2008 Articles - Rowing in the News

Rooney Lee was a Harvard Oarsman
This admitedly doesn't qualify as breaking news of any sort, or even "Northwest" news, but it does seem interesting. In the course of an unrelated research project, we learned that William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee (son of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee) was a skilled oarsman while at Harvard University between 1854 and 1857, and was the 1857 president of the Oneida Rowing Club at Harvard. He and his boatmates are credited with originating the Harvard crimson colors when they wore bright red bandannas during a regatta with the Union Boat Club on the Charles River (Source: Harvard Magazine, May 2002). Other sources describe "Rooney" Lee as tall and powerfully built, "too big for a man, too small for a horse". He dropped out of Harvard in 1857 to take an officer's commission in the U.S. Army, but resigned that commission in 1859 to manage one of his family properties after the death of his grandfather. During the Civil War he joined the Confederate Army as a captain of cavalry, and eventually became a major general. Surviving the war, he served in the Virginia Senate and later the U.S. House of Representatives from 1887 until his death in 1891.

Erin Lauber Follows Legacy of Rowing
Erin Lauren's parents were both rowers at the Univ. of Washington, and her older sister rows for San Diego State University. But Erin didn't even begin rowing until she joined the summer program at Green Lake Crew, AFTER she received recruiting letters of interest from both the Univ. of Washington and Washington state crew coaches. Both teams were impressed with her general athletic ability, her 6'2" frame, and her genes probably didn't hurt, either. Erin has opted to row for the Univ. of Washington, continuing the tradition started by her parents (Seattle Times, Jan. 9, 2008).

One of New Seattle Storm Owners is a Rower
Ginny Gilder, one of the four new women owners of the seattle Storm WNBA team, was a rower at Yale from 1977 to 1979, won a bronz medal at the 1983 World Championships, and was a silver medalist in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games (Seattle Times, Jan. 9, 2008).

Vancouver Lake Crew Hit Hard by Tornado
Vancouver Lake Crew suffered considerable damage from the Jan. 10th tornado, being "ground zero" for the touchdown of the twister. A couple of portable office/storage buildings were demolished as well as the boat trailers, and most of the 30+ shells, 18 ergs, plus oars, launches, cox boxes, etc. appear to have been destroyed, although no one was injured (morning practice was over).(Everett Herald, Jan. 11, 2008). The team will need lots of assistance in rebuilding the club, rowing clubs are forming work parties and other assistance around the region.
More stories and pictures of the damage:
Vancouver Lake Crew Website
Vancouver Columbin: Vancouver Lake Crew Damage
Portland Oregonian: Goodwill Follows Storm's Wake Through Rowing Club
US Rowing: "Help Needed"

Bob Ernst, U.W. Men's Crew, and Pocock Family win Honors
At the annual Northwest Rowing Council's dinner banquet, the awards went to the Bob Ernst and the U.W. Men's Crew (undefeated IRA national champions in 2007), and the Stan Pocock on behalf of the entire Pocock family, for their contributions to crew generally and to crew in the Northwest in particular (Seattle Times, January 13, 2007).

Katelin Snyder Wins PI Sports Star Award
Even though she can barely swim, Katelin Snyder has led the Univ. of Washington crew team to championships and glory from the cox seat, and earned a spot as one of ten "Sports Star of the Year" awarded by the Seattle P.I. (Seattle P.I., January 18, 2008).

Katelin Snyder Honored at P-I Banguet
U.W. coxswain Katelin Snyder was honored at the Seattle P.I. Sports Star Banquet for her role in the Univ. of Washington's Men's Crew team going undefeated in 2007 and winning the national championship (Seattle P.I., Jan. 23, 2008).

Windermere Cup Features Polish, U.S. Navy, & Melbourne Rowers
The Univ. of Washington rowers will face off against rowers from the Polish Rowing Federation, the U.S. Navy Acadamy, and the University of Melbourne at the Windermere Cup Regatta on May 3, 2008 as part of the Opening Day of Boating Season festivities (Seattle Times, Feb. 21, 2008).

