With the UW men's rowing team preparing for the National Championships, the women finished up their season over the Memorial Day weekend.
The men's squad recaptured the Walsh Cup from Navy, winning the annual varsity eight race against the Midshipmen for the first time since 2002. The two perennial powerhouses faced off on the Severn River in Annapolis, Md., Sunday.
In the 2000 meter contest, the seventh-ranked Badgers registered a time of 5:50.53, handily taking out No. 11 Navy's time of 5:52.43. UW swept all seven races, including the second varsity eight, varsity four, varsity four without coxswain, freshmen four, freshmen eight and varsity pair. The eighth race, the open four, was scratched by Navy.
This was the Badgers' final preparatory event before the 2006 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships, beginning Thursday, June 1 and running through Saturday, June 3 on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.
'In the varsity eight race, it looked like, in both us and Navy, the absolute intensity that you see at the Eastern Sprints was not there in either boat, or that you'll see in just a few days at the IRA,' UW head coach Chris Clark said. 'It was good that we won and we were happy about it.'
The Badgers now own the all-time advantage over Navy, with a 15-14 record over their foes.
The women's rowing team wrapped up its 2005-'06 campaign with an eighth place overall finish at the NCAA Championships on Mercer Lake in West Windor, N.J. The finish was the highest in Badger history, besting the tenth-place mark of the 1999 crew.
The Badgers notched 28 points overall, with 20 of them coming from the second varsity eight. The second varsity eight netted a time of 6:54.666 over 2000 meters, good for a bronze medal finish, the highest individual event finish in team history.
'Our 2V just went after it like they did yesterday from the very first stroke and were able to hold second place almost to the end,' UW head coach Bebe Bryans said. 'They got passed with about three or four strokes to go, but they were sprinting for their lives. They had the race of their lives.'
The varsity four placed eighth overall, accounting for five of the Badgers' championship points, while the varsity eight rounded out UW scoring with three points.
California won the national championship, defeating Brown, which it tied with 66 points at the top, due to its higher finish in the tie-breaking varsity eight race. Among other Big Ten teams, Ohio State placed fifth and Michigan State finished in sixth place.
Coach Bryans was very encouraged by the team's performance on the whole.
'It was a great team effort. It was a great weekend for Wisconsin,' Bryans said. 'I think the most exciting thing is that we had so many underclassmen here that can't wait to get started training again, and we had seniors who were very proud of the way they were able to finish off their careers. It was a great weekend and we feel we accomplished what we could.'
