Wingnuts and Washers From the Weekend

A presser about Dayton's silver in the JV eight at Dad Vail originally called the boat the "lightweight eight." Perhaps they did a Bucknell after all. This link, though, goes to the "2nd varsity" story.

The Stanford and LMU pressers about PCRCs are here and here.

Sprints stories are up for Wisconsin, Princeton, and Radcliffe.

Wisconsin also won the inaugural Konrad Ulbrich Team Trophy, another feather to put in the Badger cap. Also, a few people mentioned that one of the Wisco rowers was a bit wobbly on the awards dock after the race. Unbelievably (because I watched the medal presentation) I missed it all. You know, rowers always joke about passing out on the last stroke of the race, but few actually pull it off. This woman apparently came pretty close and nothing more can possibly be said about giving your all. What a testament not only to the intensity of the race, but to the spirit and heart of that athlete.

2007 Pacific Coast Rowing Championship Preview

A bit overshadowed by the huge East Coast regattas this weekend, the PCRCs take place in Sacramento. In the light eight, LMU takes on Stanford. (The LMU release also says that Cal will be in the race, but they aren't listed on the heat sheet.) Stanford has owned LMU recently, but the Lions are starting to come into their own. I don't think they're quite up to beating the number 3 crew in the nation, but the race will give them a good feel for where they stand heading to IRAs. For Stanford the race will serve to give them some racing action against a worthy opponent. The Cardinal will have to guard against overconfidence because I suspect that LMU will narrow past margins.

There's a five boat field in the four, consisting of Cal, UCSD, Stanford, Humboldt State, and the University of the Pacific. Stanford looks like the fastest of this group, having previously defeated Cal and Humboldt State. UCSD previously raced LBS, finishing 16 seconds back. This looks like Stanford's race to lose.

LMU lightweight Jill Austin is also racing in the open single, a little less than three hours before the eights. Austin sculled quite a bit over the summer and I wouldn't be surprised to see her pull off a win here.

LMU IS Headed to IRAs

After I passed along some bum scoop I thought I picked up from the LMU web site, a member of the Lions light eight wrote (and a reader commented) to tell me that they are going to IRAs. It's no small commitment to travel across the country for a race, and athletic departments, rowers, coaches, and parents only put out the money for deserving crews. LMU deserves to go. This won't be an easy final to make, but with a strong, fearless row I think LMU has a good shot at it. Although the Lions lost to UCF by 10 seconds at Windermere, the Golden Knights have had the misfortune of going without a race since then, while LMU will have WIRAs and the upcoming PCRCs under their belt. (Let's stop a moment for some empathy for UCF - imagine training all this time without a race!)

While WIRAs, PCRCs, and Windermere are big time regattas, they aren't necessarily big time lightweight regattas. As the only women at IRAs, you know you are there to compete for a championship. I'm happy to see Loyola Marymount compete in New Jersey, although I suspect there will be a few crews there who won't be.

LMU Wins the Eight and the Four at WIRAs

Well, a lot's been happening! I'm late on this, of course, but we need to give LMU their due. The Lions won both the light eight and light four at WIRAs last weekend. The light eight was decided by a whisker, otherwise known as 0.1 seconds! Here's how LMU saw it:

In the eight, LMU and Cal State Long Beach took an early lead over the field of six, which included Cal Lightweights, Arizona State, UC San Diego, and Chapman University. Long Beach held a four seat lead over the LMU lightweights until about 1600 meters in when LMU began to make a move. Coming into the last 30 strokes, LMU had managed to bring the deficit down to 2 seats, and just before the finish line, edged their bow-ball in front to a win, with a .1 second margin over Long Beach. In third place was UC San Diego, 12 seconds back.

Cal, Chapman, and ASU were fourth, fifth, and sixth.

The four was a bit more comfortable as LMU took an early lead and won by 8 seconds over Long Beach State, who was followed by UCSD, USD, PLU, and Mills.

This is truly lightweight racing at its best. A race like that in the eight is so exhilarating for the winners and so devastating for the losers, that it approaches the perfect athletic experience. It certainly doesn't feel like that to Long Beach State, but to fully know victory, you must taste bitter defeat. The fact is that Long Beach State turned in an incredible performance, of which they should be proud. Back in March, LBS was 3.5 seconds back from LMU. Since then, we've watched the Lions race, and we know that they've raced high level competition and have only become faster. For Long Beach to sneak up on a high quality crew like that is quite an achievement.

