RowingRelated

Potomac Boat Club training in Virginia (Photo: Andrew Neils ) The Boston Marathon had a long tradition of tolerating "bandits," or runners sneaking into the race, bib-less, without having paid. They had to crack down eventually of course, but I assume it was seen as in keeping with the amateur roots of the event and the local traditions involved—let those lovable rogues have their fun! I don't think there's an analog in the rowing world. It's awfully hard to sneak a single into the Head Of The Charles starting chute, for instance; it's surprisingly difficult to sneak an eight into the Georgetown lightweights vs. Temple lightweights dual (we tried). And American rowing has no shortage of rogues, some lovable, some not; the 'Rude and Smooth Crew,' the "Dirty Dozen" eight, the Riverside Meatwagon. * We have the mischief-makers—so, where's the mischief? Sure, every once in a while, perhaps a college crew gets to race at a World C...

Our take on the rowing 2016 season, with championships looming It's hard to believe, but we are already nearly through another season of rowing at the collegiate level here stateside, and the competition is well and truly heating up. Here's our take on the season so far, with a view toward championship racing, just around the corner.

The famous finish line tower at Lake Lanier (Photo: A.J. Brooks) The 2015 American Collegiate Rowing Championships, celebrating the best of the best in intercollegiate club rowing in the United States, showed once again that the level that it takes to reach the top of the podium continues to rise in the club ranks.

The 2015 ACRA Championships are set to begin tomorrow morning on the 1996 Olympic course at Lake Lanier, Georgia, and, well, it just wouldn't be right if we didn't take the opportunity to shoot our mouths off and throw some picks and predictions out there. Feel free to use them as motivation—anything to fuel the fire. Warning: Opinions will follow. Started rowing in Georgia this morning on the 1996 Olympic course #ACRA2015 A photo posted by Bucknell Men's Crew (@bucknellcrew) on May 21, 2015 at 12:02pm PDT The men's varsity eight event this year will be a barn burner, with more heat coming from teams out West than in previous seasons. As evidenced by San Diego Crew Classic and later Newport Regatta (see video below), both UCSB and the UC Irvine Anteaters are looking strong—the Anteaters got the better of the Gauchos at WIRAs , as did Washington State , and UC Irvine followed up that performance with a victory in Newport Harbor (a first for the program...

The UCSB men on the Crew Classic podium, 2013 (Photo: B. Kitch) Without a doubt, the top-end speed in men's club rowing has been improving over the past few years, not least because of the development of the ACRA league. What will 2015 hold? Here are our picks for the long haul.

This week's video comes to us from the Montlake Cut, where the Washington Huskies have been putting the final touches on their preparation for the 2014 IRA National Championship Regatta , set for this weekend in Princeton. The Huskies, who (inexplicably) started the season as the No. 6-ranked men's varsity eight, are looking to cap off another Pac-12 win with a fourth-straight IRA title (and fifth in the last six years)—but they will have their work cut out for them. The Huskies came through Pac-12s strong, but faced their toughest challenge since the 2013 Cal-Washington Dual , coming back from a four-seat deficit with 500m to go to take the victory by roughly one seat over Cal . Cal and UW race to the line at Lake Natoma (Photo: B. Kitch) While ACRAs are now in the rearview, the varsity-level national championships give us plenty to look forward to, with IRAs taking over Mercer Lake, and the 2014 NCAA Rowing Championships returning to Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis ...

This week's video comes to us from the Boston College men's rowing team, and features a look back at the 2014 campaign for the Eagles, which included a trip out west to San Diego for Crew Classic (where they finished seventh overall, winning the Petite Final), and most recently a seventh place finish at ECACs. In addition to some nice on-the-water shots, there's a healthy bit of boathouse banter thrown in ("boatspeed") from what was a solid season for the men in maroon and gold. Next up for BC men's crew? ACRAs, which kick off tomorrow in Gainesville, Georgia, pitting the top collegiate club teams in the country against one another to crown this year's national champion. The 2014 edition of the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships will be live-streamed and feature very strong crews from Michigan , Virginia , Grand Valley State , and Bucknell renewing their rivalries on Lake Lanier. And so, without further ado, let's take a look...

