May 6, Seattle, WA

University of Virginia Men's Rowing completed an historic trip today. The Hoos were invited by the University of Washington Huskies and by the Windermere Real Estate Company to race in the 2012 Windermere Cup. The experience was once-in-a-lifetime special.

The Windermere Cup is rowing done right. Each spring, UW and Windermere invite crews from around the world to Seattle. Everyone is treated like royalty, the crowds are amazing, and the racing is unforgettable.

The first 1000 meters of the 2000 meter race course is lined on both sides by houseboats, sailboats, and assorted small boats--all filled with party-goers blasting their horns as the crews race by (and as the athletes struggle to hear their coxswains over the din). The second 1000 is like rowing into a stadium, with the seawalls lined with fans and with crowds cheering from the Montlake Bridge above.

In addition to the national-champion Washington Huskies, the Hoos also raced an Argentian U23 selection crew, as well as Oregon State University. The Huskies were, as expected, utterly dominant--essentially in a race by themselves. The UVa/Argentina/OSU race, however, was tight all the way down the course, with all three crews trading the lead. In the end, Argentina edged UVa by a bowball, and OSU trailed by about 3.5 seconds.

All of the crews had a great time on Saturday night before the visiting teams flew home on Sunday.

Virginia Rowing thanks the University of Washington Huskies and the Windermere Real Estate Company for inviting the Hoos to this spectacular event!

Race Reports:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2018150504_windermere06.html

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlesports/2012/05/05/huskies-sweep-the-windermere-cup-rowing-races-on-opening-day/

 

Hoos Enjoy Class Day Races

The Inaugural Virginia Men's Rowing Class Day Races, which took place on Saturday, were a huge success! Many, many thanks go out to the parents and families of the rowers, about 75 of whom traveled to Charlottesville to cheer on the team.

The Olympic-style format featured racing in singles, doubles, coxed 4s, and 8s. All races were 500 meters, thereby placing a premium on fast starts. No class dominated the racing, though several crews stood out.

Perhaps the class of the field was the reunion 4+ crew (all of whom were third- year rowers) who recently won the Head of the Charles. The 4+ easily won their race, shooting off the line at 46 strokes per minute, and finishing at 40 SPM, though appearing to be rowing at almost paddle pressure.

The third- and fourth-year teams tied for the most points, but the title of Class Champions was awarded to the third-years by virtue of their winning the 8s race, which they did by mere inches. They thus earned the coveted Overall Champions Shield! The second-years and first-years tied for third.

After the racing, the parents prepared a huge barbecue/picnic, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. Lots of great food, conversation, and boat pictures. Go Hoos!

 

Virginia Takes on the Competition and the Elements
at the Head of the Schuylkill

In what were generally considered the worst racing conditions any of the athletes or coaches had ever seen, the Wahoos left Philadelphia with encouraging results from the Head of the Schuylkill on Saturday.

With UVa's 2nd varsity 8 rowers watching from the shore, the 3rd varsity 8 raced in the Men's Open Club 8 event—a field of 29 boats. Uncorking an impressive sprint in the final 500 meters of the race, the Hoos took first place by 6/10ths of a second ahead of Drexel's 2nd varsity 8, and 9 seconds ahead of a University of Pennsylvania alumni 8.

Minutes after the end of the race, the regatta was cancelled, thereby leaving the 2nd varsity 8 without a chance to compete.

An hour earlier, Virginia's three heavyweight novice 8s raced in Men's College Frosh/Novice 8 event—a field of 40 boats. The Hoos finished 6th (1N), 8th (2N), and 22nd (3N). The result was encouraging, though Drexel, Marietta, and Temple showed impressive speed. The Hoos have their work cut out for them for the spring. UVa's 2nd novice 8 finished ahead of the 1st heavyweight 8s from Georgetown and Delaware, among others.

Princeton continued their Schuylkill domination, finishing 1st with their first heavyweight 8, 3rd with their first lightweight 8, and 9th with their 2nd heavyweight 8.

