WWU Men's Crew

For the weekend of Cinco De Mayo, the Western Men’s Crew team headed south to the Montlake Cut to participate in the annual opening day ceremony hosted by the University of Washington. The Western Men fielded the Varsity 8 for the open men’s 8 race, competing against two boats from the University of Washington, their fourth Varsity 8, and third Novice 8, as well as Loyola Marymount University’s Varsity 8. The boats lined up at the edge of the yacht line course, music and air horns blaring from either side, the official announced “attention, row!” Immediately off the line the Western men were competing for first with both of the UW boats and beginning to walk away from the LMU 8. By 750 meters in the UW 4V8 boat had began to pull away, with Western in hot pursuit, along with the other UW boat on Western’s stern giving the men motivation to push through. By the time the boats had entered into the Cut, the UW 4V8 had nearly lost contact with the Western boat, and it was now a battle for 2^nd between Western and UW’s 3^rd Novice 8. Western was able to edge out the UW boat, being the only crew to beat a UW boat throughout the entire day. Overall the Men had a successful day in Seattle, and able to enjoy a major event in the rowing community that is known as Opening Day.

Varsity 4 Bow to Stern: Cox Zac Johnson, Zak Balonick, Joe Gregersen, Matt Reider, Zach Murphy

WWU drove down to Sacramento, California to compete in the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championship. The team brought their top Novice 4 and their Varsity 4 with hopes of claiming the West Coast Championship. Saturday was the Heat Races where most boats had to place top two or three to advance to sunday, the Grand Final. The Novice 4 took off first from the team, racing early Saturday morning. The Novice 4, coxed by Mackenzie Popovich, took first in their heat with a time of 7:10.4 , beating out UCD (2nd), LMU (3rd), Willamete (4th), UCSB (5th), UCLA (6th), and Pacific (7th). They posted the 3rd fastest heat time in the Novice 4, closely behind OCC and SPU. The Varsity 4 launched later in the day and rowed up to the starting line for their heat. The V4, coxed by Zac Johnson, took 1st in their heat, pushing past LMU (2nd), UCLA (3rd,), and UCSB (4th). They tied Lewis and Clark for the fastest time in the heats posting a 6:54.0. Both WWU boats advanced to the finals, held on Sunday.

Again, the Novice 4 headed out first, lining up next to OCC, SPU, LMU, UCD, and SMC for the grand final of the Novice 4 event. After a slower start that normal, WWU pushed hard through the entire race, sending their boat closer and closer to the front of the pack, finishing in 3rd place with a time of 6:54.0 behind OCC and SPU. The Varsity 4 launched shortly after, lining up next to LC, LMU, Cal, UCLA, and LBU for the grand final of the Varsity 4 event. Pushing hard off the line, all boats were even, WWU slightly behind. After a powerful “Lengthen 10″ WWU was in first place. Giving it everything they had and sticking to the game plan, they gave a powerful 40 stroke move at the 1000 meter mark, pulling further and further away from all other crews. By the 1500 meter mark, WWU had open water on the trailing crews and began sprinting for the finish with LC charging up hard on their stern. WWU stroked through the finish line, winning the WIRA Championship with a few feet of open water on second place, Lewis and Clark, a fast crew the team has been battling with every race. They posted a 6:49.4, racing with a slight head wind.

V4 standing on the podium Lewis & Clark, and Loyola-Marymount

Novice 4 Brad Verbon, Carl Smith, Nate Thies, Aaron Meyers, Mackenzie Popovich and coach Jason Syms

Both WWU boats performed well, coming home with a WIRA Varsity 4 Championship, which hasn’t been accomplished by the team since 2006. Thank you to everyone, friends and family, who support our team and give us these opportunities we seek to compete in. All of your support is greatly appreciated and makes us a closer knit team. We will be posting about our Varsity 8 rowing at UW’s Opening Day shortly.

