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UVa Wins Men's Varsity Eight at the 2011 ACRA Championship Regatta The Virginia men came roaring back from Dad Vails, where they fell to fourth in a tight field racing out of lane five, to begin their run against the Michigan Wolverines with a win in the semifinal. Having set the stage, the UVa men closed the deal yesterday in dramatic fashion taking the men's varsity eight title, and handing the Wolverines their first ever loss in that event at ACRAs. The thing is, we're not surprised. In February, we published this article, discussing the great work that RR Interviewee Frank Biller had been doing with the UVa team – the Mid-Atlantic Erg Sprints displayed the physiological results to prove it. Matt Miller and others were getting the work done that it would take to win this Spring, and yesterday, Miller and the UVa men, with John Furlong back at stroke, capitalized on that work. The Michigan Wolverines also had an outstanding regatta, taking the silver in the varsi...

Check out the Rowing News Twitter feed ( @RowingNews ) this weekend for live updates and coverage of the NCAA Championships, as Bryan teams up with RowingNews.com to bring you coverage from the event. Also, check out the RR Facebook page for updates from Munich and other articles covering the World Cup, which began earlier today with time trials and heats in several events. The team to watch is Great Britain , with a total of 23 entries (all of which are still in contention following today's racing) – gearing up in earnest for this summer's World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia (August 28 through September 4, 2011). The GB squad will look to make a statement about London, 2012 this summer in the final cycle before the Olympic year begins. In light of the success of the GB squad at the previous World Championship Regatta in Karapiro, as well as their solid outlook for the rowing season in 2011, we caught up with Olympic Champion Mark Hunter of the GB Lightweight men...

The championship regattas keep on rolling, and this weekend we celebrate the top teams in women's NCAA rowing, as well as men's and women's collegiate club rowing. In keeping with tradition here on RR, we've got some ideas about what is going to transpire, and some insight to back them up – let's get started. The men's ACRA field will be deeper than ever in the brief history of the event, with very strong teams from Michigan (ECAC and Aberdeen Dad Vail Champions) and Virginia (bronze medalists at SIRAs, fourth place at Dad Vails roughly four seconds behind Michigan), as well as Bucknell, GVSU, and Notre Dame. Washington State also showed that they have gained speed, defeating the Bruins at Pac-10s just over a week ago (after losing to UCLA at WIRAs). While there are a number of teams that could break into the Grand Final in the varsity eight, at this point, in our opinion, Michigan and UVa are locks for medals at the event. With no Delaware at ACRAs, the bro...

There is no denying that Andy Baxter is passionate about rowing. A professional trainer, with a lengthy background in athletics and an ever-increasing desire to excel, Baxter's narrative is very much that of the happy warrior. In Racing Yesterday , Baxter not only communicates his love for the sport and competitive spirit, but also his grasp of what is ultimately the most important thing in both training and life – it is the journey that defines the experience, not the destination. While the decision to train seriously for the Olympics at age 41 (or 49, in Stephen Kiesling's case) is certainly outlandish, both Baxter and Kiesling enter into their adventure with thoughtfulness and determination. From the outset, Baxter communicates frequently with well-known exercise physiologist and USRowing affiliated Dr. Fritz Hagerman of Ohio University, who has been involved in rowing since the 1960s, and who has worked with collegiate and national team athletes across several different s...

This week's video comes to us from Seattle, and features the Washington varsity eight taking on Stanford and CUBC at the 2011 Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut. The video contains clips from the officials' launch, and allows the viewer to hear the coxswains' calls, as well as to get a sense for how it feels as you race down the UW home course. This year's Huskies squad is very deep, even by their own standards (we're talking about a program that nearly swept IRAs in 2009), and will be extra hungry this June as Cal pulled off an incredible upset in the varsity eight last season. The Bears can't be counted out, however, as they closed the gap in the varsity right from the Cal v. Washington dual to the Pac-10 Championships. Also, Harvard has been extremely strong in the East, dominating the Eastern Sprints. The IRA final will be one to watch – now just two weeks away! Note for FeedBurner subscribers: Click the title of the article to view the video on our w...

The NCAA model is upon us, and while there are many things to discuss on that front, those items are for another article. The crux of today's discussion has to do with selection. Tuesday, the NCAA rowing selection committee decided that CRCA No. 16 ranked Texas was not worthy of a bid to attend the national championships this year, despite having defeated two of the teams that were selected (Wisconsin, Clemson), and having won two straight conference titles (Big 12, Conference USA) over the past three weeks, with their only loss of the year coming to Michigan State (invited). The fact is, Texas should have been a shoo-in to make NCAAs this year. The Washington women were invited, as they have been for the last 15 years. But did anyone look at the schedule? While UW is certainly a talented team, the ranking system seems to take into account non-NCAA events. Below are the NCAA guidelines for selection: In accordance with Bylaw 31.3, the following criteria will be used in select...

