Washington Rowing News Archive 2013-2018

Readers please note: Many outside links (ie to newspaper articles, GoHuskies, videos) may have been removed over time by the original poster. All of the content we wrote or provided remains in place.

Older Archived News (2003-2013) is here - Washington Huskies Rowing - Archived News 2003-2013

July 2018: At the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland in July of 2018, fourteen Washington athletes took home medals, including six of the nine members of the USA men's eight that won gold and set a new U23 World Record.  Team USA - the sweep team led by UW men's head coach Michael Callahan and assisted by Carlos Dinares and Sergio Espinoza - finished with two golds (US 4+, US 8+) and one 4th place finish (US 4-), a monumental accomplishment for the USA - and the UW - at the U23 World Championships.

On the women's side, three Washington athletes (Brooke Pierson, Elise Beuke and Marlee Blue) anchored the stern of the USA women's 8+ that won the bronze.  In all, six UW women and eight UW men - out of the nineteen total University of Washington athletes at these games - return to the UW with medals from the World Championships, the largest group of UW athletes to stand on the podium in the history of this event.

2018 Season Summary

The 2018 collegiate season would once again see the Washington men's and women's teams win both Varsity 8 and Team Pac-12 titles, the women sweeping the entire event for the second year in a row. At the National Championships, the women would finish 2nd as a team at the NCAA's (the 2V8 won the NCAA crown), with the men winning the IRA Ten Eyck Team Trophy to make it an unprecedented 11 out of the last 12 years (both the men's 2V8 and the 3V8 won gold at the 2018 IRA's). After the National Championships, the men and women would travel for the first time together to Henley; a combination men's crew entered in the Temple Cup, and the women's V8 entered in the Remenham Cup (the top event for women at Henley). The women would advance to the semis, where they were defeated in a close race by the British National Team.  The men would advance from a pool of thirty-two crews to defeat Yale in the semis, and Oxford-Brookes in the final, to win the 2018 Temple Cup in a Henley record time of 5:58 on the Thames River course.

5/24/16: USA M8+ Qualify to 2016 Olympics
4 Former UW Rowers and UW Coach on to Rio

5/24/16: The USA men's 8+ won the Olympic Qualifying race in Lucerne, Switzerland today, powering to a deck length win in 5:29.16 over Poland and Italy and securing a spot in the seven-boat field in Rio this August. What makes this particularly exciting to Washington Rowing fans, and our history, is that three oarsmen and the coxswain of the USA eight all rowed at the UW, making this the largest representation of Washington Oarsmen in the USA 8+ at the Olympics since 1936.

For those of you new to the sport and particularly international rowing, the US Rowing Trials for the eight-oared events came to an end after the 1968 Olympics. Other nations, particularly Eastern European countries, were fielding nationally-trained teams that had many advantages over the university and club crews that were winning our trials in the U.S. (Harvard, who won the US Trials in 1968, finished 6th in the Olympics that year). 1972 was the first year that US Rowing established a camp system, where all of the best oarsmen and coxswains, across the nation, came together for months at a time (in one location and under one head coach) to compete for the nine spots in the US Eight.  Although the process has evolved, the concept continues today as a year-around effort for the eights and fours, where oarsmen (and women, on the women's side) train together all year before the teams are selected in the spring. The smaller boats (pairs, doubles and singles) still race off at Princeton, just like the '36 team did in the same location in the spring, in a winner-take-all US Trial.

Since 1992, events in the Olympics have been adjusted and in some cases eliminated.  FISA, the world governing board for rowing, eliminated both the coxed pair and the coxed four in Atlanta in 1996, while adding lightweight events (lightweight men have a weight limit of 160 lbs and cannot exceed a boat average of 155 lbs; for women it is 130 lbs individually and 125 lbs average). In addition, competitor limits for all events have been established.  That is why we just watched the USA win this qualifying event; only the top two - the USA and Poland - from that race will row in the Olympics (Italy, Australia and Spain all were eliminated from the M8+ Olympic competition as a result of that race). Rounding out the seven-boat field are the top five finishers from last year's World Championships: Great Britain, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Russia.  The USA Women's 8+ (with Huskies Katelin Snyder as cox and Kerry Simmonds at stroke) won the 2015 World Championships, the US Women's 8+ sealing the opportunity to race at Rio with that victory.