As for the Lions, rowing from behind for 3/4 of the race, yet keeping enough confidence to push through a move in the last 400 meters, finally pulling out the victory by a bowball in the last 30 strokes - that's guts. While Stanford, a strong dedicated varsity lightweight program, has been bringing West Coast class to the lightweight league for several years, Loyola Marymount is beginning to epitomize the new face of western lightweight rowing. With Stanford as a target, programs like LMU are consistently rowing fast lightweight boats and creating a true competitive league west of the Rockies. The Pacific Northwest is a bit behind in development, but will ultimately come on faster. While some of the hoary old eastern crews abandon lightweights to focus on the NCAA's one-way pot of gold, open minded western programs are beginning to realize that their minds, and their programs, are their own, to do with as they please. Imagine, you can have fast heavyweights AND fast lightweights! Who would've thunk it (well, other than Princeton, Wisconsin, Radcliffe, ...)?

Stepping off my soap box, let's get back to LMU. The Lions will finish their season with another shot at Stanford at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on the 12th. I so wish they could go to IRAs, but I understand the cost can be prohibitive. They deserve to be there though (as do some other western crews). There'll be no excuse when the regatta moves west.

More good news for LMU is the fact that lightweight rower Jill Austin has been named to the All WIRA second team. Austin spent some time in heavyweight boats too, but it's great to see a lightweight get some recognition.

Another nugget of news is the fact that LMU will not lose one rower to graduation next year, and has four recruited rowers joining the squad. This is a lightweight program with focus and, if they can just avoid raids by the heavyweights, will begin to see real speed increases. Drawing LMU at Windermere is no longer a rowover.

(Thanks to Coach Conway for the pictures.)

Windermere Crew Classic - Princeton Wins, But It's Stanford's Regatta

While the rest of the lightweight league warred on the East Coast, Stanford, LMU, and Cal welcomed Princeton and UCF to the West.

On Saturday morning Stanford handled LMU with an 18 second win, followed by a reprise of the Princeton victory over UCF, this time by 25 seconds. The afternoon races resulted in Stanford defeating UCF by 25 seconds, while Princeton knocked off LMU by 21. Wow! What better set-up for a Sunday Princeton-Stanford showdown could there be?

At the 500 meter mark of that Sunday showdown, the Tigers were out to a 3 second lead, and spectators could be forgiven for expecting a comfortable Princeton victory. It was not to be, however, as the Tigers only picked up another second and a half by the 1k mark, and then watched the Cardinal slowly move back. Princeton won the race, but by a mere 3 seconds, with Stanford turning in a faster final 1000 meters. It was hard to see much detail on the Web cast, but in the last 500, over which Stanford was a second faster, it looked like Princeton was struggling to get out of their puddles while Stanford maintained their length. Last year I believed it was UCF who would come roaring back from a less than ideal season the prior year, and this year I've said that it would be Stanford. It looks like I was right.

Also on Sunday, UCF and LMU, both holding 0 and 2 records at the regatta, met for the final lightweight eight showdown. In a race led by UCF the whole way, the Golden Knights defeated LMU by 10 seconds. Both of these crews came into Windermere and ran into buzz saws in the forms of Princeton and Stanford. They rowed well, but the Tigers and Cardinal were just too strong. In LMU's case, they competed against three of the top crews in lightweight rowing and acquitted themselves well.

The Princeton 2V was also at Windermere and finally got that race against Cal's heavyweight 3V. Cal jumped out to a 6 second lead by 500 meters and only gradually lengthened it from there, ultimately winning by 20 seconds. It was a tough row for Princeton as they faced a head wind which was an advantage for Cal the Tigers could ill afford to give up.

