Stanford Women's LW8+ won big this year at IRA's, upsetting Wisconsin and winning their FIRST national championship in Stanford history. The girls deserve recognition for this awesome achievement. The boat has four freshman, one junior and four sophomores too!
If you go by "pure speed", isn't that awfully sexist and denying that the female crews are deserving of recognition even though these particular ones did some awesome things as well? Speed is a poor criterion in this particular instance in my opinion.
You're right, but I'm not a fan of the WNBA either..... Seriously, that's what I mean about applying differing criteria. So there's a LW Men's crew of the week, LWW, etc etc. It's apples and oranges. Or banannas and figs.....
I'm really going to have to disagree. They're all athletes, just competing in separate divisions. The whole point of the poll it seems is who had the most impressive performance of the week. I don't understand why it should matter why they're male or female. If the Yale men had won 3 national championships in 4 years (definitely respectable by any standards) or the Mercyhurst men had broken the all time NCAA record in that event (at least from what I hear...and they beat a team several times their size that hadn't lost since 2004), would you think more highly of them then? I'm not denying that Cal and Cornell were seriously impressive this week, but I don't think that gender should play a role in this. It is the 21st century, afterall.
What's interesting reading the comments below is that there are a number of differing criteria about what constitutes "crew of week." So you apply your own criteria which justifies a different "winner." Some folks vote pure speed (Cal wins this week.) Some vote overcoming expectations (Cornell or Stanford LWV8) Some vote their alma mater (Washington!) The trouble with "beating expectations" is, maybe your expectations were just too low? At least speed is absolute and measurable. Cal had the fastest 8 in the nation last week when it counted. That gets my (begrudging) vote.
I gotta second BrownRower here (despite the name). If this poll were just about speed, Cal already has everybody's shirts and the Varsity Challenge Cup - what point would the poll serve? Maybe Cal is the crew of the year. But did they do something magical last week at the IRA or did they just row to the potential that got them recruited from abroad (by Steve Gladstone) in the first place? To me, this poll is about which crew came together as a team, showed the most heart, and rowed BEYOND their potential - that goes to Cornell, hands down.
I agree that everyone can apply their own criteria for what constitutes their idea of "crew of the week," but the issue with using speed for your criteria is that it no longer becomes a subjective thing, and therefore a poll is no longer necessary. It is clear that UW was the fastest crew of the week all season, with Cal claiming that title this past week at IRA's. But really what this poll is about is trying to figure out who had the best individual performance of the week, and sometimes it isn't just about speed.
I don't disagree with your logic, and I haven't always voted for the fastest crew of the week each week. But it seems to me that when the fastest crews in the nation meet in the last big regatta of the year, you'd have a hard time denying the winner of that race "crew of the week" status. At least I do....
U.S. men's heavyweight collegiate rowing--Beware! The West coast may be top dog now, but Cornell is charging. Coach Todd Kennett took a Big Red lightweight team and over 10 years built an East coast powerhouse collecting 3 consecutive national championships 2006, 2007, and 2008. He has now assumed the reins of the heavyweight squad, and I predict the same will happen. Congratulations Red on a courageous IRA display and the beginning of your ascent to the "top of the mountain."
Cornell MV8 deserves to be Crew of the Week for June 9 (IRA week) because the guys rowed their way from 8th seed to the Bronze Medal DESPITE being the SMALLEST (lightest AND shortest) HW crew in the entire IRA HW roster. Little guys -- big heart!
hats off to Cornell, I always love to see an east coast team giving their all to keep up with west coast power. Seems to be a feat that is rarer and rarer in the last decade whether it be collegiate or junior
Not only do Cornell's results at the IRA, particularly in the varsity 8, show the real toughness and guts of the team, but they also indicate that this program is going to be one to keep an eye on in the next few years...and might even be challenging for the national championship
I feel every sport is 50% mental and many crews once beaten can get in a downward funk and stay there. I think it is a rare crew that rows within themselves and comes back stronger and Cornell did just that.....not only with some loses earlier in the season but taking a tough route to the finals. A tribute to coach Kennett as well whose crews beat the odds when he was the Cornell Ltwt coach as well. I remember when his ltwts were ranked 4th and lost a couple duals coming into sprints and they won in dominating fashion. I've heard he's a tremendous motivator and hard worker.