Just uploaded today, this week's VOTW comes to us from Worcester, and features all the heavy hitters in the varsity eight from the East. Again, the Tigers have provided excellent video coverage, as they did live via their website over the weekend. The video is shot from the launch, and follows the crews all the way down the course, with Harvard in the near lane, Princeton to their left, and Wisconsin in lane 3. Great racing across the board, and, as we predicted last week, Princeton managed to pip Wisco at the line for the silver medal, as Wisco likely trained through this regatta with their eyes on the IRA, now just over two weeks away. Brown also had a great race, crossing the line just over a second behind Wisconsin. Syracuse and BU were just slightly off the pace, finishing roughly 7 and 8 seconds behind Harvard, respectively. With such strong crews from Harvard, Princeton, Wisconsin, Cal, Washington, and Brown, this year's IRA regatta will be well worth watching. Pi...

Husky Men, Cal Women Shine through on Rainy Day in Sacramento (Photo: B. Kitch) The Pac-10 Championships on Lake Natoma typically feature 75-80 degree weather, with shorts and flip-flops everywhere, as the Central Valley edges toward Summer. This year – not so much. The weather was changeable and violent, with the height of the drama coming in the women's Grand Final, both on and off the water. On the men's side, the regatta has become a dual of sorts between Cal and Washington . The Huskies looked dominant in the 2V and V4, with huge, open water victories on the field (Cal taking second place in each case). The Cal Frosh 8 continued their undefeated season, expanding the margin over the Huskies in the first final of the morning, and setting the stage for what was a very closely contested Varsity 8 Grand Final at 11:00am. Two weeks ago, the 'Dawgs' defeated the Bears on the Cut by nearly four seconds. On Sunday, Cal battled the Huskies all the way down the course,...

This year's running of the Aberdeen Dad Vails was, without question, one of the biggest and best rowing events on the circuit, featuring live coverage via ESPN 3, commentary from Keith Russel of ABC (along with Liz Santaniello and Jason Read , who did a great job – even hitting us with a "they were all over that like spiders on a birthday cake" line at one point), interviews – the list goes on. Everyone involved deserves to be commended for their great work – the regatta has done a great deal for the sport in terms of exposure, city-wide involvement, and recognition of all that it takes to make collegiate rowing work. Watching the streaming webcast of the event on ESPN 3, I couldn't help but feel proud of all those competing, and thankful to all those who made the event possible. It's a massive step forward for rowing in the US. Now, let's turn our head to the results. On Thursday, we released our picks for the Grand Final of the Men's Varsity 8 (The Ab...

Apologies for the inconvenience, but Google Blogger is undergoing maintenance and has temporarily removed articles post-dating May 11, 2011. These should be restored shortly, but, in the meantime, Aberdeen Dad Vails are underway, and our picks and predictions (posted Thursday, May 12) look solid so far. In brief, here are our picks once again below, in order of predicted finish: RR Picks for Aberdeen Dad Vails, Men's Varsity 8 Grand Final: Virginia Michigan Temple FIT Delaware Brock/Williams Update from Friday Morning – Two top contenders, Delaware and RR top pick Virginia , were placed in the same heat, with Delaware (a combination lineup of their top heavies and lights) posting the fastest time of the day in the MV8 (roughly 5:52), Virginia a close second at 5:54. The two squads look very strong and there will be some intense racing in the semis. Drexel also posted a solid result, winning their heat in 5:57, while Michigan, Williams, FIT, and Temple won their respec...

It's a huge weekend in US intercollegiate racing this Saturday and Sunday, with Eastern Sprints, Pac-10s, Dad Vails, and the Big 10 Championships all going on at once. Here at RowingRelated, we like knowledge. And, because of our regard for knowledge, we also like to play with that knowledge a little bit. Warning: opinions and predictions to follow. The 2011 Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta boasts a field on the men's side that is more competitive than it has been in years, with many of the teams already having matched up on more than one occasion (often with differing results). Based on all the information that we can compile, here are our picks for the Varsity 8 Grand Final, in order of predicted finish: Virginia Michigan Temple FIT Delaware Brock/Williams We are picking the Virginia men to take the top spot in the Varsity 8. Michigan is certainly very strong, as they proved last weekend at ECACs, defeating a strong crew from Williams for the gold medal. However, Virgi...

The Windermere Cup, 2011 Despite choppy conditions and gusting winds in Seattle last Saturday, the 25th Windermere Cup went off without a hitch, and saw both the Husky men's and women's squads score solid wins against talented opponents in Cambridge , Stanford , and Oklahoma . The Husky men are looking to be clear favorites for this year's edition of the IRA, as they defeated a very strong Stanford crew (featuring several U23 medalists as well as a 2010 junior world champion) by roughly 12.5 seconds, with the composite crew from Cambridge trailing. CUBC had a good showing, however, considering the circumstances, as they came together as a crew for the first time at the regatta (a combination lineup mixing Blue Boat and Goldie oarsmen), and evidently enjoyed themselves (click here for Peter Marsland's take on the event). The margin over Stanford is consistent with the results from the Cal v. Stanford Dual at Redwood Shores just over a week ago. While it's neve...

