This weekend will mark the first and only time this season that all three Wisconsin crew teams will compete in the same race when they take to the lake for the 2004 Midwest Rowing Championships Saturday. The race will be held in Madison on Lake Wingra this year because of its \central"" location-the Midwest Association of Rowing Colleges (MARC), the organizers of the event, also chose to bring the championships to Madison because of UW's solid tradition of rowing excellence and strong fan support. The Midwest Rowing Championships is one of the biggest regattas in the country with almost 1,500 participants.
There will be more than 165 boats in this year's field coming from over 26 universities-even several club programs not affiliated with the NCAA are slated to compete in the 32nd annual race. Competition for UW will include boats from such universities as Iowa State, Kansas, Xavier, Marquette, Loyola and Miami of Ohio.
Of the 100-plus college boats, three of them will hail from Wisconsin and for the first time in four years, all three boats are nationally ranked. The women's lightweight boat is currently ranked No. 3 overall, while the women's openweights are currently No. 13. The Wisconsin men share the 5th ranking entering this weekend.
The men have been perennial contenders finishing in the top four in the nation the last two years and the women's lightweight program has been among the nation's elite finishing in the top three the last four seasons. The openweights have not enjoyed the same success the last few years but bounced back this year and look to build on their momentum with an impressive showing Saturday.
After defeating Michigan on Lake Mendota in seven out of eight races two weeks ago, and then capturing the W Cup for the first time in 11 years, the men's varsity crew team is favored to hold down the fort and defend their home turf with a victory this weekend.
The openweights stole the spotlight early in the season in the Florida Institute of Technology Invitational as they swept their competition for the weekend, even edging out their higher-ranked lightweight comrades who lost one race. They have continued their great season with a fifth-place finish in the San Diego Crew Classic in San Diego, CA and an impressive showing the next week in which they finished a boat-length behind No.1 Ohio State for first place.
The lightweight's spring has been equally successful as they won their fourth straight race of the year by taking the title in the San Diego Crew Classic two weeks ago. They followed their victory up with an encore performance as their varsity four took first place and the varsity eight finished an impressive third.
If the weather cooperates, Madison truly will be a crew Mecca this weekend when its three nationally-ranked squads play host to the competition in hopes of building on their collective success and giving the home crowds a show. The Badgers trifecta is set on make sure history dictates the outcome of their upcoming water wage.
