Nothing could stop the Wisconsin men’s crew team Saturday morning on Lake Mendota.
Two quality teams, Michigan and No. 13 Oregon State, were unable to stop the Badgers, and the 38-degree water and slight head wind failed to defeat UW as well.
The only thing that held the team up the entire day was the fog. After a two-hour fog delay, Wisconsin took five of the six races to soundly defeat the Beavers and Wolverines.
The highlight of the season-opening event, the varsity eight race, did not disappoint. The No. 6 Wisconsin crew notched a quality time with the victory, despite the chilly water and wind.
“Going 5:56 is really good in cold water,” Paul Daniels, UW’s seventh seat, said. “I feel like this year’s team is on top of its game early.”
With excellent results against two good teams, the numbers agree. The first varsity eight withstood a furious start by the opposition, and by the 500m mark of the 2000m race, it had the victory secured.
“We were at 1:25 the first 500m which is really fast on this course,” UW head coach Chris Clark said. “In a 2000m race in the Olympics with fair and warmer climate, they are probably going to go 1:21, 1:22 for a gold medal pace.”
From that point on, experience took over. By the midpoint of the race, the Badgers had increased their lead to over a boat length on OSU.
The Beavers would make it closer before the finish, but the final sprint allowed Wisconsin to regain the boat’s length lead.
“Once I saw us get the lead, with this crew, forget it,” Clark said. “If we get the lead against Cal and Washington, there is no guarantee we’re going to hold it because they’re so good. But against these crews, if we get the lead there’s no way. We’re too tough.”
Officially, Wisconsin’s time was 5:56.48. Oregon State clocked in at 5:59.98 and Michigan rounded out the race at 6:14.45. In its race, the second varsity eight for Wisconsin timed in at 6:11:09, good enough for a five-second victory over second-place Michigan.
The third, fourth and fifth varsity crews for the Badgers notched times within four seconds of each other from 6:15.5 to 6:19.6. The fifth varsity eight defeated the fourth varsity eight by three seconds in the final race of the competition.
The lone loss came in the first freshman eight race. Michigan edged out the Badgers by three and a half seconds with a time of 6:16.2.
“It’s a little bit of a surprise,” Clark said. “Since we’ve had this race the freshmen haven’t lost.”
But according to Clark, the Michigan coaches consider their first freshman team their best ever.
The second freshman eight defeated two Michigan freshman crews with a time of 6:35.68.
In the four-year history of the event, this was the first time the weather allowed the team to compete on the south shore. Due to inclement weather, the race had to be moved to other parts of the lake in previous years.
The 2000m race started at Willows Bay and finished at Memorial Union.
“When we can row on our own course, it’s one of the best in the United States,” Daniels said.
The unfortunate thing is that the team rarely gets that opportunity. The week before last was the first time the team was able to practice on Lake Mendota.
The season heats up next weekend when the team goes up against Washington and California, the top teams in the country.
The first and second varsity crews will compete against No. 3 Washington in Seattle on Saturday before traveling to No. 1 California and No. 17 Stanford on Sunday. The freshmen will face Minnesota Saturday at home. Clark said victories against the two top teams next week are unlikely because it’s early in the season and the two schools are very talented.
“We have a much more reasonable chance to get into them a little bit in six weeks,” Clark said.
