: (2V8) GU, WSU, WSU 3V8
4:50: (1V8) WSU, GU
5:00: (2N8) GU, WSU, WSU 3N8

Huskies Down Cougars in Annual Apple Cup Regatta
04/11/10

In the annual Apple Cup Regatta, the Huskies took home 7 of 7 races to sweep the Cougars with a show of depth. The closest race of the day took place between WSU V8+ and the UW 3V8+. The WSU V8+ and the UW 8+ traded punches for the first 1000 meters, with WSU knocking out 2 seats through the 500m mark, but UW managed to feed on the energy from their home crowd in the Montlake Cut to push away in the last quarter of the race, finishing with a time of 5:58.49 to WSU’s 6:03.96. To illustrate the depth of the UW program, every rower in that 3V8+ had won an IRA national championship! The Oregon State V8+, which raced the UW V8+, turned in a time of 6:00.86, only 3 seconds faster than the Coug V8+. Head Coach Arthur Ericsson says of the regatta: "The times posted by our varsity and junior varsity 8's were impressive. They went for it from the start and never let up. This may not have resulted in a win this weekend but will serve us well in the big races coming up. And I am confident that we'll be bringing in more boat speed from several different sources."

The Cougar novice crew also had their first experiences through the Cut, racing the UW 2F8+, 3F8+, and 2FV4+. The WSU 1N8+, racing against the UW2N8+ and the OSU 2N8+, finished only 5 seconds behind OSU.

While the Cougars were not happy with the loss, they were hopeful that they can bring the speed they brought to Seattle to next week’s annual Fawley Cup dual with Gonzaga.

Photos
Video to come!

Results:

Race 1 (Second Varsity Eight): UW 4V8+ 6:04.11, WSU LTWT8+ 6:25.42

Race 2 (Men's 3rd Freshmen Eight): UW 3N8+ 6:08.98, WSU 2N8+ 6:39.91, WSU 3N8+ 6:59.48

Race 3 (Men's 3rd Varsity Eight): UW 3V8+ 5:58.49, WSU V8+ 6:03.96

Race 10 (Men's Second Freshmen Eight) UW 2N8+ 6:12.55, OSU 2N8+ 6:29.43, WSU 1N8+ 6:35.93

Race 13 (Men's Second Varsity Four): UW 3V4+ 7:03.26, WSU LTWT4+ 7:17.25, WSU 2V4+ 7:33.9

Race 15 (Men's Freshmen Four): UW 1N4+ 7:03.10, UW 2N4+ 7:11.54, WSU 1N4+ 7:49.68

Race 16 (Men's Varsity Four): UW 1V4+ 6:43.50, UW 2V4+ 7:00.85, WSU 1V4+ 7:27.16

WSU Men’s Crew to take on UW Huskies in Annual Apple Cup Regatta
04/08/10

Eager to continue their success from San Diego Crew Classic, highlighted by a 3rd place finish for the V8+ in the American Specialty Health Cup, the Cougs travel across the mountains to take on the No.1 ranked Huskies. The Huskies, who swept the 8+ events at IRAs last year – a feat last done in 1997 – are coming off a weekend where they swept No. 10 ranked Stanford by open water in all events. 4 years ago, the Cougar V8+ managed to beat UW’s 3V8+, an event they are eager to repeat this year.

The Novices get their chance to square off with Oregon State as well as UW, and are seeking to repeat their upset performance (knocking off OSU!) from Pac-10s last year.

Varsity Lineups are as follows:

1V: Bow: Josh Wadagnolo, Andrew King, Paul Ehlers, James Dorsey, Mitch Williams, Weston Spivia, Jaron Lindbom, Stroke: Alan Scott, Cox: Nichole Martin

2V (Lwt 8+): Bow: Colby Farvour, Evan Egerstrom, Garrett Heiman, Brandon Close, Jake Logar, Eric DeMaris, Mark Hoffman, Stroke: Kramer Wahlberg, Cox: Caitlin Aldrich

JV4-A: Bow: Kramer Wahlberg, Garrett Heiman, Eric DeMaris, Stroke: Mark Hoffman, Cox: Caitlin Aldrich

JV4-B: Bow: Joe Sudar, Brian Chapman, Mitch Williams, Stroke: Weston Spivia, Cox: John Cooper

MV4: Bow: Jimmy Johnson, Jonathan Detzler, Nick Estvold, Stroke: Justin Bodolay, Cox: Lauren Curtis

Race Schedule
Directions

WSU V8+ Takes 3rd Place at 2010 San Diego Crew Classic
03/30/10

In their best ever finish since 1996, Washington State University men’s V8+ took 3rd of 17 boats in the American Specialty Health Cal Cup. Winning their heat on Saturday with a time of 6:22.6, WSU outpaced Cal Lightweights, UC-Irvine, UC-Santa Clara, Orange Coast College, and ASU to charge in to the Grand Finals on Sunday.