On Friday, April 20th the WWU Men’s Team drove down to Eugene, Oregon in preparation for one of the most important regattas of the season. NCRC Championships were held on Dexter Lake, and 2012 turned out to be a historic year for Western Crew. With eyes on Team Title, Western fielded an impressive number of boats this year, having entered the V8, V4+, ltwt V4+, Novice 8, and Novice 4 races.
Kicking off the day for the men’s team was the V8 race with Humboldt State, Lewis and Clark, and Pacific Lutheran, with Western in lane 1 coxed by Zac Johnson. Off the start Westerns men were sitting in third place with about 3 seats down on UPS in second, but by the end of the first high 10 had reeled in both Humboldt and UPS to take the lead. By the end of the 35 stroke start Western was stern to bow with Humboldt and pulling away. Widening the gap even further with an impressive 1000 meter move Western was about 1.5 boat lengths in the lead by the time they hit the 1500-meter mark. With victory in sight the boys brought up the stroke rate and crossed the line 6 seconds ahead of second place with a time of 6:23.30. Humboldt finished 6:30.72 and Lewis and Clark pulled a respectable 6:35.71. With gold in the V8 Western’s hunt for the Team Title was off to a good start, placing Western 8 points ahead of LC.
Next up for the men was the JV4+ coxed by Sam Carlos. Creating boat lineups is a difficult process for all small teams, with Western no exception, the JV4 was a fairly new line up, having had to switch several of the rowers in between boats. Despite the recent changes the 4 captured a close second with a time of 7:31.05; just 3 seconds behind LC’s 4 at 7:27.70. Another important race for the Title, Western proved just how adaptable a small team could be.
After a short break it was time for the Novice 4 who pulled valiantly, despite having to use a heavier training shell. The race turned out to be fairly spread, and the boys (coxed by Sam Carlos) crossed the 2000 meter course in a time of 8:15.33. SPU took first with 7:27.50 and Humboldt crossed second in 7:37.09
Immediately after the Novice race was the Ltwt V4 coxed by Mackenzie Popovich. Another quick line up, this was the lightweight’s first time rowing together in a boat. But after a problem free weigh in and a smooth warm up, they confidently approached the starting line. In one of the closest races of the day, Western managed to take the lead by the 500 meter mark, and crossed in first with a time of 7:36.39, breaking contact with PLU’s boat at the 1500 meter mark. 2econd went to PLU at 7:38.35 and third was taken by Humboldt at 7:38.45.
Facing a brand new lineup having lost their stroke seat to illness and a headwind during the race, the V4 (coxed by Zac Johnson) pressured first throughout the piece, but sadly was unable to take the lead. In yet another close finish, they came in with a time of 7:46.32 to LC’s 7:44.90.
Last event of the day was the Novice 8 (coxed by Mackenzie Popovich). After hot seating their 4 seat out of the V4, the N8 raced out to the start line, and proved their impressive endurance by pulling a first in a time of 7:15.23, UPS got 7:25.50, with Humboldt coming in at 8:21.49 with a broken skeg.
Wrapping up this sunny and successful regatta was the awards ceremony. WWU Men’s Crew, having placed first in the V8, Ltwt V4+, and N8 and second in the V4, and JV4s, won the NCRC Team Title; a feat that had not been achieved in over 6 years. Presented with their medals, trophies and banner, only topped by WWU head coach Jack Marolich being named Mens coach of the year, the WWU Men’s Crew proved through performance and dedication that they are worthy to be NW conference champions. A tradition that will hopefully continue on next year.

Hello family, friends, and alumni of WWU Men’s Crew,

Apologies for the lack of updates this past week! Travelling and scheduling of classes has made the past couple of weeks very busy. Nonetheless, we will have an updated article on NCRC’s and WIRA’s posted within the next couple of days!

The next race will be this Saturday at the Montlake Cut in Seattle for the Windermere Cup. WWU Men’s Varsity 8 will be rowing against UW’s  4th Varsity and their Freshman Boat along with Loyola Marymount University Varsity 8. Western’s Varsity 4 raced against LMU’s V4 at WIRA’s and was able to push ahead taking first in their heat (details about the outcome of WIRAs to come…). Now rowing in the V8, Western and LMU have new factors to take into account for their races. The race between UW, LMU and Western should be a very close and exciting race.

Please come out to see this spectacular event where crews from around the state come to compete both at the high school and collegiate level. The national team from Argentina will be racing Gonzaga, Orgeon State, Virginia, and Washington for the Windermere Cup at 11:45. Western will be racing at 10:46am. For a complete schedule see below. Please note that the Montlake Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic from 9am to 3pm so please plan accordingly. The bridge will also be raised after the last race so please make sure you get to the right side of the bridge before it goes up.

Your continued support of Western Washington Men’s Crew is much appreciated and makes this team what it is today! Please come out this Saturday to show your support and see one of the coolest regattas in the Pacfic Northwest! Directions and parking instructions can be found here.