 

Hoos Fall Short of Expectations at Princeton Chase

After a solid performance at the Head of the Charles, the Hoos traveled to Princeton with high expectations and with hopes of perhaps spoiling a party or two.

Though the weather in Princeton was gorgeous compared with the Schuylkill the day before, the Nor'easter must have influenced the varsity 8, as the rowers weren't at their best. They finished 13th (of 33 crews), with a time of 13:52, 43 seconds behind the winning boat from Princeton.

The sub-par performance was the result of a lack of aggressiveness from the crew, paired with being blocked by the crew that started ahead of them, which ultimately lead to a pile-up of several crews.

Spirits were raised by the women's crews, who dominated the regatta with wins by the Varsity 8, as well as by their Freshmen 8. Go Hoos!

 

Fact Correction From Head of the Charles Report

In our report from the Charles, I wrote that the 4's win was the first for the men. This, we learned, is not true! The first HOC win by a Virginia men's crew was the 1972 Intermediate Four! Quoting Ron Binder (Engineering '74):

"I was a member of a four with coxswain that won the intermediate fours event in 1972, the first- ever entry and first ever win by a Virginia crew at the Head of the Charles.

The members included all third-year men:
Bow - Sandy Harris
Two - Lindsay Walker
Three - Trenholm Walker
Stroke - Ron Binder
Cox - Thor Strong
Alternate - Greg Peck

To quote a portion of the article in the Cavalier Daily following the win:
'The five men captured the intermediate fours event at the Head of the Charles Regatta, in Boston. The Virginia Crew finally broke into the big time. The Cavalier Crew won its event by six seconds, over 37 other boats in its class. The competition included fours from Dartmouth, MIT, Harvard, and Princeton, by far the stiffest competition any Virginia crew has ever faced.'

Upon arriving at UVA, we learned that former Coach Panos Eliades had resigned, and sponsor Magruder Dent was in process of looking for a new volunteer coach, so that we might hopefully have a Spring season. Since the future of Virginia Rowing was in question, and upon the impromptu recruiting/planning by Sandy Harris, the six of us took it upon ourselves to pay our own entry fee, practice daily by ourselves with no competition to row against, and estimated a 3-mile course by starting in the mud at the upper end of the Rivanna and rowing as hard as we could to the dam. The wooden Schoenbrod four and wood oars were loaded on top of a borrowed station wagon, and we headed to Boston never believing a win would be possible, but everything clicked that afternoon, and we had the best row of a life time."

 

HOOS ENJOY THEIR MOST SUCCESSFUL HEAD OF THE CHARLES EVER!

Virginia Men's Rowing returned from the world's biggest rowing regatta with a gold medal from the Collegiate 4+ race, and a silver medal from the Collegiate 8+ race. The 4's finish marks VMR's first-ever win at the regatta.

In addition, the women's team finished with their best results to date, winning the Women's Championship 8+ and earning a silver medal in the Women's Championship 4+. They were also the first-place university team.

The boathouse is an exciting place to be these days!

On Saturday, the men's Collegiate 4+ boat (C Valerie Roth, 4 Peter Malm, 3 Edward Crocker, 2 Sam Herder, 1 Will Courtney) dominated the collegiate field, winning their event by more than 44 seconds. Fordham University and Trinity College finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The UVa crew had been clicking well together all fall in sculling boats and in the 4+, making a strong argument to be the 4+ at the Charles.

On Sunday, UVa's Collegiate 8+ entry (C Katie Garrity, 8 Robert Schwieder, 7 Ty Saitta, 6 Scott Stuard, 5 Sean Watson, 4 Steven Lee-Kramer, 3 Ian Feeney, 2 Ben Hammond, 1 Kyle Davis) had an outstanding race, navigating the difficult course through intense traffic. Starting with bow number 4, they even ended up passing FIT and Trinity while chasing the eventual winner, Williams College. Not atypical for the Charles, the Hoos had some trouble passing one crew, which cost them some time. The good news, though, is that after three consecutive years with bad traffic, next year UVa will start with bow #2—almost at the front!