This week's video comes from spring break training camp with our frontrunners for the 2014 ACRA national title, the University of Michigan Wolverines. From the above, it looks as though the Michigan men's squad enjoyed some unfamiliar conditions (sun, warmth), and took full advantage of their camp, on and off the water. The Wolverines are in action this weekend in Philadelphia at the 76th Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta , and having won their heat are well positioned to take a run at the title again this year—their last heavyweight varsity eight victory came in 2012, when they edged FIT by roughly three tenths of a second to claim the crown on the Schuylkill. Other contenders for the men's varsity eight title this year look to be FIT , Bucknell , Grand Valley , Virginia , and defending champions  Drexel —these are probables for tomorrow's final, though there is a tough round of semis coming up on Saturday morning. For live, streaming coverage of Dad Vails, check out ESP...

Better late than never! The 2013 ACRA National Championships are nearly underway on Lake Lanier, Georgia, with expanded, eight-lane finals sure to make for exciting racing once again this year. Here are our thoughts on what'll happen this weekend: Men's Varsity Eight Virginia Michigan State Michigan Cavalier seniors Scott Stuard and Jonathan Furlong will be looking to set the record straight after a sixth place finish at Dad Vails, while Michigan State's Mike Slopsema  and the Spartans are hoping to back up their excellent performance in Philadelphia with more hardware in Gainesville. Wolverine junior Louis Schaljo and the Michigan men's varsity eight are coming off a win at ECACs, and Grand Valley, led by RR interviewee Justin Wegner , has a tough squad, and more experience than last year's campaign—the Lakers will be battling for a podium finish this year after just missing at ACRAs in 2012. Women's Varsity Eight Grand Valley Purdue UCSB S...

Attention, Go! (Photo: B. Kitch) All of intercollegiate rowing's No. 1 teams are set to be in action this weekend*, with the top-ranked Washington  men at Redwood Shores to take on Stanford (details here ), NCAA  No. 1 USC taking on No. 2 Cal and No. 9 Stanford at the Lake Natoma Invitational (follow @NatomaInvite on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend), SIRAs taking over Oak Ridge, TN (follow @oakridgerowing for live results) and pitting ACRA men's No. 1 Virginia against rivals The George Washington University (last year's SIRAs champ), Jacksonville, FIT, Temple, Delaware, and others, while women's ACRA no. 1 Purdue will take on Crew Classic champions Central Oklahoma, Jacksonville, FIT & more. Last, but certainly not least, the No. 1 Stanford women's lightweights will take on Harvard-Radcliffe, while the No. 1 Harvard men's lightweights are set to do do battle with Navy (though these events may be postponed due to ongoing police activ...

Head coach John Bancheri's program at Grand Valley State has become a perennial contender in the ACRA league on both the men's and women's sides, thanks in no small part to the contributions of athletes like our most recent RR interviewee, Justin Wegner . Justin began rowing in high school, and brought some experience to the Laker program when he arrived on campus in 2009. Since then, Justin and the GVSU squad have continued to post better and better results—not least of which was winning the Cal Cup at the 2012 San Diego Crew Classic. Here, Justin shares a little about his rowing background, the program at GVSU, and his thoughts on the rising tide of ACRA rowing. RR: In the rowing world, we hear a lot about high school athletes who 'burn out' when it comes to rowing in college, but you are the complete opposite, with better and better results to show for it. What motivates you as an athlete and keeps the flame burning so bright? Justin Wegner: Rowing was t...

Cal and Washington at the 2012 Pac-12 Championships (Photo: B. Kitch)  IRA Men 1. Washington Our top pick for 2013 is Washington. The Huskies are stacked, feature an Olympic silver medalist in Conlin McCabe , and recently showed that (despite their relative youth) they are nails, walking away from Cambridge on the Boat Race course (for more on that crew, click here ). At this point in time, UW boasts the best program top to bottom—they are loaded and will be hard to beat in any event. Still, there are new challenges for Washington: the departure of Luke McGee and the new freshman rule may make the frosh event an interesting one this year. 2. California If anyone is going to upset Washington in the varsity eight this year, Cal might just be the one to do it—the Golden Bears have great top-end speed. Led by a strong Serbian talent in Jovan Jovanovic (a sophomore who stroked the eight in the fall and is a Serbian U23 and junior national team member), fellow Serbians Igo...

This week's video comes to us from the University of California, Santa Barbara men's rowing team, and pairs a punchy soundtrack with some intense training on and off the water—as well as a healthy dose of faffing about on land. UCSB Crew is a club program for both men and women, and, like all other clubs, it depends upon alumni donations and athletes' dues to 'stay afloat,' if you'll forgive the pun. Many of us got our start at club programs, and it's important to recognize the hard work and dedication of club rowing athletes all across the country, as the standard continues to rise at the ACRA national championships. For club athletes, there is a true purity of purpose—there is no other incentive to join, and do the work, outside of love for the sport and commitment to team. And, it can certainly lead to great things—in fact, UCLA women's head coach Amy Fuller Kearney got her start in rowing at UCSB, and went on to compete in no less than three O...

