Oct. 14, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok. - The Washington men's varsity eight won two of its three races at the Head of the Oklahoma Regatta that concluded Sunday on the Oklahoma River.

The Huskies were defeated for the first time in over a year, but it took a pair of elite national teams to accomplish the feat. UW's boat completed the curvy, 4,000-meter (2.5-mile) course in 13-minutes, 6.60-seconds, shaving over 27 seconds off its winning time from the day before.

The Huskies posted a time of 13:34.85 on Saturday, winning a head race over seven other collegiate crews. Harvard had a runner-up time of 13:39.15 in that competition.

UW was the only collegiate entry in Sunday's men's championship eight. The Huskies time was eclipsed by the United States and Canada. The U.S. crew included former Huskies Sam Burns and Matt Deakin, along with former UW assistant coach Bryan Volpenhein. Canada's entry included former Husky rowers Peter Dembicki and Dave Calder along with current Husky Rob Gibson.

The U.S. boat recorded a wining time of 12:41.33 followed by the Canadians in 12:47.19. National teams from the Czech Republic and Mexico finished behind the Huskies. The Czechs had a fourth-place time of 13:09.49 and Mexico was fifth in 13:35.46.

The last time the Huskies' top men's crew was beaten was June 3, 2006 when UW placed fifth in the grand finals of the IRA Championships.

Late Saturday night, UW was victorious in a unique 500-meter sprint race. The Huskies clocked a time of 1:20.50 to finish nearly two seconds ahead of second-place Harvard. The Crimson had a time of 1:22.26, followed by Pennsylvania (1:23.28), Wichita State (1:27.40) and Oklahoma City (1:31.69).

This weekend's racing marked the debut of Michael Callahan, an assistant who was elevated into the men's head coaching position this summer. He replaced Bob Ernst, the UW crew's program coordinator who is now the women's head coach.

Ernst directed the Husky men to the 2007 national championship in June. In his final assignment as men's mentor, he coached the varsity eight to victory at the Moscow Race of Champions, Sept. 1 on the Moskva River in Russia. The Huskies were victorious in the race against an elite field, including runner-up Cambridge, third-place Oxford and fourth-place Moscow State University.

OKLAHOMA REGATTA
Oklahoma River; Oklahoma City, Ok.

Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007

Men's Collegiate Eight
(500-Meter Night Sprint)
1. Washington 1:20.50
2, Harvard 1:22.26
3, Pennsylvania 1:23.28
4, Wichita State 1:27.40
5, Oklahoma City 1:31.69

Sunday, Oct. 14, 2007

Head of the Oklahoma Men's Championship Eight
(4,000 meters)
1. United States 12:41.33
2. Canada 12:47.19
3, Washington 13:06.60
4, Czech Republic 13:09;.49
5, Mexico 13:35.46

WASHINGTON MEN'S VARSITY EIGHT LINEUP
Cox - Katelin Snyder (Jr. / Winter Park, Fla. / Winter Park)
Stroke - Bart-Jan Caron (Jr. / Millbay, B.C. / Shawnigan Lake)
7 - Heath Allen (Sr. / Durango, Colo. / Durango)
6 - Jessiah Johnson (Jr. / Mercer Island, Wash. / Mercer Island)
5 - Roko Svast (So. / Split, Croatia/ 5th Gymnasium)
4 - Will Crothers (Jr. / Kingston, Ontario / Kingston CVI)
3 - Lowell Neal (Jr. / Los Alamos, N.M. / Los Alamos)
2 - Toby Dankbaar (Sr. / Sydney, Australia / St. Joseph's)
Bow - Steve Full (Sr, / Cumberland, Maine / Tabor Academy)

For complete results of the Oklahoma Regatta please visit PowerHouse Timing