In the Princeton 2V's second race, on Sunday, they faced the Cal lightweights and Arizona State. Sam Chang, who wrote the Windermere preview on row2k, told me that ASU brought 4 lightweight rowers and their entire heavyweight boat with them, so the boat faced by Cal and Princeton was at least half heavyweights. This was the three boat demolition derby race with Cal, in lane zero, the most likely to run into trouble. Although the race ran off schedule so the results aren't listed, spotters tell me Princeton had an open water lead by the bridge, with Cal and ASU locked in a tight battle behind. Princeton maintained and lengthened its lead, winning by a couple of lengths open, with the Cal - ASU duel uncertain. Cal had to maneuver through the bridge so they clearly had a disadvantage, but whatever the outcome, the Golden Bears raced down a heavyweight crew from ASU, a nice result for a boat that hasn't had a lot of time together this season. Princeton's 2V, meanwhile, apparently put together a good race and showed their speed.

At the end of the day, a Stanford light four dominated a Cal light four, winning by 57 seconds.

With Stanford's resurgence Princeton begins to look vulnerable and the West Coast begins to become a larger factor in lightweight rowing. Princeton flies back east knowing they have yet to find the answer, and Stanford goes home with a new confidence and the understanding that by IRAs they should be contending for a medal. This result, combined with that from Knecht, makes me rethink the relative strength of the top crews. While I still believe Princeton is capable, I think Wisconsin is once again the crew to beat and that Stanford is in the top three. Next week's Princeton-Georgetown dual will tell us more, with the Stanford, Georgetown, Wisconsin, OSU race in two weeks looming especially large.

Windermere Crew Classic Preview

Racing this weekend will be overshadowed by the Knecht Cup and, to a lesser extent, by the Windermere Crew Classic. We'll start with Windermere in Redwood Shores, California. This is a regatta at which the participants are treated like queens and kings, particularly the out-of-towners. In some cases (all?) local Windermere real estate offices pick visiting teams to cheer for and root for those crews all weekend. Those of us who have rowed on the West Coast know that it's a great place to be and I hope the region develops more lightweight teams in the coming years.

For our purposes the racing kicks off on Saturday at 1108 as Stanford takes on LMU, followed by a reprise of Princeton vs UCF. I'll start off by saying that I think Stanford will be a lot faster than most people expect. They clearly toyed with the other crews at the Crew Classic and after a pretty crummy spring last year, the Cardinal will be ready to strut their stuff. LMU has a good boat this year (I think significantly faster than other years, if they get all their best lightweights in it), but they'll have their hands full. I'm not saying this will be a blowout, but I think Stanford will take this one. Princeton and UCF just raced last week and although the Golden Knights probably got faster over the week, I don't think it's enough time to make up 20 seconds. For UCF to have a chance here the Tigers have to have a bad row and UCF needs a great row.

At 1226 Princeton's 2V is scheduled to take on the Cal heavyweight 3V. Cal's heavyweights are currently ranked 5th in the nation so although the schedule says 3V, I assume this boat can hammer. I bet Cal is talking about not embarrassing the little lightweights. This matchup was also scheduled last year, but never took place; hopefully this year is different. Prediction? I have no idea, but this could be the most intense lightweight race of the regatta. I'd love to get a picture of these two crews lined up next to each other!

Saturday evening the crews switch as Stanford takes on UCF and Princeton battles LMU. Last year UCF went west for the Pacific Coast Championships looking for revenge against a Stanford crew that just beat them at the IRA. The tables are turned this year as it's Stanford's turn to prove they're contenders. This should be one of the more exciting races at the regatta. A good win by Stanford might make some Tigers lose sleep Saturday night. First, of course, Princeton needs to get by LMU. Just as with UCF, LMU will need a great race while Princeton has a bad one to see an upset here.

Sunday begins with the Princeton 2V taking on Arizona State. This will be some good racing experience for ASU, but I expect Princeton to take this one. At 1130 Stanford takes on Princeton followed by LMU vs UCF. If you can only make it to the race course one day, make it Sunday (ooooh, except maybe for that Princeton2V - Cal heavy 3V matchup). This is a big race for Stanford as they'll take on the current top ranked lightweight boat in the country. If Princeton lives up to its billing, it will be a difficult task for the Cardinal, but it's because of that "if" that we race. A better race than some might expect, but Princeton should win. The LMU - UCF race will be a dog fight. Easties (and Stanford) are used to LMU being a gimme, but that won't be true this year. If their top lightweight boat makes it to the starting line (and I assume it will) UCF will have a race on its hands. It's awfully early in the season to make predictions, so to me this is too close to call.

