you have trouble viewing this newsletter, please go to http://students.washington.edu/gints/Newsletter/ December 15, 2006


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.

 

 

 

 

Eleanor McElvaine Ups the Ante

Pair Racing

Friday Night Fights

Fil Leanderson – 1931-2006

Annual Appeal Update

  

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

here.

 

 

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