  Congratulations to bow-oar Sam Dommer '14; 2-oar Hans Struzyna '11; 7-oar Rob Munn '12; coxswain Sam Osjerkis '12, and to USA head coach Luke McGee, the UW Frosh coach from '07 - '12!  80 years after that amazing finish in Berlin, now is your chance to write the next chapter of the Boys in the Boat!

Alums, Friends, Parents - Join Us!
The 2015 National Championship Celebration
Conibear Shellhouse - Thursday, June 11th, 6:00 pm

Come join the team and celebrate the unprecedented 5th V8 IRA Championship - and 9th Team Championship in a row Thursday, June 11th, at 6 pm at the Shellhouse. The celebration will include pictures, videos and speakers, including members of the National Champion varsity eight and head coach Michael Callahan. The event is free - complimentary appetizers and hosted beverages will be served. Paid parking will be available in the E1 lot on the UW athletic facilities campus.  See you there!

Saturday, May 2nd, 2015
The Windermere Cup
 And Opening Day Stewards’ Enclosure

Join Husky rowing alumni, parents and friends at the Washington Board of Rowing Stewards’ Enclosure to watch the Washington crews take on two-time defending world champion New Zealand U23 Men’s National Team, Columbia University and the University of Virginia at the 2015 Windermere Cup! 

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015
Stewards' Enclosure opens: 9:00 a.m.
Events begin: 9:55 a.m.

Cost: $10 per person. Includes grandstand seating, a light breakfast and coffee.
Location: Finish Line @ the west end of the Montlake Cut, on the North/University side
No reservations needed! 

Saturday, April 25
 Washington vs. California
104th Dual
Montlake Cut, Seattle, WA

Live Webcast of the UW/Cal Dual Begins at 9:00am Saturday 4/25:
 Pac-12 Live Stream - Rowing: Washington vs. California

GoHuskies Race Preview: No. 1 Huskies and No.2 Cal Set To Renew Historic Rivalry
Live Chat Rewind With The UW Coaches 4/23 - Seattle Times Live Chat

The Washington/California Tradition

From the History Pages:  There just are not many traditions in the collegiate rowing community that match the color, consistency, or intensity of the Washington/California rivalry. Since the first 1.5 mile race in 4's on Lake Washington in 1903, these programs have set aside a weekend each year to race, even if it meant for the first 60 years loading shells onto steamships or railcars to make the 800 mile trip.  Add to that the fact that these two teams - both men and women - have consistently been two of the strongest rowing programs in the nation, and you get an annual event that is as good as it gets to anyone who follows collegiate rowing in our country.

This Saturday, April 25th, will mark the 104th meeting of Washington and California. Only eight years since that first meeting in 1903 has a race been cancelled (due only to first decade travel expenses, the San Francisco earthquake, or World Wars).  There are many milestones along the way:  1907, the first eight-oared varsity race (all crews sunk on San Francisco Bay); 1919, the first freshman event; 1925, the first 3-boat (V8, 2V8, F8) event; 1929, the first year the UW team traveled by rail to Oakland vs. the 3-day journey by steamship. Jump to the 1960's, and in 1968 the crews rowed 2,000 meters for the first time (prior to that it was 3 miles for the varsity); by 1971 the race was moved to the Montlake Cut on Opening Day on odd numbered years; 1977 marked the first year the women raced; 1981, both Washington and California did not row in cedar Pocock shells (Washington rowed an Empacher for the first time); 1993, the race venue stays on the Cut but is a stand-alone event held on a weekend separate from the Windermere Cup; 1998, the Dual at Cal moves to Redwood Shores from the Estuary.

In between all of that, if you can picture it, it likely happened. As noted above, 1907 would be the first - but certainly not the last - that shells swamped during the race.  There is the infamous race in Seattle in 1914 where races were started at both ends of the 3-mile course and the crews barreled through each other midway.  Steering has been lost, launches with coaches have collided and sunk, rowers have been ejected, athletes have collapsed, and logs, buoys, and bridge abutments have been struck.  And the racing... races have come down to the wire so many times it would be difficult to recount them all.

