Men's crew faces off against No. 1 Washington
No. 19 Oregon State will head to Seattle to face Huskie squad that easily knocked off No. 2 Stanford last week by over six seconds
Sean McLean
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Sports
They are number one in the country, and men's crew head coach Steve Todd believes they deserve it.
But that won't stop his team from trying to pull off one of the biggest wins in the program's history. On Saturday, they will take on Washington at Montlake Cut in Seattle for an important conference race.
"The best that we can do this weekend is really execute our race and go out and concentrate just within our boat," Todd said. "We are taking a step towards the Pac-10 Championships and towards nationals and just being ready for those races."
Traditionally, the Huskies have been one the nation's better rowing programs. And with their last two recruiting classes being very exceptional, Todd thinks the program will continue to be one of the best in the future.
"When you get the best guys, you can really develop and be one of the fastest teams for sure," Todd said.
No. 19 Oregon State is coming off a convincing weekend at the Windermere Real Estate Rowing Classic in Belmont, California. On the first day, the Beavers fell to No. 11 Trinity College in the varsity eight and junior varsity eight races. They recovered quickly and went on to defeat No. 20 George Washington in the afternoon session. Both the varsity eight and junior varsity eight won their races by under a second.
The next day, the Beavers won both races with the varsity eight beating Gonzaga by over three seconds and junior varsity eight rowing past Loyola Marymount by a big 15 and a half seconds. For the weekend, Oregon State took four of six races.
And although the team has raced well recently, Todd knows there is still room for improvement before the Pac-10 Championships in a few weeks.
"Right now, I think the best things we can improve on is the start and end of the race," Todd said. "At the start, we can get a little bit quicker, we can row a higher rating, and then, as we get into the finish and we sprint again, we got to work on just being a really aggressive crew and not backing down."
Washington also rowed last weekend at the Windermere Real Estate Rowing Classic with the Huskies rowing past No. 8 Wisconsin by over three seconds and also taking down No. 11 Trinity College. The following day, they proved why they are the top ranked team in the country. In perhaps one of the biggest races of the season in college rowing, the Huskies easily defeated No. 2 Stanford by over six seconds.
With the strength of the Huskies this season, the Beavers varsity eight knows it will have its hands full this weekend but will put up a fight.
"What we have to do this weekend is go out hard," junior Jeff Halleck said. "We have to fight the whole way through and don't give them an inch."
The two teams raced last season in Seattle with the Beavers falling to the Huskies by 17 seconds. The two schools also faced each other twice in 2005 with Washington taking both races in Seattle.
But that won't stop his team from trying to pull off one of the biggest wins in the program's history. On Saturday, they will take on Washington at Montlake Cut in Seattle for an important conference race.
"The best that we can do this weekend is really execute our race and go out and concentrate just within our boat," Todd said. "We are taking a step towards the Pac-10 Championships and towards nationals and just being ready for those races."
Traditionally, the Huskies have been one the nation's better rowing programs. And with their last two recruiting classes being very exceptional, Todd thinks the program will continue to be one of the best in the future.
"When you get the best guys, you can really develop and be one of the fastest teams for sure," Todd said.
No. 19 Oregon State is coming off a convincing weekend at the Windermere Real Estate Rowing Classic in Belmont, California. On the first day, the Beavers fell to No. 11 Trinity College in the varsity eight and junior varsity eight races. They recovered quickly and went on to defeat No. 20 George Washington in the afternoon session. Both the varsity eight and junior varsity eight won their races by under a second.
The next day, the Beavers won both races with the varsity eight beating Gonzaga by over three seconds and junior varsity eight rowing past Loyola Marymount by a big 15 and a half seconds. For the weekend, Oregon State took four of six races.
And although the team has raced well recently, Todd knows there is still room for improvement before the Pac-10 Championships in a few weeks.
"Right now, I think the best things we can improve on is the start and end of the race," Todd said. "At the start, we can get a little bit quicker, we can row a higher rating, and then, as we get into the finish and we sprint again, we got to work on just being a really aggressive crew and not backing down."
Washington also rowed last weekend at the Windermere Real Estate Rowing Classic with the Huskies rowing past No. 8 Wisconsin by over three seconds and also taking down No. 11 Trinity College. The following day, they proved why they are the top ranked team in the country. In perhaps one of the biggest races of the season in college rowing, the Huskies easily defeated No. 2 Stanford by over six seconds.
With the strength of the Huskies this season, the Beavers varsity eight knows it will have its hands full this weekend but will put up a fight.
"What we have to do this weekend is go out hard," junior Jeff Halleck said. "We have to fight the whole way through and don't give them an inch."
The two teams raced last season in Seattle with the Beavers falling to the Huskies by 17 seconds. The two schools also faced each other twice in 2005 with Washington taking both races in Seattle.
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