Lake Stevens Rowing Club Now a Major Player
Lake Stevens Rowing Club has become both a regional and a national competitor, thanks in part to it's location at one of only two 2000-meter buoyed courses in Washington State (Everett Herald, March 18, 2008)

UW Class Day Regatta: Freshmen Men, Junior Women Win
UW rowers endured icy rain to compete in the annual Class Day regatta, pitting different U.W. classes of rowers against one another. In the featured race between the class Eights, the Freshmen Men and the Junior Women beat their upperclass teammates to take home the George M. Varnell trophy. (Seattle Times, March 30, 2008).

College Notes: Western Washington Women Sweep Daffodile Regatta
Western Washington University women continued their NCAA Div. II dominance in sweeping the eights and fours events in the Daffodile Regatta in Tacoma, and the Gonzaga novice men's eight won at the Pac 10 Challenge in Redwood City, CA (Seattle Times, March 30, 2008).

Washington takes 5 of 6 at Husky Open Regatta
While the Univ. of Washington varsity boats competed at the San Diego Classic, those left behind won five of six races at the Husky Open on the Mountlake Cut in Seattle. Washington State Women won their event, and Green Lake Crew dominated the junior rowers, winning five of seven races. On Vancouver Lake, Western Washington Univ. women continued their dominance of NCAA Div. II rowing at the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Invitational (Seattle Times, April 6, 2008).

Washington Returns to San Diego with a Bang
After skipping the Sand Diego Crew Classic for three years in a row, the Univ. of Washington returned this year to take first place in both the men's and women's premier varsity eight events, and to also take home medals for their freshmen, novice, and JV boats (Seattle Times, April 7, 2008).

WSU Women win "Apple Cup of Rowing"
Washington State University Women's crew won it's third-straight victory over the Univ. of Washington women in the dual meet between the two crews. U.W. teams took heart in that some of their younger boats did well in that same regatta (Seattle Times, April 13, 2008).

"Your Real Estate Agent May be a Rower, Too"
The connection between a real-estate firm and rowing might at first seem tenuous, but there is a reason why Windermere Real Estate is such a big sponsor of big regattas, such as the annual Windermere Cup held on opening day of boating season in Seattle (Everett Herald, April 23, 2008).

Sammammish Juniors Win Brentwood Trophy
Sammamish Rowing Association junior rowers took home the trophy from the Brentwood Regatta in British Columbia (April 25~27, 2008), with Victoria City Rowing Club (Victoria B.C.) in second and Green Lake Rowing Club (Seattle, WA) in third (April 27, 2008).

OSU Upsets Washington Women in Dual Meet
The unranked Oregon State University women's varsity eight upset the eigth-ranked Univ. of Washington women in their dual meet, handing the U.W. women their second straight loss in a row. The other U.W. boats all won their races, including both men's and women's crew teams. Meanwhile the W.W.U. women continued to dominate winning six of nine races and the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference Championship on Vancouver Lake. In Boston at the Charles River Challenge, the Gonazaga women won the varsity four, and placed second in the varsity eight (Seattle Times, April 20, 2008).

U.W. vs. Cal Dual Regatta: Men win, Women, not so much
The varsity Univ. of Washington men continued their winning streak, defeating rival Univ. of California at Berkely, winning the varsity eight event at their dual meet. The U.W. women varisty eight, however, dropped their third in a row. Other races were split between the two teams, indicating a strong continued rivalry for years to come (Seattle Times, April 27, 2008).

Around-n-Over Rower near Palau, Needs Supply Drop
Seattle based extreme athlete Erden Eru$B!&(Bof Around-n-Over is attempt to row solo from California to the Philippines. Already at sea for 288 days, Eru$B!&(Bwill set the world record on May 10th for number of continuous days at sea by an ocean rower. He will also become the first to row solo across the North Pacific, east to west. Short of supplies, he will receive a supply drop supervised by Kenneth Crutchlow, Executive Director of the Ocean Rowing Society in London. Mr. Crutchlow will be in Seattle for a press conference Friday April 25th, and there will be a reception Friday evening at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. (Posted April 24, 2008).

Bjorn Larsen finishes second at Lake Mercer
Lake Stevens, Washington resident Bjorn Larsen finished second in lightweight sculls doubles at the 2008 National Selection Regatta on Lake Mercer, N.J. (along with boat-mate Richard Montgomery) (Seattle Times, April 28, 2008).