Intertwined in this tradition are the coaches. Ky Ebright, the legendary Cal coach, coxed at Washington under Hiram Conibear in 1916. He wanted to coach at Washington, but instead went to Cal to keep that program alive after WWI and post-war political culture cast a pall on intercollegiate sports in the early 20's (Stanford's highly successful rowing program was cancelled then and would not resurface for close to 50 years). Washington's program teetered on the edge as well with the death of Hiram Conibear, but was re-energized by the IRA victory in 1923 and an extensive effort by the Stewards, Ed Leader, and Rusty Callow.  For decades it was Ebright vs. Ulbrickson, two heavyweights battling it out on a national and sometimes global stage.  Then came the Erickson and Gladstone years, two visionary coaches, both with a passion for international competition, and on to Bob Ernst, Gladstone again for round two, Michael Callahan and Mike Teti.  On the women's side, it was Ernst who brought the first women's V8 win to Washington in the Dual in 1981 (and the most recent in 2013), Jan Harville producing legendary crews in the 90's and into the new millennium at Washington, while Dave O'Neill re-built the women's team at Cal into a premier program.

As would be expected for a race of this caliber, the trophies for the varsity races have a history as well. On the men's side, the Schoch Trophy is named for Delos "Dutch" Schoch, a three-time letter winner at Washington from 1935 - 1937 and the spare to the 1936 Olympic team. I asked Fred Schoch '73, Dutch's son, former Washington rower and now Executive Director of the Head of the Charles regatta, how it came to be named for his dad.  Here is what he said:  "When my dad died in August of '70 my high school coach, Hart Perry of Kent School called Dick Erickson and asked if there was a trophy or cup for the Cal/UW Dual.  At the time, Steve Gladstone was coaching at Cal and Steve is also a Kent graduate. It all fell together as they decided this was the perfect way to honor Dutch. Gladstone coached under Dutch's watchful eye as a Frosh coach at Princeton before going to Harvard."  Fred's description articulates well the historical perspective that comes with this trophy.

On the women's side, the Simpson trophy was donated in 2003 by longtime Washington supporters Hunter and Dottie Simpson, whose daughter Anne rowed at Cal.  Members of the Simpson family are traditionally there at the race to award this special gift to the winner of the women's Varsity 8 race (see photo to the right of Dottie and Anne in 2011).

The recent success of the book The Boys in the Boat has cast a spotlight on the 1936 Washington team, and recounts vividly the journey of one crew from formation to victory. But this team is not alone in this legacy; many of the men and women that row for Washington and California lead similar journeys each year.  Some go on to championship victories or national teams. California won gold at the 1928, 1932 and 1948 Olympics.  Even so, some of the most memorable wins for anyone who has rowed for either of these schools comes at the Dual.  Blame it on tradition.

One final note:  The term "Dual" comes from the shortening of the phrase "Dual Meet", meaning a competition between only two teams. The phrase is still used, particularly in track and field ("dual meet"), but for rowing the "Dual Regatta" would be an unlikely description today (although 1940 was a different story!).  Still, the term "Dual", used for decades to describe the Cal/Washington race, has stuck, as it does carry with it a sense of tradition and is now synonymous, at both boathouses, with this race.  Ask anyone at Conibear Shellhouse or Ky Ebright Boathouse what "The Dual" is, and you will likely get a short, very precise answer. UW versus Cal. This year, it happens on April 25th.

posted by Eric Cohen 4/20/15

Class Day 2015
March 27th and 28th - See You There!
 
Friday, March 27th: The 2015 Washington Rowing Banquet
And VBC Induction
Featuring 2008 and 2012 Olympian Megan Kalmoe '06
Friday, March 27th, 6:00pm, Conibear Shellhouse
More Information: 2015 VBC Banquet

The VBC Banquet is sold out:  Please contact Al Erickson for overflow seating (al.erickson@frontier.com)
About the Varsity Boat Club: Varsity Boat Club

Friday, March 27th:  Women Alums: Reception With Megan Kalmoe
All women alums are invited to join the University of Washington Women's Crew and two-time Olympian and US Rowing’s 2014 Female Athlete of the Year Megan Kalmoe ‘06, for a special reception, Friday, March 27, at 5 p.m. in the Captains Room at Conibear Shellhouse.

