Here comes what's becoming the granddaddy of all early season regattas: the Windermere Collegiate Rowing Classic at Redwood Shores, California. (This is not to be confused with Seattle's Windermere Cup held in May.) What happens at the Rowing Classic is two days of all-out 2km racing in three separate categories: heavy men, open women, and light women. A bunch of schools are invited in each category, and there's a round-robin type racing schedule arranged beforehand. Each school races three times (twice Saturday and once Sunday), and each school usually races at least a varsity and a second varsity (excepting the lights). There are frosh/novice events, and there's even a women's lightweight four on the schedule.
The Redwood Shores course is a two-lane course, as close to fair as it gets, and has the oddity of requiring crews to check down their boats as soon as they cross the finish line, lest they run aground on the rocks. Did I mention the course is exactly 2km long? Rocks and shore border both ends of the lanes. To top it off, it's a west coast regatta that brings east coast schools out to race, setting a benchmark for those oft-pondered east vs. west coast comparisons that usually crop up before national championship races. So let's see what's on tap.
Men's crew Headlining the show is #1-ranked Washington, who is racing #8 Wisconsin, #11 Trinity, and #2 Stanford in that order. Wisconsin is probably a step (but not much of one) behind any of their west coast opponents due to water's tendency to solidify in the wintery north. We'll see how their speed develops across the season from this regatta. The big elephant of the regatta will be the #1 vs. #2 showdown on Sunday between Washington and Stanford. The Windermere Rowing Classic does serve as the dual race between UW and Stanford, which makes gives it a great atmosphere, whereas a traditional dual race over any other weekend might not draw as many spectators, etc. It's also nice to see GWU come out west, and Trinity is no stranger to Windermere either. #19 Oregon State comes down from Corvallis to test their crews as well, looking for speed after being defeated by both Cal and Stanford in San Diego (but walking through Purdue to claim third). You can note the inclusion of WCC crews UC-Davis and Gonzaga varsity eight race on Saturday as well, expanding the regatta's flavor beyond the traditional, ranked crews most likely to get invitations to Windermere. #4 California is featured in one race, against Wisconsin.
Washington is looking to test itself following the last two weeks' victories over Western Washington University and Washington State University. Wisconsin and Trinity will present challenges to the Huskies, who may be looking ahead to avenging themselves against Stanford, who swept them last season.
#2 Stanford
Last week's rank: #7
They're racing: #20 George Washington, #8 Wisconsin, #1 Washington
Following their second Copley Cup victory against Cal in two years, Stanford looks to repeat their win against Washington from last year at Windermere. First however, they need to get past GWU and Wisconsin.
#8 Wisconsin
Last week's rank: #8t (with Northeastern)
They're racing: #1 Washington, #2 Stanford, #4 Cal
With the toughest opponents lined up on paper, Wisconsin should look to show its mettle against three top-five crews, possibly making a east coast vs. west coast statement in the process. The Badgers are no stranger to the Redwood Shores course, however, as they've raced here a handful of times in the recent past. Last year, Wisconsin lost to both Cal and Stanford in separate duals by about a length each time. With only three weeks having passed since their home waters melted, Wisconsin will look to hit the water in stride, taking as many shirts as they can in the process.
#11 Trinity
Last week's rank: #15
They're racing: #19 Oregon State, #1 Washington, #20 George Washington
The Bantams were undefeated in 2005, winning the Henley Royal Regatta's Temple Cup to cap off that season. Last year, they won the ECAC Invitational over Michigan, Holy Cross, and one of this year's Windermere attendees, George Washington, finishing 13th in the final USRowing coaches' poll. One of the bigger unresolved questions is how far Trinity could have gone in 2005 had they attended IRAs, but what we know right now is that Coach Gluckman has something good going on at Trinity.
#19 Oregon State
Last week's rank: #19
They're racing: #11 Trinity, #20 George Washington, Gonzaga
It's fair to say that Oregon State deserved not to get dropped after beating Purdue at San Diego but losing to then-#2 Cal and then-#7 Stanford. Now the Beavers are matched with a high-performing opponent in Trinity, an opponent of equal rank in GWU, and an up-and-coming west coast men's program in Gonzaga. Oregon State will race Washington in Seattle the week following Windermere and will race Stanford in Eugene (no 2km courses near Corvallis) the week after that.
Coming off a 5th place finish at ECACs last year, GWU has opened the season with losses to Columbia, Navy, and Penn. Last week at the GW Invitational, however, they beat Temple and Gonzaga while losing to Cornell and Michigan. This year also marks their debut as an EARC competitor, so they'll be looking to gain experience against Stanford while setting their sights on Oregon State and Trinity, who won over them in last year's ECAC grand final (GW placed 5th).