This week's double-feature comes to us from Lake Carnegie, and gives us an inside look at a Princeton training session on the water. Here we have two all-out pieces, with what appears to be eight boats taking part, for 500m (above) and 1250m (below), as Princeton prepares for Eastern Sprints, coming up this weekend. Again, it's rare that you get an inside look at an elite collegiate practice, and we appreciate all that Princeton has done this year to help promote the sport via video coverage of racing and training. Also coming this week on RR - Weekend review, with great match-ups at ECACs , Huskies dominating Windermere Cup , John Parker out as the chief coach in Oklahoma City (Volpenhein named interim coach), and our previews for Aberdeen Dad Vails , Pac-10s , and Sprints . It's going to be a busy week - time for some Championship racing! Note for FeedBurner Subscribers: Click the title of the article to view the video on our website.

The No. 1 ranked Husky men and No. 7 UW women will host Cambridge this weekend, at this year's edition of the Windermere Cup in Seattle. The UW varsity men are scheduled to face No. 11 Stanford , as well as a crew from Cambridge University Boat Club for their cup race on Saturday, while the Husky women will tackle the Sooners (fresh from their second place finish at the Big 12 Championships) and CUBC. In recent racing, the UW men defeated Cal in the Varsity 8, 2V, and V4 events, while the Bears took an open water victory in the Frosh 8. The UW women found the racing a little hot against Cal, as the now No. 1 ranked Bears (tied with Princeton atop the most recent CRCA/USRowing Coaches' Poll) swept the Huskies. The international crews, while they will row to a high standard and certainly contain talented athletes, will not be on par with UW, as the CUBC men peaked for their 4.5 mile race against Oxford roughly six weeks ago, and are just now putting the lineup together in...

Frosh 8 Grand Final in the last 250 (Photo: N. D'Antoni) Frosh 8 Grand Final last 100m (Photo: N. D'Antoni) Coast Frosh lead Gonzaga and UCSD (Photo: N. D'Antoni) Coast margin in Frosh 8 GF (Photo: N. D'Antoni) Varsity 8 GF - UCSD and Gonzaga (Photo: N. D'Antoni) UCSD maintains lead over Gonzaga (Photo: N. D'Antoni) UCSD and Gonzaga approach the finish (Photo: N. D'Antoni) Big thanks to Nick for the photos!

This year's WIRA Championship Regatta featured some great racing, close finishes, and a few surprising performances. Last week on RR, we made our predictions for the event, with UCSD entering as a heavy favorite coming off strong performances at Crew Classic and SIRAs. Let's see how we, and they, did over the weekend. In the Varsity 8, UCSD took top honors, as we predicted , in a time of 5:52.6. However, they did so with an emergent and rejuvenated Gonzaga crew pressing them from start to finish, rather than by open water. The Zags have evidently found 10 seconds over the past two weeks, as their most recent performance prior to WIRAs saw them lose to Washington State's Varsity 8 by over five seconds at the Fawley Cup on April 16th. This time, it was the Zags finishing some five seconds ahead of WSU, and crossing the line just 1.2 seconds behind the Tritons, to take second place overall. UCLA took third in their first ever appearance at WIRAs, and was the top club team...

The above video comes from the Content Cup between the Princeton and Brown heavyweight men's varsity 8s. The racing was quite close, with the Tigers eventually taking the race by a little less than a length. This is yet another great video, shot from the launch and posted by Princeton -- the Tigers have been leading the way in video race coverage this year. The same is true of the video below, which features the No. 1 Tiger Open Women taking on No. 5 Virginia , whom Princeton defeated by roughly 12 seconds in the 1V over the weekend. UVa fought well and battled back to win the V4 competition over entries from Princeton, Columbia and Tennessee . The last video I've included here (recorded and produced by the RR Editorial Staff) comes from 'The Big Row' between Cal and Stanford over the weekend, which featured an upset with the No. 3 Cal women defeating No. 2 Stanford in the varsity eight. The video shows a clip of the 2V race as the crews come underneath the b...

The Cal Frosh launch at Redwood Shores (Photo: B. Kitch) The Cal women entered the racing on Saturday for this year's Big Row against Stanford as underdogs, with the Stanford women coming in at No. 2 according to the most recent coaches' poll, and with the Cardinal having won the most recent match-up between the two schools at the Lake Natoma Invite just two weeks earlier in the Varsity and 2V8s. The first NCAA race of the morning was the Varsity 4+, which saw Cal and Stanford locked in a stroke-for-stroke battle throughout the first 500m. The Cal crew (a lineup featuring Jenn Helssen and Charlotte Palmer , who took second in the V4+ at the 2010 NCAA Championships) settled into their mid-race rhythm, making a big push again as they crossed 750m. In so doing, they pulled out to a length lead as they crossed underneath the bridge (just past the 1000m mark) eventually taking the race in a time of 7:29.6 to continue their undefeated season. The Frosh 8s saw Cal continue their...