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Recap

Washington-California Dual Regatta
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Montlake Cut; Seattle, Wash.

POST-RACE QUOTES

Bob Ernst, WASHINGTON MEN'S HEAD COACH
"They just out-fought us for the race. We were in a position with 500 meters to go that we could have won the race. It was definitely a doable deal. California just took it away from us in the last 30, 40 strokes. They raced a heck of a race all the way down. They got up on us a little bit in the first third of the race and they just sat on us and covered everything that we did for the next half of the race. In the last little bit there they took a little bit more."

"This is the first real challenge these guys have had. California got beat in San Diego in the heats by Stanford. They had their challenges going there. Now we kind of have our hands full. It will be a lot of racing in the next month, but that's what these guys train all year for."

"These two teams are going all over the world to get the best rowers that they possibly can. That's one of the reasons why we've been as successful as the two teams have at the national championships every year. There are a lot of really good rowers in these two varsity crews out here and the jayvees as far as that goes.

"Last year the pendulum swung our way. They killed us in San Diego last year and then we were able to turn it around by the time of the dual meet. It remains to be seen what we can do in three weeks before the Pac-10s. You better believe that we're going to be doing everything we can to get better.

"Neither one of these crews is going to be coasting for the next three weeks, you'd better believe. We have quality races. Oregon State is going to come in here next week and they have a good team. The week after that Cornell and the Czech National Team. That's monumental. What makes you faster? You have to race.

STEVE GLADSTONE, CALIFORNIA MEN'S HEAD COACH
"You had a group of athletes who are very determined. When you have that, then you have a real rivalry and there's not going to be a one-way street. Also keep in my that we have the Pac-10 Championships coming up. Two years ago we won the dual race and got whacked by Washington at the Pac-10s. It's important to keep each one of these contests in perspective. The Cal oarsmen are very, very happy today. They raced what I thought was a very courageous race. The Washington oarsmen did the same. That rivalry will be renewed in three weeks at Lake Natoma. It's healthy, those guys going after it.

"I don't think you could say the race really turned until probably the last 400 meters. Right up until the bridge it really was pretty much anybody's race. Cal had maybe a three or four seat lead at that point, but Washington put on a heck of a move. After the bridge it seemed as though Cal was able to assert itself.

"Washington last year at the Pac-10 Championships just ripped our heart out. They got through us in the last 20 strokes of the race. When you experience that, that marks you and it gives you more incentive. The crews are so evenly matched that on any given day you are going to have a contest and one's going to win and one's going to lose."

On Washington's new shellhouse:
"I love it. It's a great boathouse. A lot of work has been done here historically, starting with the Pocock family. The University of Washington is a very important place to U.S. rowing."

Eleanor McElvaine, WASHINGTON WOMEN'S HEAD COACH
"I'm disappointed, more in the fact that our crews didn't race to our potential than I am having been beat by a good team. Cal is very good this year and I know that they will do well nationally. Our goal was to come out and have the best race that we could and neither the varsity, nor junior varsity felt like they accomplished that. So that's the frustrating part. To get it all sorted out so you feel like on race day you show your best and they're struggling with that.

"It's the ebb and flow of things. Right now that's the way it is. We have some growing pains and they (California) are definitely up on the rise and doing really well."

"We have Oregon State next weekend and that will be another good test. Then of course Opening Day is the huge pressure cooker with the hometown crowd. We have two good races to help us get ready before the Pac-10 Championships.

"The schedule is hard. You really don't get a breath. You have to get ready every single weekend. For us the necessity to improve means that every weekend needs to be good. It's hard to accomplish that.

DAVE O'NEILL, CALIFORNIA WOMEN'S HEAD COACH
"We've had a good group the last couple years. This varsity crew we have this year is probably the best we've had since I've been here at Cal. They've been doing all the right things and clicking along. We've been fortunate to have some good success, but we know that Washington will be right back with us at Pac-10s and next year and years to come.

"There's definitely a rivalry. It's a very healthy rivalry between the women's teams. Certainly when there are so many more people that come on up here to watch this, it's a big deal. This crew that we have, they want to execute everything they could have done for 2,000 meters, not just to beat Washington, but to go out there and do the best that they could."

On Washington's new shellhouse:
"It looks great. Looking at things from the inside out I can see how everything makes a lot of sense. All the huge windows are great. We were here at six in the morning and the with the sun coming up it was absolutely beautiful. Then, when you are headed on out to the lake and you look back you realize this is a very impressive building."

Evan Galloway, UW MEN'S JUNIOR VARSITY BOW SEAT
"We rowed really confidently, according to our race plan, and executed it and it came out well. All of our boats have a lot more speed to eke out. The Pac-10s are in three weeks and I think we'll gain some speed in that time.

"It was kind of back-and-forth. At about the 1,000 we took a move that was pretty strong and then it hovered for a while. It seemed like we just slowly kind of moved out more and more in that last 500."

Stephen Hertzfeld, UW MEN'S JUNIOR VARSITY COXSWAIN
"We had our race plan and we executed it. We were just trying to stabilize them in the first thousand and then hit our move at the thousand. We kind of controlled the race from there.

"Right off the start we had about two seats, but they quickly pulled back even. We were just trading a seat at a time. It was really close the first thousand. We really hit our groove in the third 500 there."

Kyle Larson, UW MEN'S VARSITY EIGHT NO. 3 SEAT
"We had an okay start. We knew what was going to happen. They countered our moves. We need to work on our base speed, although it's gotten better. We need to work on more powerful moves.

"It was tough. It was going to be a gut check and now we have some time and we know what we need to do. We need to come every day with a purpose and train harder and train better to get there. This could be a motivation, a turning point. Now we show up with a purpose. We know exactly what we need to do. It's not a good thing, but maybe it can bring good things.

"This is as big as it gets. Washington and Cal is the biggest rivalry there is. Starting as a freshman we know that. Everybody knows that."

Greg King, UW MEN'S VARSITY EIGHT COXSWAIN
"We lost a couple of seats early because of steering, but that's racing. We should have the ability to recover from that and we didn't today. We didn't hit our shift right and that's dual racing.

"It's a disappointment, but it's also a reality check, a gut check. I know we can beat them, we just didn't today.

"We always say we try to make the boat go fastest on the final of the IRA, the last race of the season. If that's our goal then today is just part of the building process."