#4 California
Last week's rank: #2
They're racing: #8 Wisconsin (Sunday)
While not strictly a Windermere competitor, Cal's dual race against Wisconsin will receive the showcasing it deserves between two heavyweight men's powers on Sunday. Cal didn't fall far from their #2 ranking, as they did lead Stanford for 1500m before ultimately falling to the Cardinal, but there's no doubt that last year's IRA varsity champion will be a contender all season long. Cal will be rested, and Wisconsin will have raced Stanford and Washington already?the advantage may go to Cal on the basis of fresh legs.
Gonzaga
Last week's rank: NR
They're racing: UC-Davis, #19 Oregon State
Gonzaga's already beaten UCSD (won the SDCC Cal Cup two weeks ago) and Orange Coast to make their mark on west coast rowing this season. Now they'll look to solidify their legitimacy this year with potential victories over a strong UC-Davis boat and ranked Oregon State.
Women's Headlining the show is former #1-ranked California, who tumbled to #5 after losing to Southern California at the San Diego Crew Classic's Jessop-Whittier Cup Grand Final. Still, #5 is better than any of the other crews here, though #7 Stanford may be within striking range (finished a length down on Cal in the same grand final). UCLA, Washington State, and UCF have seen their stock rise recently as well, with UCLA also showing speed in the Jessop-Whittier, Washington State's knockout of in-state rival Washington (in admittedly horrible chop and wind), and UCF's victory over then #7 Virginia. Washington, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Virginia, and Louisville round out the field, the latter four schools bringing a southeastern feel to the west coast. One can only presume that traditional schedules wouldn't let any east coast invitees fly out, but perhaps later years will see the east coast crews willing to put their speed on the line out west. For the women these cross-country races are important when it comes time to hand out NCAA bids.
It's not Cal's fault that their opponents, having been announced a few weeks ago, used to be ranked #13, #16, and #9 respectively in order of racing. Then again Cal was ranked #1 before San Diego, where they lost to then #8 USC. Expect Cal to come out with the intent to dominate and prove their mettle NCAA team championship defenders.
Note that Cal and Stanford share common opponents. This surely will play into prognosticator's predictions for next weekend's dual with Cal! When that schedule was made, Stanford was ranked #11, so if you look at the paragraph on Cal above, you'll see that Stanford would have been racing right in their ?tier,' so to speak. Now the voters have put Stanford in at #7 and dropped their opponents, so the pressure's on to prove that ranking. With this young boat, however, the sky's the limit.
Ah, the intrigue of rankings! UCLA was ranked #14 at the announcement of the racing schedule, and Virginia was ranked #2 (Notre Dame at #13), but now UCLA holds perceptual advantage over all its opponents, so like Stanford, the pressure will be on to show legitimacy. UCF will be an interesting opponent, having been unranked up until last week, when they upset then-#7 Virginia.
#12 UCF
They're racing: #14 Washington State, #8 UCLA, #19 Washington
As mentioned, UCF was unranked when the polls came out before the order of racing, but the schedulers look like psychics here, with good match-ups between UCF's recent ranking and their opponents (who have curiously and nearly switched rankings with each other since that order of racing poll). Look for UCF to continue their season's undefeated streak, building off of their upset of Virginia last week.
#13 Virginia
They're racing: #8 UCLA, #19 Washington, #14 Washington State
The Cavaliers dropped six places in the rankings after UCF beat them last week?and here they are this week sharing the same opponents. While this would have been a cakewalk on paper for the #2 Virginia that the schedulers saw when making the lineups, now Virginia is racing squarely in their tier and may also be racing to salvage their pride against UCF by winning out better against their common opponents.
#14 Washington State
They're racing: #12 UCF, #15 Tennessee, #13 Virginia
While this would have looked like a heavy plate for a then-#18 ranked team (facing off against an unranked, a #9, and #2 teams respectively), WSU has earned respect from its solid home victory in adverse conditions over powerhouse Washington last week. Now, WSU is racing three teams in the immediate rankings about them, so they should be racing with nothing to lose.
#15 Tennessee
They're racing: #7 Stanford, #14 Washington State, #5 California
Tennessee gets local opponents to bookend their schedule here, with a rising star in WSU right in the middle. The Lady Vols dropped three places after losing to Ohio State and Michigan (in freezing weather), so hopefully the California sunshine will bring out their boatspeed. Tennessee has been bested by Notre Dame much earlier this season, and the two are racing both Cal and Stanford this weekend?maybe there's something to be compared there, maybe not.
Ouch! Notre Dame takes on the top three ranked teams this weekend in blaze-of-glory style. Two weeks prior, this schedule looked slightly more manageable with then-ranked #1, #22, and #14 opponents (with ND ranked #13). Now, ND has dropped three places (despite not racing last week) and is facing more intimidating numbers. They'll surely be looking to catch any one of their opponents unawares?a 14 second loss to Grand Valley State two weeks ago just might put some unsuspecting opponents at ease.