Cornell's Bronze finish at the IRAs was a triumph of determination and will - besting several crews to whom they had lost earlier in the season! To my knowledge none of of the oarsmen were recruits! Equally impressive was their climb from a #8 seed to a third place finish in the Grand Final - Bravo to all!
I think it's super that Cal edged Washington, but the crew that really defied expectations at the IRA was Cornell. I believe their coach is fairly new and must be building something spectacular in the program. I don't think he's been there long enough to recruit the guys in his squad (I kind of get the impression they weren't recruits at all). I think these guys spanked the entire EARC based on guts alone, which is the reason they get my vote. And it looks like the rest of Cornell's program did admirably as well so they have some depth. I think Cornell is here to stay.
As former Cornellian I admit to prejudice. But bear in mind the fact that Cornell has a boat that could almost qualify for lightweight competition. Clearly, they're demonstrating style over brawn tempered with a fair amount of guts. They've come a long way and deserve credit for an unexpectedly great season.
For sure Mercyhurst. Considering they only had 8 rowers on their roster by that point with freshmen in the boat and beat a school 4 times their size that hadn't lost since 2004 PLUS the fact that they now hold the fastest time in that event in NCAA history, it would seem pretty wrong for them not to win this just because they aren't D1. They definitely pulled the most exciting move against huge odds.
Consider how weak and muddled the EARC was this season. After the varsity racing at Sprints, which was the silliest thing ever, the only IRA result that could have been surprising was Washington's varsity losing. Cal made that happen! What must be understood is how seemingly superior UDub's lineup was. The stern 3 from their 09 frosh rocketship (which includes one Olympian), combined with spring admit Hannes Heppner should have been able to win IRAs ON THEIR OWN! Factor in that Cal's boat had 5 American oarsmen, and this upset of Washington becomes legendary.
I mean, Cal does have a guy that competed at the '08 Olympics and got 4th place...anyways my pick for 1st at IRAs pre-season was Washington first and Cal coming in a very close second. Cornell was by far the most surprising if you ask me. Many would have been shocked to see them make the GF, let alone beat out all the other ivies to medal. Now Cal beating Wash is not nearly the same.
Wow, that's just straight ign'ant. I'm not defending the EARC here, and it's true that most were expecting Cal and UW to go 1,2 (not necessarily in that order) but Cal winning the V8 was certainly not the most surprising nor the most impressive row of the IRA. Teti was brought in to win national championships and although the lineups might not be equal in terms of number of internationals/Olympians, they are certainly on par in terms of caliber of rower/erg average. Stanford's win over Wisco is absolutely deserving of my vote. Talk about uneven lineups, Wisco has been sucking up every available lwt woman in the country for God knows how many years and Stanford went coast to coast on them, winning by open water with a boat void of seniors. Go Cardinal.
Stanford's win indeed was impressive, and proved that the lineups weren't "uneven," because Stanford won. Although Wisco does get a decent amount of recruits, many Wisconsin Lightweights are walk-ons (not one of the "available lwt women in the country") to the team who end up making the top boat. Nonetheless, congratulations to Stanford for a race well rowed, and congrats to all teams in the poll.
How can we talk about upsets without even mentioning Stanford LWV8. A boat with no seniors and predominately underclassmen taking down two time defending champions Wisco. That got my vote
As nice as Cornell's cinderella story is, I don't understand how you can pick them over the Cal boat that beat them by 8 seconds on their way to upsetting the seemingly unstoppable number 1 ranked UW crew. I think you guys forget how big of an upset that was, seeing that 86% of row2k voters picked UW to win that race. And I know Im gonna sound harsh, but 3rd place is not THAT big a deal. Its not like Cornell has never one an IRA before. This wasnt Michigan v. Appalachian State here. Instead, Cal beating UW was like the Giants beating the undefeated Patriots a few years ago. Cornell may have won the hearts of many fans, but in the end Cal has their shirts. Also, Cal was only .2 seconds off the course record set by the '99 crew that had a number of Olympians. The only crew that can compete with Cal in this poll are the Virginia women. I dont really know much about the details of Virginia's regatta but both crews ended the season on top and respect should be given where respect is due. Cornell should get third in the poll.
