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Bob
Ernst Looks Ahead to 2007
How can you not be excited?
Coming off a great Collegiate Division win at the Head of the
Charles, the standard for the men’s 2007 season has been set.
The Husky boathouse is filled with young,
talented, high-expectation athletes who are looking forward to
spring competition. According to Bob, there will be ferocious
competition leading up to the spring season. “There’s going to be
lots of movement among the boats,” he said, “as the athletes hone
their skills and vie for seats.”
The fall workouts focused on preparation for
the Head of the Charles race and the pair racing got intense (see
article below). The results made it worthwhile. No eight except
the U.S. National Team crossed the finish line with a faster time.
Still, the annual Winter Camp in California at the end of December
will be a welcome chance to concentrate on technique. Bob said:
“There will be no premium on going fast, only a chance to get in
shape and learn to row better.”
When considering potential lineups, it’s hard
to ignore the great sophomore class who won the Class Day regatta
last year as freshmen and brought home a national championship.
And their numbers include several athletes who weren’t in that
winning boat who are getting better and stronger quickly and could
surprise this year.
But don’t focus on that class alone; this
year’s varsity won’t be an all-sophomore boat. At the IRA as
freshmen, the present junior class came in second to the winner,
Harvard, by only hundredths of a second. Those guys are around and
they are giving up nothing to the sophomores. So are the seniors,
among them several with an honest shot. And at coxswain, look for
a battle royal between Micah Perrin and Katelin Snyder. Both are
good, both determined, and the competition between them can only
improve the squad.
One hallmark of Washington rowing has been
athlete retention. That keeps the competition between classes
strong and the competition for spring season seats even stronger.
Another hallmark of the program has been Bob’s ability to find and
recruit great athletes who have never rowed. The winning Head of
the Charles boat included three of those Washington State
athletes: Andrew Beaton (Mead High School, Spokane), Derek DeVries
(Sunnyside Christian High School, Granger), and Dave Worley (Oak
Harbor High School, Oak Harbor). They are carrying on a great
Husky tradition.
An important key to the season will be the
athletes’ ability to ignore a high pre-season ranking in the
national polls. Presumption could be a quick killer, especially
with young athletes. Both California and Stanford will have very
strong crews with national championship potential. Wisconsin has a
great team and, on the East coast, Yale and several others are
waiting. “Victory margins are going to be close this year,” Ernst
said. “Nothing is going to be easy. This may be the most
competitive schedule for us in memory.”
At present everyone is
generally healthy but for a single case of scarlet fever and a
broken collarbone. Once again, Max, how did that happen? Both
athletes will be back in the mix soon. And on the subject of
health, we have really outstanding news to report. After being
diagnosed last June with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Asa Bergdahl is
well and back in training. Keep it up, Asa. |
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Eleanor McElvaine Ups the Ante
The women’s squad signaled an end
to the doldrums this fall with a fourth place finish in the Collegiate
Division at the Head of the Charles race. Finishing behind Princeton,
Virginia and Yale, the squad can take pride in the 21 second margin
because they started in 41st position in a 46 boat race
which required them to thread their way through the crowd to the
finish line. “Our cox, Alysha Koorji did a great job,” McElvaine said.
“The pair competition was at a much higher level
this fall because of the Head of the Charles race,” Eleanor said. The
strong finish supports the argument of the incentive value of the
race. "There is no question that the women were fired up and worked
harder. We’re working on changing the culture and this trip turned up
expectations.”
But one race doesn’t make a season and Eleanor is
demanding more of the same. Having assessed the advantages at
Washington with her athletes – the facilities, the weather, the lakes
– she has established a “no excuses” attitude which she expects will
lead to greater honesty, greater commitment to training regimens, and
greater success.
There are 43 women in the varsity group, a large
contingent but an advantage when pointing towards the national
championships. The women qualify for the Nationals through a system
that weights regional results of teams, not just individual wins. It
is important, therefore, to be deep, to develop a varsity eight,
junior varsity eight and varsity four that all do well.
This year Eleanor is looking to her seniors for
leadership. They are a strong class with a good work ethic. She is
also enthusiastic about the novice group which she and Assistant Coach
Erica Schwab rate as great. Nationally, Princeton, Brown and Yale are
the teams to beat; regionally, it will be California, UCLA, Stanford
and WSU. Only three teams will pass through the Pac-10s (our Regionals)
to the Nationals so the women have their work cut out for them.