Trinity, a D-III Varsity program out of Connecticut, led the finals wire to wire and won with a time of 6:22.6. In second place was Grand Valley State University, based in Michigan, with a time of 6:27.9. The Cougar V8+ started the race in 4th position and jockeyed with Notre Dame and University of British Columbia until the 1500 meter mark, when it used a strong sprint to eat in to Grand Valley State and punch out several seats from the trailing crews. The Cougars crossed the line in 3rd with a time of 6:30.0. Taking 4th was the University of British Columbia in 6:31.9, with Notre Dame’s 6:32.1 good for 5th and Cal Lightweights rounding out the Grand Finals in 6:35.1.

The WSU JV8+ also turned in a solid performance, finishing 5th in the JV8+ Petite Finals. They battled through a stiff opening heat, beating out UC-Santa Clara and the University of San Diego to qualify for the Petite Finals. A speedy UC-Davis crew narrowly edged the Cougar JV8+ in the Petite finals to take 4th.

Click here for photos from the weekend. More to come!
Click here for complete SDCC results!

San Diego Crew Classic/Daffodil Cup Preview
03/23/10

WSU Men’s Crew to Open Season at 2010 San Diego Crew Classic and the Daffodil Cup

After long hours of winter training and a brutal spring break, WSU Men’s crew seeks to open their season strongly at the 37th annual San Diego Crew Classic. Typically regarded as the premier spring regatta on the west coast, earning a trip to San Diego always tops the priorities of our varsity oarsmen.

WSU is entering two boats: the V8+ in the American Specialty Health Cup and the JV8+ in the Sharp Cabrillo Cup. Lineups are listed below.

Please click here for the regatta schedule.
Live results are available here.
Live streaming of the regatta can be found here.

1V Saturday 7:40 AM 1 Josh Wadagnolo 2 Andy King 3 Paul Ehlers 4 James Dorsey 5 Mitch Williams 6 Weston Spivia 7 Jaron Lindbom 8 Alan Scott C Nichole Martin 3rd Round Final Saturday 3:20 PM (13-18 place finishers) Petite Finals Sunday 8:40 AM (7-12 place finishers) Grand Finals Sunday 10:50 AM (1-6 place finishers)

2V Saturday 10:30 AM 1 Jake Logar 2 Evan Egerstrom 3 Jimmy Johnson 4 Brandon Close 5 Jonathan Detzler 6 Eric DeMaris 7 Mark Hoffman 8 Kramer Wahlberg C Lauren Curtis Petite Finals 8:20 AM Sunday (7-12 place finishers) Grand Finals 9:50 AM Sunday (1-6 place finishers)

WSU Men’s crew is also sending 4 novice boats and 3 varsity boats to the Daffodil Cup on American Lake in Tacoma. The Daffodil Cup serves as the first racing experience for our strong novice class, where they seek to defend their titles as top club novice 8+ in the region. WSU is also sending 2 4+s and an 8+, and is also looking to repeat as both V4+ and JV4+ title holders for the regatta. Lineups for varsity boats are listed below. In addition, the WSU Women’s Lightweight team will make their spring racing debut, fielding 2 4+s and an 8+. Directions.

9:00 AM Varsity 8 1 Colby Farvour 2 Brian Chapman 3 Joe Sudar 4 Lukas Jonoubeh 5 Nick Estvold 6 Garrett Heiman 7 Garrett Lyman 8 Justin Bodolay C Caitlin Aldrich Men's 1Novice 4 10:00 AM Women's 1Novice 4 10:15 AM Women's Lightweight4 10:45 AM

Varsity 4 11:00 AM or 12:00 PM 1 Colby Farvour 2 Brian Chapman 3 Garrett Lyman 4 Garrett Heiman C Kate Sweitzer Men's Novice 8 A, B and C 11:30 AM Women's Novice 8 11:45 AM V4 11:00 AM or 12:00 PM 1 Joe Sudar 2 Lukas Jonoubeh 3 Nick Estvold 4 Justin Bodolay C John Cooper

Cougar Crew Days Recap
03/22/10

Thank you to all who attended Cougar Crew Days 2010! Once again, it was a huge success.