New U.W. Men's Crew Continues 2007 Success
The 2007 Univ. of Washington Men's Husky Crew Team was undefeated and national champions, but only three rowers returned to man the 2008 Varsity Eight - even the coach went on to take over the U.W. Women's team. But the 2008 rowers have continued to dominate every event, sending predictions of a "rebuilding" year into the eddies (Seattle Times, April 30, 2008).

Photographer Rod Mar Accompanies U.W. Rowers
Seattle Times Photographer finds out about the dedication and work ethic of Univ. of Washington rowers as he accompanies them on their morning practice (and takes some great pictures in the process) (Seattle Times, April 30, 20008).

Seattle's Opening Day/Windermere Cup Schedule
Seattle's annual "Opening Day of Boating Season" (the first Saturday in May each year) will have their usual parade of boats, culminating in the Windermere Cup Regatta featuring the Univ. of Washington crews against invited competitors, and lots of junior and master's races, all beginning around 10:20 at the Mountlake Cut in Seattle (Seattle Times, May 1, 2008).

U.W. Rowing Continues Winning Streak
The Opening Day festivities probably won't affect the Univ. of Washington's dominance of the field (including the Navy, Melbourne, and Polish teams) at the Windermere Cup Regatta in Seattle on Saturday May 3rd (May 1, 2008).

U.W. Coach Callahan Get's Fatherly Advice
As the recently promoted Univ. of Washington Men's rowing coach passes the midway mark of his first spring season, he got some advice on leadership from his father, a former nuclear-submarine captain to "loosen up" on a rower. "My dad said, 'He's not driving a $3 billion submarine with 100-plus warheads on it.' It's OK." (Seattle Times, May 2, 2008).

Windermere Cup Regatta Offers Unique Experience
Visitors to the Windermere Cup Regatta as part of Seattle's Opening Day of Boating Season are surprised to see the large crowds and ceremony which attends this mainstay of rowing in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle P.I., May 2, 2008).

Kelly Foster Has Success as U.W. Rower
Kelly Foster switched from soccer to rowing while in high school at Lake Stevens, Washington, and after rowing for Everett Rowing Association she was offered full rowing scholarships at both the Univ. of Washington and Stanford. Choosing Stanford, she was red-shirted after a back injury, but returning as a Univ. of Washington rower she is making quite a name for herself (May 3, 2008).

Washington Rowers Sweep Windermere Cup
The Univ. of Washington Men survived a quick boat change caused by a broken pin to win the Men's Eight+, defeating the Poland Under-23 Team and Navy in the premier race. The U.W. Women also won their event against Navy and Melbourne University, snapping a losing streak against California, Washington State, and Oregon State (Seattle Times, May 4, 2008).
Windermere Cup Regatta Results

U.W. Men Sweep Pac 10 Finals
The defending champion Univ. of Washington Men's Crew team swept the Pac 10 finals in all events, setting them up for a potential repeat of the IRA National Championship (Seattle P.I., May 19, 2008).
See Also: UW men's crew team cruises in Pac-10, women's team finishes fourth (Seattle Times, May 18, 2008).

Three WWU Rowers Named Div. II All-American
The Collegiate rowing Coaches Association has named three Western Washington University women rowers to it's NCAA Div. II All-American team: Junior Staci Reynolds, senior Metta Gilbert, and senior Samantha Marikis (Seattle Times, May 28, 2008).

U.W. Women Working Hard, Trying Every Combo
Univ. of Washington coach Bob Ernst is trying every possible combination of rowers and boats to shake up the U.W. women's rowing program prior to their surprising invitation to the NCAA nationals (Seattle P.I., May 29, 2008).

WWU Women Rowers Take Div. II Title Fourth Year in a Row
Western Washington University's women's crew team has continued their domination of the NCAA Div. II, winning the national championship for the FOURTH year in a row! (Everett Herald, June 1, 2008).