What kind of season can we expect? In a word,
exciting. The WSU dual follows Class Day, and it will be a tough race.
The Cougars are well-funded, well-coached and fast. Then, at the
Windermere Classic in San Francisco, the women will have a chance to
test themselves against three principal West Coast rivals. Then comes
the California dual, the National Championship team the last two
years. The Windermere Cup right here at home will put them up against
Waikato University, those great folks in New Zealand who hosted the
Husky men a year and a half ago. And then there are those
all-important Pac-10’s where the squad will attempt to qualify for the
Nationals.
Stay tuned. This is a squad that went back east
and rowed against the best this fall. With the right attitude and
determination, they could end up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, rowing
against the country’s best for the whole enchilada. |
For more rowing images, please go to
Husky Crew website. |
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Pair Racing
Have you ever wondered how the
pair times from your era stack up against the times being posted
today? Of course you have. For the curious among us, here’s the
updated All-Time Top Ten list.
1. 14:01 Jason Scott, Roberto Blanda, Mike Chudzik
1992
2. 14:02 Bob Cummins, Dave Calder, Sean
Mulligan 1997
3. 14:14 Phil Henry, Kestas Sereiva, Mike Chudzik
1992
14:14 Girts Beitlers, Michael Callahan, Dom Gagliardi
1994
5. 14:15 Whit Hammond, Jesse Huey, Andrew Yeung
1999
6. 14:16 Brett Reisinger, Aaron Beck, Sean
Mulligan 1997
7. 14:17 Boberto Blanda, Ryan
Allison 1994
8. 14:18 Matt Minas, Scott Munn, Kristin
Bailey 1992
14:18 Will Crothers, Rob Gibson, Katelin
Snyder 2006
10. 14:20 Marc Schneider, Rich Parsons, Kara Schocken 1997
Sharp-eyed readers
will note that most times are a decade old but don’t gloat, you old
Huskies. Back when the top four finishers each week rowed in the
varsity on Saturday, athletes would sit around waiting for the best
possible conditions before setting out for the lighthouse. Problem
was, that wasted a lot of time. So Bob changed the rules.
Today, top times
around the lighthouse earn spots on a ladder, not seats in Saturday's
boat. The top ten finishers race on Thursday mornings in straight
pairs over 6,000 meters in nearly identical conditions and that has
given the squad a new All-Time Top Ten list. Here it is.
1. 20:38 Matt Deakin, Todd Beyreuther
July 26, 2000
2. 20:59 Girts Beitlers, Michael
Callahan July 28, 1994
3. 21:02 Peter Dembicki, Sean McCormick
July 26, 2000
4. 21:03 Bob Cummins, Dave Calder
October 15, 1997
5. 21:06 Jesse Johnson, Max
Lang October 17, 2006
6. 21:07 John Lorton, Sam
Burns October 24, 2002
7. 21:10 Steve Gillespie, Chris
Schmaltz July 28, 1994
21:10 Dave Freidricks, Jesse
Huey July, 1999
9 21:13 Todd Beyreuther, Matt Deakin
July 19, 2000
21:13 Will Crothers, Rob Gibson
October 12, 2006
Did you note the times posted this fall at
numbers 5 and 9? Johnson, Lang, and Crothers are all members of that
sophomore class we keep writing about, and Gibson is a junior. And who
did their fast times drop from the list? Some great competitors.
11. 21:14 Matt Deakin, John
Lorton November 7, 2001
12. 21:15 Scott Behrbaum, Michael
Callahan July 1993 |
For most up to date news, please visit
www.huskycrew.com |
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Friday Night Fights
Are you interested in watching a
Husky turnout up close? Then come on down and watch the Friday Night
Fights. In January and February the men’s varsity and freshman squads
will practice together on Friday afternoons, and it is shaping up as a
good battle. We’ll have two launches for the turnout, one for recruits
and the other for alumni. We’ll even provide the snowmobile suit.
The alumni launch has four spectator seats
available so reservations are a necessity. Call Michael Callahan on
206 543-5249 to reserve your spot. Friday practices begin at 3:40 but
you will need to arrive at the shellhouse between 3:00 and 3:20 in
order to get suited up for the ride. You’ll be off the water between
5:00 and 5:30.
