After two weeks of spring competition, the No. 8 UW men's crew team is not yet at the exact point they want to be, but they're getting there. Certainly they are content with the improvement over last year's disappointing season in which they finished 18th at nationals, but now is not the time for complacency as they head into a big weekend at home.
Right now we just have better guys [than last year],\ head coach Chris Clark said.
""At the beginning of the year I set out a target list ... Last year we hit 22 out of 179 and this year we're up to about 37 out of 180, so we're getting better.""
Thus far this spring, Wisconsin's first varsity eight team has defeated Michigan and No. 19 Fresno State while barely losing to No. 3 California and No. 2 Stanford. The losses to Stanford and Cal were by a combined 6.64 seconds, so the team has proved it can hang with anyone.
Two weekends ago, the other varsity eight teams swept Minnesota and George Washington with some victories coming by more than 30 seconds.
Last weekend's Midwest Rowing Championships at Lake Wingra were also swept by Wisconsin, although the outside competition was minimal and it was mostly a display for Badger fans.
Coming to town this weekend are Dartmouth and MIT for Saturday's Cochrane Cup race while No. 10 Boston will face Wisconsin for the Jablonic Cup. Coach Clark hopes the team will be up to the challenge.
""You have these cups and trophies that have been around for decades and then if you win it, it's in your boathouse for the next year,"" he said. ""We have a very empty cupboard right now, we would like to increase our collection to fill the void.""
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