Northwest Women Crew Teams Dominate
Women collegiate rowers from the Pacific Northwest at national competitions. The Western Washington University women took their fourth-strait NCAA Div. II title. The Univ. of Washington women, in a decidedly mixed season, managed to shine in the NCAA Div. I finals when they took the gold in the Varsity Four + race and come home with an overall second-place finish based on points. The Washington State University women rowers took eigth place overall in the same NCAA Div. I competition. The Univ. of Puget Sound took third place overall in NCAA Div. III championships (Seattle Times, June 3, 2008).
See Also: Washington Women Rowers Suprise 2nd at NCAAs(Seattle Times June 2, 2008).
UW women's four boat wins national title (Seattle Times, June 1, 2008).

Troy Petersen Named to N.E. All-Region Rowing Team
Troy Peterson, a graduate of Seattle Prep and a collegiate rower for the U.S. Military Acadamy (West Point), has been named to the N.E. All Region Rowing Team by the American Collegiate Rowing Association (Seattle Times, June 4, 2008).

U.W. Sophomore Blaise Didier Explains Choosing U.W. over Cal When San Francicisco native Blaise Didier was recruited by Cal and Washington, he asked each school could help him get to the 2012 Olympics. The answers resulted in Didier choosing Washington, and set up the face-off for the IRA championships (Seattle Times, June 5, 2008).

Mary Whipple name FISA Athlete of the Month
Former U.W. coxswain Mary Whipple was named "athlete of the month" by the International Rowing Federation after coxing the U.S. Women's Eight to first place in Lucerne, Switzerland (Seattle Times, June 6, 2008).

Junior Rower Paula Welly Records History of Everett Rowing
Paula Welly, an Everett High School senior and captain of the Everett Rowing Association's junior women's team, turned down full-ride scholarships at Clemson and Syracuse Universities in order to take a partial scholarship at Gonzaga. But what really got her noticed was her project to collect a history of the Everett Rowing Association as part of her Culminating Exibition (i.e., Senior Project) (Everett herald, June 6, 2008).

Univ. of Washington Men lose IRA title to Wisconsin
The Univ. of Washington Men's Crew team came in second the heavyweight 8+, losing the IRA title to Wisconsin at the national regatta on the Cooper River at Camden, New Jersey (Everett Herald, June 7, 2008).
See also: Badgers get best of Huskies for rowing crown (Seattle Times, June 8, 2008);
UW varsity crew second at nationals (Seattle P.I., June 8, 2008).

Megan Kalmoe Secure in Olympic Berth
Former U.W. rower Megan Kalmoe has already secured her spot on the U.S. Olympic team, so she gets to chear on her teamates at the Olympic Trials starting monday at National Olympic Trials at New Jersey (Seattle Times June 8, 2008).

Olympia's Buckland Advances to Finals in Olympic Trials
Brodie Buckland of Olympia advanced to finals in the Men's Pair competition in the U.S. Olympic Trials on Lake Mercer, joining Josh Inman of Hillsboro, Oregon, who had also advanced (Seattle Times, June 11, 2008).

Anna Cummins and Portia McGee Win Spots on Olympic Team
Anna (Mickelson) Cummins (Bellevue, WA) and Portia McGee (Seattle, WA) won spots of the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team in the Women's Pairs event at Lake Mercer (Seattle Times, June 12, 2008).

Seattle Portia McGee Makes It!
Seattle's Portia McGee missed the 2004 Olympics by two-tenths of a second, and suffered a back injury just two days before last year's World Rowing Regatta. But this year, McGee will be going to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics (Seattle Times, June 15, 2008).

Everett, Lake Union, Silver Lake Medal at Cincinnati
The U.S. Rowing Youth National Championship Regatta at Cincinnati featured gold-meal wins by Everett Rowing Association's Men's Lightweight Eight, the Lake Union Crew Women's Single Scull, and Lake Union Crew's Men's Lightweight Four +. (Seattle Times, June 17, 2008). In addition, Lake Stevens Rowing Club Men's Four placed second in their event (See Everett Herald, June 17, 2008).

