There will be no rowing gently down the stream this Saturday as the UW men?s crew opens its spring season. The sixth-ranked Badgers host No. 8 Oregon State and Michigan in the home opener on Lake Mendota.
Although the team has yet to race, it is well prepared. The Badgers return seven out of nine members from last year?s eighth-place team. They have also added valuable experience as five team members participated in national rowing camps last summer. The team has been hard at work, enduring grueling practices twice a day since long before the wintry weather gave way to spring. Even with all of the preparation, head coach Chris Clark is uncertain about this weekend.
“I [felt confident] the last few years [in the home opener] because we?d already had a race, but not this year,” Clark said. “I?m confident they?re going to crank hard, but I [can?t] tell you what?s going to happen.”
The fifth-year coach is concerned about the team?s lack of poise from not competing yet. Poise only comes from race experience, which gives Oregon State and Michigan an advantage. Oregon State raced last weekend in the San Diego Crew Classic finishing only a couple of seconds behind Washington, which is ranked third in the nation. Michigan has raced twice already this year and is among the top 25 teams.
The Badgers are driven this season from what they feel was a disappointing performance last year. They finished eighth at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championships but had the talent to be in the top five.
“We had the potential,” team captain Beau Hoopman said. “We had the bodies but we didn?t have the mindset.”
The team is determined to win a medal this year. They have the experience and have definitely gotten stronger in the off-season. Their effort has shown in practice so far, as the team has already broken a number of team records. Eventually the Badgers have their sights set on the championships and racing No. 1 California-Berkeley, the national powerhouse of men?s rowing which is loaded with seven Olympians. The Badgers must first get through their opening race.
“This is the first year I think we can touch [California],” coxswain John Taylor said. “I feel like this years? boat is the fastest boat that Wisconsin?s put out in a long time, if not ever.”
Wisconsin has won four of the last five Ten Eyck trophies, including three straight, for the best overall team performance in the national championships. The team?s success has come with limited recruitment help, as there are no scholarships given for crew. The Badgers rely heavily on the SOAR freshman orientation program to find the strength that they need. Even though crew was the school?s first collegiate sport in 1848, it is still not a Big Ten sport.
For those unfamiliar with crew, the biggest race is the varsity eights. Fittingly called, there are eight rowers in a boat along with the coxswain. The coxswain is the one who steers the boat while shouting instructions to the team. Each boat weighs between 200 and 225 pounds and costs approximately $25,000. The race is straight sprint for 2000 meters (a mile and a half), and lasts only about six minutes.
Come Saturday, the Badgers hope to be under the six-minute mark. There will be a total of six races including the freshman boats, with the first starting at 7:45 a.m. and the varsity race at approximately 8:30 a.m. All races begin at Willows Bay and finish in front of Memorial Union, if the wind and weather permit. Wisconsin expects to carry its hard work and improvement to a victory over Oregon State and Michigan.
“Those crews are going to come and try to hammer us in the first couple of minutes,” Clark said. “If we can keep our poise and hang on, then hopefully we?ll win.”