Actually under your logic either UW should win the poll because they like UVA won their respective TEAM title or Yale women V8 should win the poll because they really pulled an upset on Pton and UVA having lost to both of them in the regular season at the same race by approx 7 and 3 sec. http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage.cfm?UID=950148&cat=1 And lets not forget the current Cal boat may not have multiple Olympians, but it does have one. Cornell had zero in fact if you look through pictures there were several former bad 2F rowers in the Cornell 1V. This is what makes polls so great, people get to vote. My vote is for Cornell with their average of 6'2" and 178 lbs. earning a medal in 1V is pretty astonshing/funny/deserving of a win in this poll if you ask me.
Actually women's ncaa racing puts the premium on the team trophy, while men's ira racing is all about the varsity 8. In either case, the real premium is on WINNING, not coming third by over six seconds. Sure, Cornell had a good row, but that gap shows that they merely topped a mediocre EARC field, while Cal rose to stun the huskies in a year when UW absolutely should have won. Resist the urge to quantify Cornell and Cal's achievement by the number of places they superseded expectation (8th to 3rd vs 2nd to 1st). Rather, look at the sheer feat of toppling an overwhelming favorite to WIN the National Championship. Also resist the urge to lump this year's Cal boat into the Cal stereotype of the past decade; no serbs were in the boat, and 6 of 9 were American. The Bears take my vote for sure.
I agree that this is one of the hardest polls yet. That said, I do think the winner should be Cornell. What they did was fantastic. As far as Cal goes, though it was an upset, UW and Cal were so much better than all the rest this year, that one besting the other really isn't that big of a deal.
The biggest upset of the week is that the most improved award at IRA's goes to the crew who mathematically increases their point total for the regatta, which meant Princeton won by going from an absolutely terrible year last year, to a not very good, but not so terrible year this year. Cornell should have received the most improved award, but that's just my two cents.
My comments will be biased. But agree with the other posts. It was a fast course this weekend. Some records, some upsets. but none as big as Cornell. Their V8+ was not on the minds of the other higher ranked programs . Two medals for the Big RED, The Bronze in the V8+ and a IRA Course record victory for the GOLD in the Open 4+ besting all of the Varsity Fours in the process. GO BIG RED!!
My alma maters are running 1-2. lol. My vote is for Cal over Cornell because (1) they won, (2) they gained 4 seconds over 3 weeks on UW, (3) I was amazed at how well and powerfully they rowed. On my Row2k predictor, I had UW, Cal, Cornell as the top 3 in that order. I don't think Cornell sneaking in was a great upset -- just a very good row against a somewhat subpar field, but they were not in the same league as UW and Cal.
kudos to Stanford -- great row, looked great -- and first lwt from the west to win. Yale for winning the V8 women's race. Virginia, first team champ from outside of the northeast and west (but I am waiting for an outsider to win the V8) and for Mercyhurst, another first.
As they're known to Cornell showed what they have come IRAs and went from petites at Sprints to medals when it counted. Not only that, but these guys averaged 6'1 and under 180lbs. If anything, our sport equates success with toughness, and on that measure Cornell is by far the Crew of the Week.
Agreed, this is a tough poll. There are lots of crews who ended up finishing better than they were "supposed" (were seeded) to. But I think Cornell's finish was the biggest discrepency between expectations and actual achievement. Cal upset Washington, but only mildly. I'll bet Cornell wasn't even on Harvard's mind at this time last week. Well done Big Red.
This is the toughest one yet--- I think it should be declared a 6-way tie. Each and every one of these crews deserves kudos for a FANTASTIC end to their seasons, all bucking the odds in one way or another. Rowing at its finest. Congratulations to all of them.
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The biggest upset of the week is that the most improved award at IRA's goes to the crew who mathematically increases their point total for the regatta, which meant Princeton won by going from an absolutely terrible year last year, to a not very good, but not so terrible year this year. Cornell should have received the most improved award, but that's just my two cents.
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kudos to Stanford -- great row, looked great -- and first lwt from the west to win. Yale for winning the V8 women's race. Virginia, first team champ from outside of the northeast and west (but I am waiting for an outsider to win the V8) and for Mercyhurst, another first.
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