Five Seattle-Area Rowers Earn Spots on 2008 Olympic Team
Five rowers from the Seattle area will be on the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team: Lindsay Meyer (rowing in the quad), Lia Pernell (quad), Mary Whipple (eight), Anna (Mickelson) Cummins (pair and eight), and Portia McGee (pair)(Seattle Times, June 28, 2008). See Also: U.S. Rowing Announces 2008 Olympic Roster

Northwest Rowers Make U.S. Under-23 National Teams
Blaise Didier (U.W.), Katelin Snyder (U.W.), and Jamie Redman (Spokane) have been named to the U.S. Rowing Uner-23 Ntional Team which will compete at the Under-23 World Championships in Bradenburg, Germany. The U.W. Men's coach Mike Callahan and Pocock Elite's coach Joshua Adam have also been named to the U.S. Rowing Under-23 coaching staff. In addition, Cara Linnekohl (Redmond), Shannon Stief (Mulkiteo) and Rob Munn (Redmond) have been named to the national team that will represent the U.S. at the 2008 FISA World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships in Austria (Seattle Times, July 8, 2008). See Also: Stief Named To U.S. Junior Rowing Team (Everett Herald, July 8, 2008)

Erin O'Connell Named SPU Interim Athletic Director
Erin O'Connell, who was an assistant Women's rowing coach at the University of Washington for seven years, has been named the Interim Athletic Director at Seattle Pacific University (Seattle Times, July 9, 2008).

Fifty Years Ago, U.W. Rowers Made History in Moscow
On July 19, 1958, the Univ. of Washington rowers made history when they were the first U.S. athletes to compete behind the Iron Curtain in Moscow - and win in an amazing upset. Surviving members of the team recount their experience (Seattle Times, July 20, 2008).

Washington Rowers Dominate Eights in Under-23 World Regatta Blaise Didier, (Univ. of Washington) helped the U.S. Men's Eight+ win gold at the Under-23 Championships in Brandenburg, Germany, beating the Canadian team which was composed mostly of his fellow U.W. teammates (Rob Gibson, Will Crothers, Anthony Jacob, Stephen Connolly, Conlin McCabe and Chris Aylard). In the Women's Eight+, U.W. coxswain Katelin Snyder guided the U.S. women's eight to gold, which was also rowed by Katherine Glessner (Seattle) and Jamie Redman (Spkane). (Seattle Times, July 21, 2008).

Ursula James is a "Rower Without a Country"
Ursula James of Lake Stevens, Washington, immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa and is now married to a U.S. citizen. Starting rowing as an adult novice, she eventually became part of the Pocock Elite training program. But because she can't yet apply for U.S. Citizenship, she was unable to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, and her native South African team can't give her a spot due to strick anti-apartheid quotas requiring the team be split equally between white and black rowers (Everett Herald, July 22, 2008).

Whipple & Cummins: "Last Hurrah for a Memorable Pair"
Two former members of the Univ. of Washington Women's rowing program have dominated U.S. and world rowing this decade: Mary Whipple, coxswain, and Anna (Mickelberg) Cummins, rower. Together in the same boat since their days as Freshman rowers at the U.W., they have helped their boats win three world championships, an Olympic medal, and six would cup victories. But the 2008 Olympics in Beijing may be their "last hurrah", as they look forward to moving on to the next stage of their lives (Seattle Times, Aug. 7, 2008).

UW's Famous 1936 Olympic Victory Never Made Local Papers
In an article about local legendary Seattle journalist Royal Brougham, John Owens details, among other things, Brougham's coverage of the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. This is the site of the "Race of the Century" where the Univ. of Washington Men's 8+, representing the United States, went from dead last to first place to beat out the German and Italian boats. But surprisingly, the victory never made the Seattle papers at the time - because it occured during a newspaper strike (Seattle P.I., August 8, 2008).

Northwest Rowers Face Repechage
Anna Cummins & Portia McGee (women's pairs), Lindsay Meyers & Lia Pernell (women's quad), and Brian Volpenhein (Men's 8+) all face repechage races after failing to win their preliminary heats (Seattle Times, August 13, 2008).

Olympic Rower Bryan Volpenhein is also Seattle Chef
Bryan Volpenhein, a rower in the U.S. Men's 8+ at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and former U.W. assistant coach, is also a chef. He worked at Rover's, a frech-cuisine restaurant in Seattle between the Athens and Beijing games. He claims that the pressure he felt at the starting line of a rowing race was nothing like the pressure he felt when cooking for his fellow chefs (Seattle P.I., August 14, 2008).