This one-hour event will give UW Alumnae Rowers the opportunity to meet and mix with the current women’s team prior to the VBC Banquet, share stories, history and enthusiasm at the start of the racing season. Banquet attendance is not required for this pre-function.

Saturday, March 28th: Class Day Cruise with Croissants
Come join fellow alums, friends and parents on board the "Goodtime II" and get a birds eye view of the races as you follow the crews down the Cut!  The cruise includes breakfast croissants, fresh fruit and coffee, and play x play by the coaches. An annual tradition!
More Information and to Purchase Tickets Click Here: 21st Annual Class Day Cruise and Croissants

Saturday, March 28th: 5th Annual Women's Alum Race
Saturday, March 28th, 8:00 AM at Conibear Shellhouse

Attention women alums!  Meet at the shellhouse Saturday morning, greet some familiar faces and get ready to have some fun! The race is 1000 meters and the race start time is at 8:00 am (meet at the shellhouse at 6:30 am, launch at 7:00 am). Boatings are random - first come, first boated. Please RSVP to Denni Stobin (denninessler@gmail.com) or Ellen Ernst (eernst60@aol.com) to reserve your spot! (Important details to include in your email if you plan to row: starboard, port or coxswain and your graduating class). If you don't want to get on the water, but you'd still like to join in on the fun, please come down to watch, say hello and reconnect. Snacks and beverages will be provided at the boathouse after the race. Please spread the word and help to continue the success of this event for our women alums. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the boathouse and kicking off another great year of racing. Go Huskies!

Saturday, March 28th: Class Day Free BBQ
Immediately following the races, join the athletes and coaches for the post-race awards on the docks and our annual free BBQ sponsored by the Stewards!
More Information Here (page down): 2015 Class Day Cruise and Free BBQ

Thank You Alumni and Friends for Your Support in 2014!
2014 In Review:
Men: V8, F8, V4 IRA National Champions, 8th Straight Ten Eyck Team National Championship; V8, F8, V4 and Team Pac-12 Champions; Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Four Pac-12 All-Conference Athletes; 16 Men's Team Members Receive Pac-12 Academic Honors; 16 UW Men at U-23World Championships; 8 UW Men Compete at World Rowing Championships
 

Women: New Zealand Gallagher V8 Great Race Champions; Windermere Cup V8 Champions over GB; V8, V4 4th at NCAA National Championships; Pac-12's: V8 2nd, Team 2nd; Three Pac-12 All-Conference Athletes, 16 Women's Team Members Receive Pac-12 Academic Honors; Two UW Women at U-23 World Championships (both silver) and 7 UW Women at World Rowing Championships (1 gold, 6 silver); Megan Kalmoe '06 US Rowing Female Athlete of the Year
 

And Finally, for the 2013-2014 school year:  69 members of the UW Rowing Team, men and women together, make the UW Dean's List...

Congratulations to Our UW Athletes and Coaches on a
 Fantastic 2014, Both On the Water and In the Classroom

12/17/14: It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Stan Pocock '47, a man whose quality of work in the sport of rowing spanned decades and reached the very pinnacle of our sport. Born in the same year that Washington first won the varsity race at Poughkeepsie (1923), rowing would be a part of his life from day one. But rather than shrink from it, or the challenge of having a legendary father, Stan embraced it and made it his own. Upon graduation from the UW in 1947, Stan became the Washington lightweight coach, then two years later the freshman coach.  In his six seasons as frosh coach, his crews won five Cal Duals, three National Titles, and two second-place finishes at the IRA.  "Winning as an end in itself was not the goal" he said at the time. "Trying to win was what counted."