#19 Washington
They're racing: Louisville, #13 Virginia, #12 UCF
It was a hard fall for Washington, dropping nine places and losing their lone first-place vote after their five-second loss to WSU last weekend in the windy, choppy Snake River conditions. Both the Apple State schools will be racing Virginia and UCF, so perhaps some measure of comparative speed can be gleaned from those margins. Otherwise, Washington's twelve-place drop since the schedule was set will make expectations harder on them, though perhaps a vengeful weekend of victories may be just what Coach McElvaine's crews need.
Louisville gets three traditional Pac-10 rowing powerhouses in a row, and none of those opponents should take Louisville's unranked status at face value?from all appearances, they've dropped from 16th to 17th to unranked status since their loss to Tennessee on March 24th, having raced no other crew in the intervening three weeks. Washington may end up with a big bullseye on their backs as the Cardinals' first and perhaps most winnable race opponent on paper. Louisville missed out on the #20 ranking by seventeen votes, which should remind us all that rankings really don't matter within a few places.
Arizona State
They're racing: Sonoma State
A big welcome to ASU for making their first trip out to the Windermere Rowing Classic?formerly a recreational club crew founded in 2001, the arrival of new coaching blood has helped ASU turn into a competitive club crew in about the span of nine months. ASU's invitation to Windermere can only mean good things for them as another growing Pac-10 program rowing out in the desert. They were at San Diego two weeks ago, and they'll be looking to show improvements to their speed. I suspect they are well-matched with Sonoma State on paper, so listen for that first 500m call.
Sonoma State
They're racing: Arizona State
Sonoma State is no stranger to Windermere, having at least one team out here before, though it may have been a men's crew. As the newest collegiate rowing club in the greater Bay Area, it's only in its fourth year of existence, but SSU has already cut its teeth against high-level opponents at the San Diego Crew Classic. This is SSU's only race, so look for them to get out fast and take the wind out of ASU's sails.
Lightweight women The smaller field of lightweights reflects the concurrent running of the Knecht Cup, in which many lightweight programs will be competing at as well. Nevertheless, top-ranked Princeton has come out west to take on UCF, Stanford, and Loyola Marymount. With only four boats in the field, each boat will have the opportunity to race all other boats in three races. Stanford may have a new level of speed to show, coming off a sub-par season last spring. UCF will be playing catch-up to Princeton's speed (having lost to them earlier this season) while trying to hold off Stanford. Loyola Marymount, who missed the San Diego Crew Classic, will get their first taste of ranked opposition here.
On paper, every race here is Princeton's to lose. They've beaten UCF within the last week or so, and LMU would need to have proved itself to be in Princeton's class for them to have a chance on paper. Stanford may be faster than it's been any previous year, but they have yet to prove it this year against the likes of Princeton. Princeton's light 2V will race the Cal open womens' 3V and Arizona State, which should be interesting and fun races?Arizona State's lightweight boat showed up at the San Diego Crew Classic, but they were not able to avoid the 30+ second victory that Stanford laid down, and the Princeton race against Cal's 3V should be an intriguing case of racing up a level for the lights.
We know they lost to Princeton last week, but if it was an off day for the Golden Knights, look for some renewed focus. But as noted by blogger JW Burk, 20 seconds is a lot to make up in a week. Their race against Stanford should be a close one?Stanford may be suffering from less exposure to the good voters in the lightweight women's poll, as lightweight women's rowing is not so widely known out west. Look for UCF to race with something to prove.
Stanford sits at seventh place in the polls, probably a victim of both last season's disappointment and not enough exposure this season. Well, it's time to see if those year-round rowing conditions have helped rejuvenate the roster this year. The Cardinal can't afford to look ahead to Central Florida?LMU was not among the Coggeshall Cup field in San Diego, which Stanford won easily. Having said that, UCF should definitely be within the Cardinal crosshairs, and if they have the speed, they'll give Princeton a good run for their money, possibily swiping it from under the Tigers' collective nose.
Arizona State
They're racing: Princeton L2V
The ASU lights were in at San Diego's Coggeshall Cup two weeks ago with Chapman and Stanford, but they'll be looking to show improvements to their speed on a course slightly more sheltered from the elements (in the first thousand anyway). Credit ASU if they can stay composed and hang with Princeton.
In addition to the collegiate racing, there will also be some local juniors and masters races featured during the Saturday lunch break and the Sunday afternoon session after the collegiate awards ceremony. It's going to be two fast days of racing and interesting results, as teams from all over will be jumping on and off the water. If you can make it, you should come down to Redwood Shores this weekend!
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