Bainbridge Island Rowing benefit - "Row, Eat, Dance"
Bainbridge Island is gettting together for a big benefit for their rowing club, featuring music, dancing, food, and T-shirts on Friday, August 22, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available in advance I (click on link above for details) (Seattle Times, August 15, 2008).

UW Grad David Caulder Wins Silver at Beijing
David Caulder, a 2001 graduate from the Univ. of Washington and a member of that school's rowing team, won silver in the Men's Pair at the Beijing Olympics rowing for his native Canadian team (Seattle Times, August 17, 2008).

Anna Cummins and Mary Whipple Help U.S. Women's Eight Win Gold at Beijing
The U.S. Women's 8+ beat Romania to win gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Northwest natives Anna Cummins (from Bellevue, Washington) and Mary Whipple (former U.W. coxswain) continued their teamwork to contribute towards the victory (Seattle Times, August 17, 2008).

U.S. Men Take Bronze in the 8+ at Beijing
The U.S. men's 8+ recovered from an early deficit to salvage a bronze medal at th Beijing 2008 Olympics. Among the rowers was Bryan Volpenhein, former U.W. assistant coach and graduate of Seattle Culinary Acadamy and a former chef in a Seattle restaurant (Seattle P.I., August 17, 2008).

Mary Whipple and Anna Cummins Cap Rowing Career with Gold Mary Whipple and Anna Cummins have been teammates since joining the Univ. of Washington's Women's Crew team, and won silver at Athens in 2004. Now their gold medal victory in the 8+ at Beijing caps their career and partnership (Seattle Times, August 18, 2008). See Also: "It's for the 1984 girls -- do 'em proud!" (Seattle P.I., August 18, 2008).

U.S. Men's 8+ Used Strategy to Take Bronze at Olympics
The U.S. Men's coach and rowers explained that after pushing hard too early in the preliminary heats, they decided to save their push to the end in the finals (Seattle Times, August 18, 2008).

Everett Rowing Starts 2008-09 Season with New Coach
Sasha Spencer, former U.W. rower and a veteran coach of both college and club programs, has taken over the reigns as Program Director of Everett Rowing Association. Matt Lacy, the former director, has gone on to be the program director at Pocock Rowing Center (Sept. 9, 2008).

U.W. Alumns Return to Moscow
Fifty years after a Univ. of Washington crew team stunned the world by beating the Soviet team during the height of the cold war in a regatta in Moscow, the Univ. of Washington rowers are returning to the scene. The current U.W. team will compete in the second annual Moscow Cup on Sept. 6th. Accompanying them will be two alumni from that original team, along with a film crew (Seattle Times, Sept. 3, 2008).

Olympic Rowing Coach Emil Kossev Dies
Emil Kossev, a native of Bulgaria who settled in Seattle in 1992 and became an Olympic sculling coach operating out of the Pocock Rowing Center, died of a rare form of cancer. In his native Bulgaria he was a 13-time sculling champion and a member of that country's national team (Seattle P.I., Sept. 16, 2008). Check www.pocockrowing.org for a more detailed obituary and upcoming notes on plans for a celebration of his life (update: scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Washington Athletic Club Chrystal Ballroom.

Sammamish Rowing Associations Varsity Juniors Team travelled to Oklahoma City, OK to attend the unique new regatta, the Head of the Oklahoma. Athletes competed in a 2.5 mile $B!#%M(BHead of the Oklahoma$B!#%N(B head race and by winning those races, qualified for an intense 500 meter super nighttime sprint. The OCU Head of the Oklahoma was the first regatta in the United States to feature night racing in 2006. When the sun goes down, stadium lights illuminate the river in the 500 meter OG&E NightSprints creating an electrifying atmosphere for competitors and spectators. http://www.headoftheoklahoma.com/about.php for details about the regatta. Their results:

Women$B!#%L(Bs Youth 8+ 1st Place Time: 15:20.871 2.5 mile race and 1st Place Time:1:43.354 500meter sprint
Men$B!#%L(Bs Youth 8+ 1st Place Time: 13:49.077 2.5 mile race and 2nd Place Time: 1:30.058 500meter sprint

(Source: Sammammish Rowing Association)