And don’t forget hats, gloves, cameras,
binoculars and anything else you may need for the trip. |
Please call Michael Callahan (206) 543-5249 or
E-mail him to reserve your seat on the launches.
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Fil Leanderson – 1931-2006
Rowing great, Olympic medal
winner, and Husky coach, Fillip “Fil” Leanderson died on November 2,
2006. He was 75.
Family and friends from around the region
gathered in Edmonds on November 11th to pay tribute to the
man they knew in many successful roles: husband, father, grandparent,
teammate, coach, and friend. The Husky coaching ranks were represented
by Bob Ernst, Irma Erickson, Stan Pocock and John Bissett. Jason
Friske, former Western Washington University rower, coach, and for the
past fifteen years, head of the Green Lake Rowing program spoke at the
service. Many Husky and Viking oarsmen joined Fil’s family and friends
after the memorial to celebrate his rich life.
Fil was born in 1931, and rowed and coached under
the legendary Al Ulbrickson. During Fil’s junior year, Ulbrickson
selected four top oarsmen and a cox from the Husky squad and entered
them in the 1952 Olympic Trials. The four, Fil, Dick Wahlstrom, Al
Ulbrickson, Jr., Carl Lovsted, and Al Rossi (cox) went on to win the
Olympic bronze medal in Helsinki and a spot in the Husky Hall of Fame.
Dick preceded Fil in death but the others, not just teammates but
long-time friends, were in attendance at the memorial service.
Fil earned two varsity letters and was captain of
the crew 1953. After graduation, he coached at MIT but returned in
1956 to take over the freshman coaching duties from Stan Pocock who
had decided to focus on the family boat building business. When
Ulbrickson retired in 1959, Leanderson moved up to varsity coach where
he developed many fine crews through his departure in 1967. Fil
coached at Western Washington University from 1977 to 1993, leading
the Vikings to a number of small college championships.
Fil was a quite man and solid in the ways that
counted. He was a strong stroke oar, a leader in the shellhouse as a
student, and a good judge of rowing talent as a coach. Stan Pocock
confirmed the last point two years ago while watching a race from the
Montlake Bridge: “Fil had a good eye,” he said. “He understood the
elements and how to make a boat move.”
The University of Washington has lost a great
friend, wise coach and fine man. All of us send our sincere
condolences to his wife, Jane, their three daughters and three
grandchildren. |
To read more on Fil Leanderson, please visit
Husky Crew website and select
History. |
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Annual Appeal Update
It is too early to report on the
results of our annual appeal but we will as soon as we have most of
the contributions in. If this year’s effort unfolds as last year did,
we will be able to let you know how well we’ve done in either the
February or March newsletter.
Meanwhile, for those who forgot to mail in their
check or pledge, here is another copy of the form. Select it, print
it, fill it out, and mail it to the address at the bottom. Please do
it now before you forget. And as you consider your contribution, don’t
forget to stretch. Every dollar raised will go directly to the
program. Thanks again.
2006-2007 Annual Appeal
Donation Form
My Identification
Name ________________________________________________ Class
_____________
Street Address
___________________________________________________________
City, State, ZIP
__________________________________________________________
Email address _____________________________ Home
Telephone______________
Company
Name:__________________________________________________________
Work Telephone
__________________________________________________________
My Gift
Enclosed is my check for $_______made payable to Washington Rowing
Stewards.
My employer has a matching gift program. Yes ___ No ___
I have included the company form with this gift.
I wish to make my contribution by credit card
Credit card type Visa ___ MasterCard___ Card
Number_______________________________Expiration Date
_______________
Signature ___________________________
I prefer to be billed at a later date (up to but no later than May 30,
2007)
Date: ______________________________________________________________
My Program
Please earmark this gift for:
Men’s scholarships ___ Osterhaug
Endowment ___
Travel ___ Dick
Erickson Endowment ___
Equipment ___ Husky Crew
Fund ___
Rowing Stewards Endowment ___
Other___________________________________________________________
Call me. I want to discuss an endowment, a bequest, or an equipment
donation. ___
Fill out this form (print the emailed version and fill it out) and
mail it with your check to:
Washington Rowing Stewards
University of Washington
Box 354070
Seattle, WA
98195-4070 CRW07 |
You can also get this form in PDF format by clicking
here. |
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