Related article:

http://rowingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=627%3Acollegiate-rowing-shines-on-sunday-at-the-head-of-the-charles&catid=34%3Aheadlines&Itemid=80

Photos:
Collegiate Four
http://www.row2k.com/hocr/photo.cfm?action=pf&dir=2011Fall/HOTC/R14CollegeFour&start=7&label=Collegiate%20Fours&hi=yes

https://www.sportgraphics.com/events/4079/photo_browser?photo_id=5744312

Collegiate Eight
http://www.row2k.com/hocr/photo.cfm?action=pf&dir=2011Fall/HOTC/R29CollegiateEight&start=8&label=Collegiate%20Eights&hi=yes

 

Virginia Athletes Honored by
the American Collegiate Rowing Association

Four Virginia athletes were recently honored by the American Collegiate Rowing Association committee. V8 5-seat Matt Miller, as well as coxswain Allie Plettner were selected for the ACRA All-American First Team; V8 6-seat Alan Kush got the nod for ACRA All-American Second Team; and novice rower Ben Hammond was selected for the ACRA All-Freshman Boat. Congratulations!

 

Head Coach Frank Biller Named the
2011 American Collegiate Rowing Association Coach of the Year

In just his second year at the helm of Virginia Rowing, Head Coach Frank Biller was selected by his fellow ACRA coaches/competitors as the 2011 Coach of the Year. "Of course it's a great honor to be selected for this award by my peers. However, it's really an overall-quality award for our program, our athletes, our board, and the University. I'm just lucky to be here." The Virginia Rowing family congratulates and thanks Frank for his excellent work and dedication. Way to go, Frank!

 

Virginia's Varsity 8 Wins
The American Collegiate Rowing Association Championship

May 29
Gainesville, Georgia

Virginia Men's Rowing wrapped up the winningest season in the program's history today. Six boats brought home four medals from the season-ending American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships—the national championship for club rowing programs. The regatta was held at Lake Lanier—the 1996 Olympic rowing venue—in northern Georgia.

Finals Sunday began with a 4th place finish in the men's single. John Radcliffe, the only novice rower in the field of ten entrants, progressed to Sunday's grand final via a well-rowed heat on Saturday morning. He rowed a technically sound grand final, and inched ahead of UNC's sculler in the final 200 meters to take 4th, a good result.

The varsity 4 (C: Heather Hildreth, 4: Alex Dementiev, 3: Ethan Bauer, 2: Bert Udler, 1: Kyle Davis) was unable to advance out of Saturday's semifinal, but had a solid row on Sunday (including a 3:18 first 1000 meters). They won the C final by open water. "It was a good way to end the season," said Bert Udler.

The 2nd novice 8 (C: Sarah Zillioux, 8: Elliott Oakley, 7: Ben Meyer, 6: Alfred Hubbard, 5: Stephen Lincoln, 4: Graham Lohr, 3: Edwin Nieves, 2: Chris Pena, 1: Jonathan Gaillard) took the lead with a solid start in the grand final but were eventually overtaken by a very game crew from the University of California, Santa Barbara. UVa rowed a long, swinging rhythm, but UCSB used raw horsepower and enthusiasm to pull through the Hoos in the final 500 meters. Though disappointed with their second-place finish, UVa took solace in beginning what would become a run of medals.

The 1st novice 8 (C: Katie Garrity, 8: Dylan Staples, 7: Matt Schilling, 6: Ben Hammond, 5: Sean Watson, 4: Ty Saitta, 3: Sam Kush, 2: Matt Parker, 1: Ian Feeney) came into the regatta peaking both technically and physically. They took the lead off the start in the grand final, thus beginning yet another battle royale with Purdue and Michigan. Purdue, this year's Dad Vail winners, took advantage of UVa's indecision in the third 500 to pull ahead by about a length. The Hoos battled back in the final 500 to take back seats, but it was not enough. The Boilermakers finished about 6 seats ahead and won their second major championship of the season. The Wahoos took silver, with a time of 6:02, ahead of Michigan, UCSB, Bucknell, and Florida.