The NCAA Rowing Championships and ACRA National Championships are now just hours away, and it wouldn't be right if we didn't throw some picks and predictions out there. We released some season-long predictions in January , and we are sticking to our guns, though things have certainly heated up in both fields (not to mention the IRA field that will take to the water in just under a week). Now, let's get started. NCAA Rowing Championships: We picked Virginia to win the Division I team title last Winter, and Kevin Sauer's Cavaliers are looking on pace to do just that, despite their No. 2 ranking behind Pac-12 power California . The RR readers' poll agrees with that assessment at this point, with 29% of the vote currently going to Virginia, versus 24% to Cal. The Golden Bears will enter NCAAs this year on a tremendous high, having swept the Pac-12 Championships for the first time a little less than two weeks ago–Cal is certainly not to be taken lightly, nor would...

Spring racing season has begun! (Photo: B. Kitch) The April 2012 issue of Rowing News is on the way, and if you're interested in what to look for this college rowing season–be it IRA teams, NCAA programs, or ACRA and Dad Vail squads–we're giving you an inside take, with input from a number of top coaches around the country, including Virginia's Kevin Sauer and Frank Biller , Charley Butt of the Harvard lightweight men's program, John Fuchs of Western Washington, and Sandy Calfo of Purdue. In addition to our preview of the collegiate rowing season, our cover story–an interview with Harvard men's head coach Harry Parker , now entering his 50th season at the helm of the Crimson squad–details the legendary coach's views on NCAA v. IRA, the origins of seat racing, his team and his legacy. Combine this with advice on how to coach the sprint from three-time Olympian and UCLA women's head coach Amy Fuller Kearney , coverage of the first NSR, the growing scen...

UVa V8 Trains on Rivanna Reservoir (Photo © Jenny Moloney) Matt Miller is not your average collegiate club rower. He first got our attention in January, when he dominated the Mid-Atlantic Erg Sprints, taking first place in 5:54.7 – a time that would have earned him a medal at the 2011 Crash-B World Indoor Rowing Championships. Since that time, Matt and UVa have continued to develop and improve, under the guidance of head coach Frank Biller, who is, by all accounts, a master organizer. This Spring, after a fourth place finish in the varsity eight at Dad Vails, the Virginia men capped off their season with a first-ever victory over Michigan at the 2011 ACRA National Championship in Gainesville, Georgia. Now, Matt and the Cavaliers are looking to build on that success internationally at Henley Royal Regatta later this month. Here, Matt catches up with us about his time training and studying at UVa, his team's success, and his plans for Summer 2011. RR: What is your background in ...

This week's VOTW comes to us thanks to the efforts of Michigan men's head coach Gregg Hartsuff and the ACRA regatta committee, and features a great race between the top club varsity eights in the country. Michigan and Virginia fight it out all the way down the course, while the rest of the field is left to battle for third place. 2011 Collegiate Lightweight Crash-B Champ Greg Flood , one of the captains of the Notre Dame varsity squad, helps the Irish gain a place on the podium, rounding out the medals with a best-ever finish for ND at the event. This Friday, RR interviews Matt Miller of UVa's varsity eight, about the season, this race, and the team's plans for Henley coming up in just a few short weeks. Also, be sure to check out the coverage of the 109th IRA Regatta posted by Bryan on RowingNews.com , featuring photos and links to interviews with Mike Teti , Michael Callahan , Luke McGee , Crash-B Champion and Husky oarsman Conlin McCabe , as well as Hans Str...

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...

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...

This year's Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta boasted one of the deepest men's fields in recent memory, which made for a very exciting weekend, filled with intense racing despite the storms and less-than-ideal weather that delayed racing at times. In the Varsity 8 things got started with a bang, with crews fighting to secure the top spots in Saturday afternoon's semifinals. All the top seeds advanced with relative ease in the first three heats. The fourth heat had the most drama as a feisty Notre Dame crew put the pressure on GWU all the way down the course and fought valiantly for the win hoping to secure an easier semifinal, but came up just 0.3 seconds short at the line. The semifinals were filled with very competitive racing in a two-to-advance format. Delaware was the biggest loser in the semis missing out on the final by just less than a second and were only 1.1 seconds away from semi winner Virginia . We were very impressed by Delaw...