At 1230 a Stanford four takes on a Cal four. I expected Cal to be racing an eight, but injuries kept them from the Crew Classic so I'm guessing that they're not quite healed yet. That's a tough break.

I like Windermere and I like how Stanford gets East Coast crews to travel West. It's great to spread the lightweight karma around the country and get good crews racing each other no matter where they're located. That's what elite college sports are all about. It calls the bluff of those crews, located in the heart of the eastern lightweight concentration, who complain about having to race as a lower level heavyweight boat to find good races. These Windermere programs are committed to lightweight rowing and put their money and effort where their mouths are (and yes, Stanford has traveled to Knecht in the past). Speaking of which, part of Princeton's commitment to the league is bringing two boats West. I, however, would've been tempted to only take the 1V and race the 2V at Knecht. That 2V is a pretty fast boat and it would've been interesting to see what it could have done.

Spring Regatta Results

The Pete Archer Spring Regatta in Long Beach results are out and LMU had a good day. The Lions won the light eight by 3 seconds over Cal State Long Beach and by 28 seconds over UCSD. LMU followed up the 2k win with a 1k win over CSULB by 1 second.

The LMU boat contained a rower who won the national championship in the intermediate light quad and silver in both the intermediate and senior light double at nationals last summer. It looks like LMU can put out a pretty good light eight this year and with a few weeks until Windermere, they should be able to give Stanford and the Easties a good run.

Some Not Reviewed

Because the season previews are done on last year's top ten, some crews that are worthy of pre-season notice are inevitably left out. In particular, no West Coast crews were previewed. While this reflects the down year those crews had last year, it's probably not indicative of their performance this year. I find it hard to believe that Stanford will be kept out of the top 10 for long (or ever again?), and I think it's about time for Cal to break into the group. The problem for Cal, however, is that they can never really get ranked without traveling to IRAs, a trip that is quite an expense for a club team. When the IRAs move west I'm sure we'll see Cal race, as well as a few other crews, such as LMU. Stanford, Cal, and LMU really make up the West Coast lightweight contingent and are often unfairly overlooked. In the case of Cal and LMU it's very difficult to know where they stand with regard to the East Coast schools because they so infrequently race each other. When they do, such as at Windermere, it's early in the season and they're unlikely to be in top form. Even Cal's trip to Boston this year left questions since they were involved in a collision and were unable to show their true speed. The Bears do have the IRAs on their schedule this year, so perhaps we'll see them in Camden.

Another program that has pretty faithfully raced lightweight boats is Marist. Marist will be at Knecht and they also have the IRAs on their schedule. The Red Foxes have been fighting through a spate of injuries all fall and winter, a situation that could imperil the light eight. Marist would like to race a fast eight at IRAs and they finished as high as 8th in 2001, so they do have some history at the big race. I'll cross my fingers for some quick healing Red Foxes.

Also a quick update on St. Joe's. The Hawks will not be racing lightweights this year. A disappointment, but even when they start the season with a light boat they often fall away as time goes on. I do think that one of these years we'll see them put out a strong boat for an entire season.

Loyola

Loyola Marymount put out a release on their Races at Windermere that adds some perspective to their performance and their program. The article says that the LMU lightweight program is in its second year and the squad is comprised of sophomores and freshmen. It was impressive to see them within 12 seconds of Stanford. Even better news is the fact that the school is planning to build its lightweight program. The first step in any plan is a lightweight coach, and LMU's novice coach is also the lightweight coach. Given a good opening performance last weekend, if LMU sticks to the plan, they could quickly become the West Coast version of UCF or URI - schools making a conscious effort to build their lightweight programs and seeing quick rewards.

Speaking of Loyola, Loyola College in Maryland has a press release out about their light four's Murphy Cup performance. They were third (of six), but it turns out that they were in a dogfight for second with CMU until an oarlock popped open 200 meters from the finish. Can't you just hear their coach when they got back to the dock, "How many times have I told you...?" Anyway, sounds like they can develop some more speed in the four.

LMU Raced at the WCC Challenge

LMU raced a lightweight eight at the WCC Challenge, losing to Long Beach State's heavies. The lightweight four also raced finishing second behind the LMU heavy four and beating some local club teams. If LMU is racing a light eight now they should have an entry at the Pacific Coast Championships and maybe at the Crew Classic (only Stanford and Wisconsin are entered at the moment).