The 2nd varsity 8 grand final (C: Theresa Tratensek, 8: Ted Wyeth, 7: Lane Cobb, 6: Quinn Weber, 5: Ed Crocker, 4: Will Courtney, 3: Sam Herder, 2: Peter Malm, 1: Jon Byington) came down to a battle with Michigan. The Wolverines had an outstanding start, moving out by about a length. UVa and Michigan then traded seats for the remainder of the race, with Michigan ultimately winning by about a length. Notre Dame, Bucknell, UCSB, and the University of California, Davis rounded out the field.

In the weeks before the SIRA and Dad Vail regattas, several members of Virginia's varsity 8 (C: Allie Plettner, 8: Jon Furlong, 7: Robbie Schweider, 6: Alan Kush, 5: Matt Miller, 4: Steven Lee-Kramer, 3: Sean Fagan, 2: Scott Stuard, 1: Mark Bezold) struggled with various illnesses that hampered both their training and performance. In the two weeks before ACRAs, however, the V8 was feeling healthy again, and their training progressed smoothly.

Through an unusual series of events, Michigan and Virginia (the #1 and #2 seeds, respectively) raced side by side in Saturday's V8 semifinal, with Virginia edging the Wolverines by about two seconds. Sunday's grand final was a classic. UVa and the always-outstanding Michigan battled almost stroke for stroke, bow ball for bow ball for 1800 meters. Virginia pulled ahead in the final 20 strokes to win by a deck, thus igniting an explosion of celebration along the shore. As the varsity 8 received their gold medals on the awards dock, a throng of UVa parents, friends, and athletes serenaded them with the Good Ole Song—and the tune never sounded so sweet!

Part of the team will now prepare for the prestigeous Henley Royal Regatta, in Henley-On-Thames, England. The last time Virginia raced at the Henley was in 2004. The three-week training camp will focus on rebuilding the aerobic base, with a short, but brisk transition phase in a second camp in England. The team will leave Charlottesville on June 18. Competition begins on June 30. The Hoos will race in the Temple Challenge Cup (eight-oared shell) and in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup (coxed four).

 

Virginia Returns from the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta with Two Medals

May 14
Philadelphia, PA

The last time a UVa men's crew won any medal at the Dad Vail Regatta was in 1992. Today the program faced the fastest overall field in the regatta's history and came away with two medals: a gold in the 2nd varsity 8, and a bronze in the 1st novice 8.

Another milestone: after more than a century of American collegiate rowing, the sport finally attracted the attention of television! All of Saturday's races were covered by the Philadelphia affiliate of ESPN 3.

The varsity 4 (C: Heather Hildreth, 4: Alex Dementiev, 3: Ethan Bauer, 2: Bert Udler, 1: Kyle Davis) made it through their Friday heat but were unable to advance out of Saturday's semifinal. The field of 54 crews was simply too deep, with many crews using their top-4 athletes in the 4.

The novice 4 (C: Sarah Zillioux, 4: Elliott Oakley, 3: Ben Meyer, 2: Graham Lohr, 1: Edwin Nieves), advanced out of a field of 47 crews to the grand final, where they finished fifth. Four of the six crews in the final were made up of their program's top- four novice rowers. Given the depth of the field, the novices felt very good about their performance.

The 1st novice 8 (C: Katie Garrity, 8: Matt Parker, 7: Matt Schilling, 6: Dylan Staples, 5: Sean Watson, 4: Ty Saitta, 3: Sam Kush, 2: Ben Hammond, 1: Ian Feeney) had a poor heat but a strong semifinal, and advanced easily to the grand final. In the final, they were a length down to Purdue after the first 200 meters, and then moved at the same speed until 400 meters to go. At that point, both Purdue and Drexel pulled away. UVa finished third, ahead of Brock, Bucknell, and a surprising Florida crew.