For the first time in six years, the WWU Men’s Crew Team wins Team Title at the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference Championships! The Men’s Varsity 8, Novice 8 and Light Weight 4 all placed first in their races, scoring full points and summing up quite a lead on the other teams. The Junior Varsity 4 placed 2nd to Lewis and Clark. The Novice 4 placed 5th. The Varsity 4 placed second to Lewis and Clark, as well.

It has been a long journey for the coaches and rowers. They are all ecstatic to have their efforts and dedication pay off. Coach Jack Marolich was part of the last team of rowers to win the Team Title in 2006. Both Jack and Jason rowed together in 2007 and 2008 and have coached together for the last two years. Their passion for the sport and dedication to the team helped them in coaching; to foster the love of rowing for the novice and returning rowers alike while teaching the skill and technique to apply power through the water.

The Varsity 8

Varsity 8 +: Cox: Zak Johnson Stroke: Nolan Shinn 7: Zac Balonik 6: Joe Gregersen 5: Matt Reider 4: Carl Smith 3: Nate Theis 2: Zach Murphy bow: Aaron Meyers

Novice 8+: Cox: Mackenzie Popovich Stroke: Roddy van der Linden 7: Aaron Meyers 6: Carl Smith 5: Nate Theis 4: Nathan Haase 3: Brad Verbon 2: Johnny Petrinovich-Bartich Bow: Jeff Forbes

Varsity 4+: Cox: Zak Johnson Stroke: Joe Gregersen 3: Matt Reider 2: Carl Smith bow: Zac Balonik

Novice 4+: Cox: Sam Carlos Stroke: Brent Wesockes 3: Hayden Hanna 2: John Brunderman Bow: David Sweeney

Varsity Lightweight 4+: Cox: Mackenzie Popovich Stroke: Nolan Shinn 3: Aaron Meyers 2: Roddy van der Linden Bow: Brad Verbon

Junior Varsity 4+: Cox: Sam Carlos Stroke: Thomas Downey 3: Hayden Hanna 2: Johnny Petrinovich-Bartich   Bow: Kyle Heibert

The Varsity Four and Novice Four will be in Sacramento, CA this weekend for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.

The Varsity Four consists of Cox: Zac Johnson, Stroke: Zach Murphy, 3: Matt Reider, 2: Joe Gregersen Bow: Zak Balonick

The Novice Four consists of Cox: Mackenzie Popovich, Stroke: Aaron Meyers, 3: Nate Thies, 2: Carl Smith, Bow: Brad Verbon

The team will be heading down to Dexter Lake in Eugene, Oregon for the annual NCRC championships this weekend. The team has been preparing technically, physically, and mentally for the past few weeks; gearing up for one of the biggest regattas they face this season.

Last weekend the men’s team traveled down to Seattle for some racing against the University of Washington Crew team. UW raced their third varsity and novice boats against WWU, and proved why they were such a successful and high caliber crew. Right off the start UW was able to jettison forward at break-neck speed. Western’s V8 was able to maintain contact for the first 500m or so but UW’s V8s were able to walk away with open water by the 1000m mark. Both teams also raced their Novice 8′s, 4′s and JV boats. Although WWU’s crew was defeated, they still enjoyed racing through one of the most legendary rowing venues in the United States, the Montlake Cut and to have the chance to compete with one of the most successful crews in the nation.

The Novice 4 Race. Start at the course's finish line

The focus for this weekend is going for Team Title at NCRCs, something Western Men haven’t won since 2006. Western has been doing well this year in previous regattas, and having placed first at the NCRC Invitational, the Varsity 8 and 4 boats know that there is a target on their back. The last few weeks have been tough, practices have intensified, keeping the rowers in tip-top shape. Training has been focused on gaining speed through technical improvements and physically, through increased workouts.

We hope to see family and friends of Western Washington Men’s Crew down in Eugene, OR this weekend. The support from all of you have helped make this team what it has become today and always will be! For a google link to Dexter Lake please click here. Below is Saturday’s schedule of events. Thank you for all your support! Go Vikings!

Hello Friends and Family,

The men’s team will be travelling south for races in Seattle, this Saturday. University of Washington will be hosting Western for some friendly duels against one another. Below is the schedule of events. Please come out and support your team! The Montlake Cut provides terrific spectator positions to watch the last 1000m of a race.