Stay tuned, a recap will be posted shortly!

Photos from the action at the river!

Check out several videos from the racing!

Cougar Crew Letterman Jackets Available for Order
02/06/10

Attention Cougar Crew Alumni! You can now purchase the class letterman jacket, as seen here, modeled by our very own Ken Struckmeyer.

Click here for the ordering information! If you have any questions, contact the printing company listed on the form.

Clothing Catalog Online
01/23/10

The 2009-2010 Cougar Crew Clothing Catalog has been put online! The team has decided to put in another order this year, so don't miss this opportunity to stock up on your Cougar Crew gear for the Spring regattas!

Click here to download/print the catalog.

Spring Rent-a-Rower Dates Announced
01/19/10

Cougar Crew is proud to announce the Spring Rent-a-Rower dates. The hard-working rowers and coxswains of WSU Men's Crew will be available to help you tackle all of those projects that you need to get done!

The three weekends of Rent-a-Rower are: March 6/7; March 13/14; and April 3/4.

Visit the Rent-a-Rower page for more information and to request your rowers! Act now because reservations are on a first-come first-serve basis!

Palouse Summer Rowing 2010 Announced
01/05/10

Cougar Crew announces Free Learn To Row Day and Palouse Summer Rowing 2010 Summer schedule. For more information, click here.

Registration will begin in March!

Spring Schedule Posted
12/21/09

The 2010 Spring racing schedule has been posted. All dates and locations are certain, however many of the times are still to be announced. Check back as race day nears for complete details!

This year, the Cougars will start off the Spring in sunny San Diego. The Crew Classic has been moved ahead one weekend and falls on the same day as the Daffodil Cup in Tacoma. The Varsity 8+, Junior Varsity 8+, and top Novice 8+ will be representing Men's Crew in San Diego, while the rest of the team will travel westward to American Lake.

The team will get the following weekend off to prepare for the UW Dual, which will be held on the Montlake Cut in Seattle. The regular season finale will once again be the Fawley Cup Dual vs. Gonzaga on our home course at Wawawai Landing.

The championship circuit schedule is the same as in year's past. WIRAs will be held on May 1-2 on Lake Natoma. Two weeks later, the PCRC and Pac-10 Championships will take place at the same venue. The team hopes to send several boats to the ACRA National Championships this year, which has been moved to Oklahoma City.

Head of the Lake
11/09/09

The Cougar Crew V8+ returned from the Head of the Lake Regatta with the best results in recent memory.

The V8+ turned in a time of 16:49, good enough to take fifth place and beat out Gonzaga University by eight seconds. The JV8+ also showed nicely with a time of 17:27, barely losing to University of British Columbia by a margin of one second.

Noted Cougar Crew Alumni Doug Engle, who participated in the Palouse Community Rowing 8+, said how great an accomplishment this weekend was for WSU. “We had a great novice class come up and another strong one on its way. These guys already gave Gonzaga a run for their money last year, so we were hoping for results like this. Athletically speaking this is great for the [Cougar] Crew.”

Once again, the Cougar Alumni were able to put together an 8 for the Open Masters event. Comprised of 9 young and able Alumni, the boat performed well, finishing second behind a Pocock Rowing Center boat that just finished 4th at the Head of the Charles Regatta.

"Considering the fitness level of the crew, plus the fact almost the entire boat hadn't rowed in at least a year, the row itself was great for a thrown together lineup. We had a blast!" said 7-seat Karl Huhta.

The conditions for the race were calm, and contributed to the great row each oarsman and coxswain said they enjoyed.

Results
Photos

WWU Dual Recap Lake
11/09/09

Cougar Crew brought home a win this weekend with a strong performance in the face of adversity.