The 2V8 (C: Theresa Tratensek, 8: Ted Wyeth, 7: Lane Cobb, 6: Quinn Weber, 5: Ed Crocker, 4: Will Courtney, 3: Sam Herder, 2: Mark Bezold, 1: Jon Byington) was the class of the regatta. They were calm and collected for the entire grand final, flowing confidently and striking precisely. The last time Virginia won a gold medal at the Dad Vail (a 2V8) was in 1990, a 21-year drought.

The V8 (C: Ali Plettner, 8: Sean Fagan, 7: Matt Miller, 6: Alan Kush, 5: Scott Stuard, 4: Steven Lee-Kramer, 3: Peter Malm, 2: Robbie Schweider, 1: Jon Furlong) rowed a strong grand final. Michigan's varsity 8, though, was simply too fast for this go- around. UVa's fourth-place finish—7/10 of a second out of the medals—was a testament to the depth of the field.

The entire team is now training for the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships. VMR will race in the V8, 2V8, V4, 1N8, 2N8, and 1X.

 

Virginia Claims the Men's Point Trophy at SIRAs

April 17
Oak Ridge, Tennessee

For the first time since 2005, Virginia brought home the men's point trophy from the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships today. The Wahoos earned the SIRA honor by medaling in five of six grand finals.

The varsity 8 rowed a blazing semifinal, with a first 500 clocked at 1:22. "They needed every 10th of a second in that race," said head coach Frank Biller, "because the winning time of all three semifinals was 5:47. And the fourth fastest time was 5:48!"

The grand final was a barnburner, with FIT taking the gold and showing that they've maintained their speed from last spring. The Temple Owls rowed strong and finished with their bow ball about 1/3 of a length in front of the Hoos. Virginia came away with the bronze, 2/3 of a length ahead of the GW Colonials.

The second varsity 8 (C: Theresa Tratensek, 8: Ted Wyeth, 7: Lane Cobb, 6: Quinn Weber, 5: Ed Crocker, 4: Peter Malm, 3: Sam Herder, 2: Kyle Davis, 1: Jon Byington) rowed exceptionally well. They were first in their heat on Saturday, thereby earning the afternoon off instead of having to row a semifinal. In the grand final on Sunday, they took control early and rowed with fluid power.

Stroke, Ted Wyeth: "At one point we were a seat behind, but we felt completely in control. We took a move, I felt the boat surge underneath us, and we were able to pull away from the field."

The novice 4 (C: Charlene Friel, 4: Ben Meyer, 3: Chris Pena, 2: Jon Gaillard, 1: Evan Dennis) capitalized on an excellent semifinal to claim the silver medal in Sunday's grand final. The crew improved with each race, and uncorked a solid sprint in the final to finish 4 seconds behind Rollins College.

In the next race on the regatta's schedule, the 2nd novice 8 (C: Sarah Zillioux, 8: Elliott Oakley, 7: John Radcliffe, 6: Alfred Hubbard, 5: Stephen Lincoln, 4: Graham Lohr, 3: Scott Griswold, 2: Alex Abosi, 1: Edwin Nieves) cruised to an eight-second victory in a five-boat race. They were pursued by a scrappy Purdue lightweight 8. Purdue's heavy 8, Notre Dame, and Texas completed the field.

The first novice 8 (C: Katie Garrity, 8: Matt Parker, 7: Matt Schilling, 6: Dylan Staples, 5: Sean Watson, 4: Sam Kush, 3: Ty Saitta, 2: Ian Feeney, 1: Ben Hammond) got out of the starting blocks well in the grand final and rowed in a four-boat pack (with two boats trailing) for about 1600 meters.

Purdue, the University of California-San Diego, and George Washington University all held the lead at some point during the race. Virginia took the lead only at the very end. Their photo-finish margin of victory was clocked at 2/10th of a second.