Stan would then take his coaching skills to the next level, founding LWRC and sending elite crews to three Olympics from 1956 - 1964, his teams winning gold in all three. Back home he settled into the boat-building business, becoming a master, like his father, of the cedar shell, but also an experienced engineer and innovator as boat-building transitioned in the 80's to higher-tech materials. He remained active in the rowing community upon retirement, founding, with his sister Patricia, the Pocock Rowing Center in 1994, and having a large presence in the Seattle master's rowing community with the Ancient Mariners and a number of master's women's programs. Throughout that time he stayed in close touch with the Washington Rowing program, just this year receiving the Don H. Palmer Award at the UW Hall of Fame Banquet in recognition of his lifetime commitment to UW Athletics.

But for those who knew Stan - and there are a large number in Seattle, and across the country and world who did - it was his soft-spoken demeanor and willingness to share his knowledge that will be remembered. His presence at any occasion stirred memories of cedar hulls cutting glass smooth water, a time when Lake Washington sat still in the morning with only the sound of blades entering and exiting on each stroke. Those were the life and times of Stan Pocock; those memories, and the knowledge he shared, will remain his legacy and his gift to the sport of rowing.

To all of Stan's family, friends, and the many he touched in the rowing community, we offer our condolences. A memorial service will be held at Conibear Shellhouse Saturday, January 3rd, at 11:00 a.m.  More information is here: Stan Pocock Memorial Service.

(Link to previous 2003-2013 news here - Washington Huskies Rowing - News)

9/13/14: UW Women Win NZ Gallagher Great Race
Hit Tree, Avoid the Current, Comeback and Win - Washington Wins Great Race
 

2014 National Champions
Washington Men's V8 Takes Command in 2nd 500, Cruise to 1 Length Win
Brown 2nd, Cal 3rd
8th Straight Ten Eyck Team National Championship

4th Straight IRA V8 National Championship Sets New UW Historical Record, Ties All-Time IRA Record
8th Straight Ten Eyck Team National Championship Sets New UW Historical Record and All-Time IRA Record 

V4+, F8 Gold, 3V8 Silver, 2V8 Bronze
Video: USR YouTube - 2014 IRA Finals or 2014 IRA Regatta Video

Regatta Information - 2014 IRA Regatta
Live Results:  Official Results    UW HuskyCrew Twitter

Indianapolis, IN
2014 Women's NCAA National Championships
V8, V4+ 4th; 2V8 10th
Washington Team Takes 7th
Team Finish: Ohio St., Cal, Brown, Stanford, UVA, Princeton, UW, Michigan, Notre Dame, USC

Results, Information (see lower right column) - NCAA Rowing

November 20, 2013: It is with sadness that we announce the passing of longtime Steward and Hall of Fame member Carl Lovsted ’52.  Carl began his career at Washington in the fall of 1948 and was an IRA champion in 1949 (F8) and 1950 (V8), before crowning his accomplishments with an Olympic bronze with teammates Fil Leanderson, Al Ulbrickson Jr., Al Rossi, and Dick Wahlstrom at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. An active Rowing Steward for decades, he was inducted into the Washington Hall of Fame with his 1952 teammates in 1998.

Carl’s impact on the Washington Rowing program is immeasurable.  His generosity, from the scholarship endowments he created to “chief coffee maker” at the Steward’s Enclosure, was boundless.  He will, however, be remembered by most for his strength of character, and as the embodiment of what it meant to be a Steward of the program.  "I got so much out of the experience that helped me in my life that I've always thought that I was simply acting on my responsibility. I still do,” said Carl in a 2008 interview.

Carl Lovsted was a friend of Washington Rowing, and in so doing became a friend and mentor to many, many people associated with it, across multiple generations.  As is the case with exceptional people, his loss will not only be felt personally by the many he touched in his life, but by the entirety of our program.  To his family, teammates, and friends, we offer our condolences.

A celebration of life will be held at Conibear Shellhouse on Saturday, December 14th, from 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm. In the meantime, read about Carl and his rowing achievements here (with many photos from his collection) - Washington Rowing History - 1950's. In addition, the 2008 SWEEP article nominating him as one of the most influential people in the history of Washington Rowing, is here - First Family - A Husky Profile.