The weather Saturday Nov. 7 was less than ideal, with gusting winds and continuous rain from the moments the boats hit the water. Despite the daunting outlook, neither the Cougar Crew nor the Western Washington crew hesitated to race. With a shortened course due to the rolling waves on part of the lake, the Cougar Crew sent out four novice 8’s and three varsity fours to duel Western’s two novice 8’s and a varsity 4.

Times were not forthcoming due to technical difficulties with multiple boats, but when the boats returned to dock without injury everyone could tell that every boat had enjoyed what was, if anything, a truly memorable race.

Both team’s coaches said they looked forward to next year and a continuing friendly rivalry between cross-state club teams.

At nearby Lake Samish, the lightweight women's team held a practice scrimmage against the WWU novice women.

"We had a great practice with Western's Novice women. We did several 3 minute pieces back in forth in the small cove near their boathouse in order to stay in calm water. The lightweights had a great time meeting the girls from Western at the small breakfast and we are hoping to set up a race with them in the future," said coach Emily Kohl.

Head of the Snake
10/31/09

Varsity 8+ upsets Gonzaga at the Head of the Snake

WSU Crew successfully defended their home water Friday as they claimed victory in the premiere Varsity 8+ event. Although weather conditions were not ideal, the Cougars rowed strong and crossed the finish line 13 seconds ahead of the Zags over the 4,000 meter race course.

"This was probably the best Fall race performance our crew has had in recent years," said Commodore Mitch Williams. "We will be looking to build off of this performance in the weeks to come and hope to carry the success into our Spring racing season."

Solid performances were turned in by the JV8+ and 3V8+ as well, with the JV boat finishing 20 seconds behind a deep Gonzaga crew.

The Novice team continued to show their tremendous potential as the A boat finished just 17 seconds behind Gonzaga’s top Novice crew. Only 0.66 seconds separated the WSU C and B boats, with the C boat beating Gonzaga’s C boat by 13 seconds with a time of 16:40. Rounding out the flight was the WSU D and E boats, which finished with times of 18:31 and 19:06 respectively. The future is bright for this Novice class as they continue to develop and gel, looking towards exciting Spring racing.

The Women’s lightweight 8+ competed in the first women’s flight, finishing with a solid time of 19:30. In its inaugural season, the Women’s lightweight team currently has two full eights of rowers.

Cougar Crew hopes to continue this success as the Fall racing season comes to a close next weekend as the team travels to the West side for the Western Washington University Dual and the Head of the Lake Regatta. Three Varsity fours, along with the Novice and Women’s lightweight teams will represent the Cougs against WWU, while the V8+ and JV8+ will race on Sunday in the Head of the Lake.

Results
Photos

Mike Dostal Competes against World’s best at Head of the Charles
10/29/09

In its 45th annual running, this year’s Head of the Charles in Boston, Mass. had arguably the most competitive field in its history. A field not just comprised of current national team rowers, but of gold medalist World Champions and Olympians, the Men’s Championship Single category was billed as one of the -if not the most- premiere events of the weekend. On Oct. 17th, 2009, former novice coach Mike Dostal raced against the world’s best, finishing a very respectable 17th out of 44 entries. At first, 17th place may not sound “that great”, but put this in perspective: 13 of the 16 men that finished ahead of Mike currently row for their respective nation’s national team, and two of the other three are currently at some form of a national training camp. Wow!

Mike Dostal was the novice coach of the Cougar Crew for the 2005-2006 school year. Among the solid performances of his novice that year, the Cougars rowed to an open water victory at the Daffodil Cup Regatta and then had their best race at the Pac-10 Championships. Before WSU, Mike rowed on Great Britain’s lightweight national team competing in many international regattas in the single scull. Being a working gent nowadays and also recently married, Mike is just getting back into training full-time. “I am training everyday although that has only been possible recently,” Mike said, “so I do not feel like I am really fit. I would hope for this winter to be able to get back in shape and race the National Champs next summer in better form.”

Reflecting on his race, Mike explained, “I think there were some really fast scullers and some people who really knew the Charles River well. Unfortunately, I fell in neither category.” Keeping a sense of humor, Mike remains optimistic about racing next year, as he takes small victories in not hitting any bridges and not receiving any time penalties. He feels with a full year of training under his belt, he hopes to finish top-10 next time around. Considering he was only a little over 10 seconds off a 10th place this year, we are rooting for Mike come next October. This was Mike’s second time racing the Charles, the first time coming in 2007 when he had a seat in a Harvard alumnus lightweight 8+.