Ty Saitta, 3-seat of the novice boat: "We expected to be down at 500 in, and we knew exactly what we had to do to win the race. We stayed calm and began to execute our race plan, and it ended up working out in the end."

Novice coach Erich Shuler: "UC San Diego is the best crew we've seen thus far this spring. It took our guys every inch of the 2000 meters to get by them. It was one of those situations in sports where it's disappointing that someone had to finish second. We have nothing but respect for UCSD's program."

The varsity 4 (C: Heather Hildreth, 4: Ethan Bauer, 3: Alex Dementiev, 2: Bert Udler, 1: Will Courtney) was disappointed with their third-place finish in Saturday's semifinal, and they took out their frustration on the competition in the petite final on Sunday. They won the petite by 7 seconds, and finished the regatta well.

 

Wahoos Brave the Elements to Secure Wins in Michigan

April 2
Silver Lake, Michigan

At almost the moment that Virginia's varsity 8 crossed the finish line first today, in the grand final of the 16th Annual Don Lubbers Cup Regatta, the powder-grey clouds parted and the sun shone through. The morning headwind, which had blown as fast as 16 miles an hour, slowed to a light breeze. And the temperature, which had been cold enough to turn the rain to hail, quickly warmed to a more Charlottesville-like range.

Earlier in the day, in its front-page story about the regatta, Silver Lake's local newspaper failed to mention Virginia in its list of participating crews. Nevertheless, the Hoos raced against several top Dad Vail/ACRA contenders, including Grand Valley State, Brock University (from Ontario, Canada), the University of Michigan, the US Coast Guard Academy, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University.

Brock University, last year's Dad Vail champions in the varsity 8, rowed the fastest time in the varsity 1500m time trial. Their novice 8 was also first in their respective time trial. Virginia's crews were second in both trials. In the grand finals, however, Virginia overcame the weather and the competition to win the Don Lubbers Cup (varsity 8) by 5.5 seconds, as well as the Coach Paul Springer Cup (novice 8) by 6.5 seconds.

The 2nd varsity 8 came within a length of securing the team's third victory of the day, but was undone by a strong JV crew from the University of Michigan. The 2nd novice 8 advanced out of the time trial to the 1st novice grand final, where they ended up finishing 4th. The novice 4 completed Virginia's day of racing by finishing 3rd in the grand final, behind Brock and Grand Valley, both of whom doubled-up their top-four athletes to compete in a second final.

VMR now begins preparations for its first major championship regatta of the spring season: the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Virginia Rowing extends a heartfelt thanks to the Grand Valley State University Crew for hosting such a fine event. Thank you, Lakers!

Full Lubbers Cup results here: http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage.cfm?UID=2740268&cat=2

Go Hoos!

 

Wahoos Bring the Murphy Cup Home to Charlottesville

On a cold but sunny afternoon in Philadelphia, at the Murphy Cup Regatta, the Wahoos of Virginia won gold medals in the Varsity 8, 2nd Varsity 8, and 1st Novice 8. The varsity 4 took home a silver medal from a field of 26 entries, and the novice 4 took home a bronze medal from a field of 14. The 2nd novice 8 took fourthin the 1st Novice Grand Final.

Conditions were typical Schuylkill: changing winds and plenty of current. Lanes that were advantageous for the morning heats were blasted with crosswinds in the afternoon. The Hoos did not complain. The crews handled the conditions well, and relied on sound technique to overcome the swirling water.

The Hoos will attempt to keep the momentum going this coming weekend when they compete in the Don Lubbers Cup Regatta, in Spring Lake, Michigan. Many outstanding crews will attend, including Brock University (from St. Catharine's, Ontario), the University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University, the US Coast Guard Academy, and Michigan State University.

 

University Disclaimer: "Although this organization has members who are University of Virginia students and may have University employees associated or engaged in its activities and affairs, the organization is not a part of or an agency of the University. It is a separate and independent organization which is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise or control the organization and is not responsible for the organization’s contracts, acts or omissions."