The
University of Minnesota Men’s Crew sent 6 boats to the American Collegiate
Rowing Association’s (ACRA) National Championship regatta in Gainesville,
Georgia last weekend. Highlights of racing included a first place, national
championship, finish by the varsity heavyweight men’s four, and a fourth place
finish by the varsity men’s lightweight four. The two-day event took place on
Lake Lanier, site of the 1996 Olympics rowing events. The national competition
included entries from over 60 colleges and universities including all of the
Big Ten schools with the exception of Indiana and Wisconsin.
Although
rowers usually race in six-boat matchups, race organizers added two racing
lanes to the 2000 meter long, 6-lane course in order to accommodate the large number
of entrants. Eight boat races and beautiful, sunny weather made the regatta very
exciting for spectators this year. In order to advance to the “grand” final,
boats were required to finish at the top of a heat or semi-final race. For
those that did not qualify to the grand final, second-level “petite” finals as
well as “C”, “D”, and sometimes “E” finals were held. The format meant that
many crews ended up racing three times over the course of the regatta. Minnesota’s
racing was consistently strong throughout the first day of the championships
and all boats advanced to the Grand Final or Petite Final for their event.
Strong petite final
finishes: In
the petite final for the two man, two oars, pairs event, Michael Farrell and
Andrew Sattler finished 4th, beating crews from Penn State,
Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and Emory, for a 12th place finish overall In
the the petite final for the Novice eight Minnesota fought hard to pass Kansas
in the final 250 meters and just missed beating Emory by only 0.3 seconds at
the finish line. The crew finished
in 6th place in the petite final, just 2.7 seconds, or half of a
boat length, out of 3rd place. Their time of 6:20.4 indicated that the
tailwind was strengthening throughout the day. This eight rower event was
specifically for rowers either in their freshman year or who are new to the
sport.
Top ranked grand final
finishes:
In the singles event, a rower competes in a boat by themselves, rowing with an
oar in each hand. Both John Karlen and Justin Schlitz qualified for the grand final
in this event with 23 entries. Karlen finished 6th and Schlitz
placed 8th in a tough race complicated by rough conditions from a
strong tail wind.
The
varsity lightweight (160lbs or less) coxed four qualified for the grand final
straight out of their heat avoiding a semi-final and securing a full day of
rest before their final. The field never broke apart throughout the 2000 meter
race and the Minnesota boat fought hard to separate themselves from the slower
boats while maintaining contact with the fastest. The lightweights crossed the
line in 4th “bow-to-stern” with a crew from College of William and
Mary, and just 2.5 seconds away from a 3rd place medal. The
lightweight crew, consisting of rowers Garrisson Kubis, William Juckett, George
Munger and Thomas Grab and senior coxswain Abigail Evans had previously taken
bronze at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia just two weeks
earlier.
National championship in
heavyweight coxed four: The most exciting race for the Minnesota Men’s Crew was the
grand final for the varsity heavyweight coxed four (4+). The boat included
three seniors, Tyler Dirks, Michael Srienc and Aidan Hennessey as well as
sophomore Luke Yehlen and coxswain Julia Eckert. The heavyweight 4+ was the
most highly subscribed event of the championship regatta with 33 entries
including boats from Michigan and Penn State. The gopher crew had to fight
through a heat and a semifinal to take a spot in the top-ranked grand final.
Within
the first 500 meters of the race Minnesota had separated themselves from the
pack and were trying to open up a lead on Georgia Tech who was hanging on
bow-to-stern with the Minnesota boat. Through the middle thousand meters,
Georgia Tech made a series of moves but Minnesota was able to respond
stroke-for-stroke to prevent any gains. Coming into the last 500 meters
Minnesota had opened up their lead to about one deck-length of open water,
meaning Georgia Tech would have to close the gap and make up a whole boat
length to cross the line first. Minnesota started their sprint with about 300
meters to go and finished a solid 2.2 seconds ahead of Georgia Tech to win the
national title. This result was especially exciting because the crew had
narrowly missed a medal at the Dad Vail Regatta.
The
Minnesota win was the first ever for the Men’s Crew at the ACRA regatta. The
ACRA National Championships have been held since 2008, with Minnesota racing
each year. This championship win, along with the 3rd place medal
from the Dad Vail regatta, represent a strong momentum that the Men’s Crew
looks to carry through into the 2012-2013 season.
Minnesota Men's Crew is supported by the Sport
Clubs program of the University of Minnesota Department of Recreational Sports.