Currently Mike trains by himself out of the Williams College boathouse in eastern Massachusetts, but sometimes gets together with local rowers for team practices. Out of curiosity, Mike was asked about the club he claims himself under, Berkshire Rowing and Sculling Society, but he said it’s really just a name. While racing this year though, Mike wore Nottingham County rowing kit (a now defunct UK rowing club), but was pleasantly surprised to hear shouts of “Go County!” and “Go Notts!” while racing. “I thought it was pretty funny,” he said, “I might have to resurrect the club stateside.”

Mike said that he’d like to see a WSU Cougar Alumni 8+ at the Charles in the near future. “I really enjoyed my time coaching at WSU and met a lot of great people who had a lot of energy and talent for rowing. The men’s crew officers were first class and I am sure still are. I was at first shocked and then extremely impressed to see how well the club was run by them. Thanks for the experience and keep up the good work.” We look to forward to hearing more about Mike tearing up the east coast rowing scene and hopefully will see him again in the near future.

Head of the Spokane
10/25/09

Photos have been posted...recap to come shortly!

Results

Team Completes Olympic Length Triathlon
9/13/09

The rowers of the WSU Men’s Crew Varsity team completed a full length Olympic triathalon on August 29, 2009. The rowers had been training for the event over the summer and had about three months of training under their belts by race-day.

Every rower on the team finished the triathalon as well as Coach Arthur Ericsson. Coxswains also participated in different legs of the triathalon as their training allowed. Team members ended the day exhausted, but exuberant that they had completed the grueling time trial.

The Cougar Crew looks forward to supporting their Lightweight Women’s Crew in their bid to hold a “Dry Tri” this coming spring as a fundraiser.

Fall Rent-a-Rower Dates Announced
8/22/09

The hard-working men and women of WSU Men's Crew will be holding two weekends of Rent-a-Rower this Fall. The dates are September 26/27 and October 17/18.

Remember to submit your requests early because reservations are on a first-come first-serve basis!.

Click here to reserve your rowers now!

Varsity rower Alan Scott competes at Canadian Henley
8/19/09

Varsity rower Alan Scott just finished competing in the 2009 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, representing Austin Rowing Club. The Canadian Henley is a large international regatta where crews from all over North America to compete in a week of racing.

Alan in the 4-

Scott raced in the Senior 8+ (the top boat sent from the camp), the 4-, and the Senior 8+ dash which was a 500m race.

Scott has spent his summer training in Texas as a member of the Austin Rowing Camp out of the Austin Rowing Club, put on by the coaches from the University of Texas.

Living in Texas was definitely a little bit of a culture shock, "The worst thing has living down here has definitely been the heat. I don't think there has been a single day under 100 degrees here."

Also participating in rowing camps this summer were Varsity rowers Paul Ehlers and Mitch Williams, who attended the Northwest U23 Development Pairs Camp out of the University of Washington.

Novice 8+ Takes 2nd! LWT 4+ 5th
5/25/09

Redemption never tasted so sweet for the Novice 8+, as they took 2nd in the nation at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championships on Sunday. ACRA is in its second year as the national championship for club rowing teams.

After their impressive 4th place finish at the Pac-10 Championships, the Novice 8+ was seeded #2 coming into the weekend. They successfully defended that ranking, finishing just 3 seconds behind Michigan, a team with Varsity-Club status. Finishing the season as the second fastest club team in the country is a true testament to the hard work and determination of these rowers who began the year as true novice walk-ons.

Coming off of a convincing win in the Saturday repechage, the Cougs were focused and ready for the Grand Finals. The deep field of crews included Michigan, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Bucknell, and Minnesota.

After a close first 1000 meters, they moved on the other crews, separating themselves from New Hampshire and Notre Dame. "We came out and rowed our race and rowed it really well," said James Dorsey. "It was a really good way to end the season. A solid performance and we couldn't have asked for more."

The Varsity Lightweight 4+ finished 5th in their Grand Final, just 0.7 seconds off of Northwestern and 3.7 seconds off of third place Purdue. The 4+ posted its fastest time of the year and finished on a high note for departing senior Garrett Lyman. "I would say it was our best race of the year," said Garrett. "Even though we lost the race, we gave it our all."

Complete Sunday Results
ACRA Photo Gallery