8:30am Varsity 8+ – UW/WWU
8:45am JV 8+ – UW/WWU
9:00am  Freshmen 4+ – UW “A”/UW “B”/WWU “A”/WWU “B”

Row Back

10:00am Varsity 4+ – UW “A”/UW “B”/WWU “A”/WWU “B”
10:15am Freshmen 8+ – UW “A”/UW “B”/WWU

Hello friends and family of WWU Men’s Crew,

The men’s team will be racing this Saturday in Vancouver, WA. The race will be held on Vancouver Lake. A Google Maps link to the course can be found here.

Below is a list of the event times followed by lane assignments from Lane 1 to Lane 6. 

• 9:00 W2V8 HSU Mills L&C UPS
• 9:10 MV4 HSU WWU L&C SPU
• 9:20 MV4 PLU UofO UPS PSU WU
• 9:30 WV8 UofO HSU SPU
• 9:40 WV8 Mills L&C UPS
• 9:50 WV8 PSU Chap WU PLU
• 10:00 Oregon State vs Gonzaga Dual Race
• 11:00 WN4 UofO PLU HSU A HSU B
• 11:10 WV4 L&C B WU PLU UPS B
• 11:20 WV4 HSU UPS A SPU L&C A
• 11:30 MN8 WWU UPS UofO HSU
• 11:40 MV4 (b) WWU2v WU2v UPS2v HSU lwt L&C2v
• Lunch Break
• 12:30 MN4 OSU WWU SPU HSU
• 12:40 MN4 HSU Lwt WU L&C (exb) PLU
• 12:50 WV8 Last 3 times from AM races (8-10)
• 1:00 WV8 Next 3 best times from AM races (5-7)
• 1:10 WV8 Winners from AM races + next best time
• 1:40 MV8 SPU UPS B WWU B UofO
• 1:50 MV8 UPS GU L&C PLU HSU WWU
• 2:00 WN8 Mills 2v UPS HSU A HSU B L&C
• 3:00 Oregon State vs. Stanford Dual Race

Calm water, relatively warm weather, and a slight head wind provided ideal conditions for the Daffodil regatta today at American Lake. The Men’s Crew team took advantage of the unusually sweet weather and showed spectators what hard work and dedication can do for a small sport club such as WWU Men’s Crew.

The second event of the day, the men’s varsity 8, was the first race of the season for the team. University of Oregon and Pacific Lutheran clashed oars at the start causing a breakage penalty only 250 meters in for U of O, releasing them from the race. After waiting over half an hour, through the women’s varsity 8 races and for a new oar for PLU, the men’s varsity 8 was lined up and ready once again to challenge UPS, WSU, PLU and WU. The first 100 meters of the race presented no obvious leader but within 250 meters WWU had pulled forward in their high twenty at 44 strokes per minute. Coxswain Zac “Attack” Johnson, dominated the airwaves with an aggressive push to get his boat ahead, calling out “power tens” and “focus tens”. Stroke seat Nolan Shinn, lead his team into a steady 34 spm cadence for the first 750 meters furthering the lead on the other teams. At the thousand meter mark, the men’s V8 made their move to solidify an unyielding, two boat lengths of open water on the teams. With 500 meters to go, the strokes per minute bumped up to 36 sending the V8 closer and closer to the finish line. PLU came in second place with a time of 6:13:56 and WSU third with a time of 6:18:97. WWU placed first with open water at 5:57:28.

Varsity Coxswain, Zac Johnson experiencing the traditional winning cox toss

Little time passed before the novice 4 was off the block and competing against WSU A, SPU, UPS, and WSU B. Having only spring break to polish their raw strength into an efficient four, the novice pulled out a solid win with a five second lead on Seattle Pacific (SPU) who clocked in at 7:10:54. Washington State’s A boat came in third with a time of 7:25:92. The novice 4 was very excited to have their first win and first race under their belt. Coxswain Mackenzie Popovich commanded the novice four to a win at 7:05:72.

The only, yet major let down of the day came for the varsity four who were eager to race their competitors in the Men’s Varsity 4 event. Due to time conflicts from the breakage penalty on   U of O in the V8 race, the V4 was unable to get their racing shell from the novice 4 in time to compete. Although bummed about missing the event, the four is excited to challenge their competition in the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference invite on April 7^th.

The men’s novice 8 had a successful first race of the season, coming in close second to WSU. Western’s novice 8 and Washington State’s novice 8 both jumped off the line at break-neck speed battling it out all the way down the course. WSU pulled ahead at the first 500 meter mark and maintained the lead over their competitors all the way through the race. Western’s novice 8 picked up the pace near the last 500 meter mark steadily moving up on WSU. Western placed second at 6:18:05 only 4 seconds back from WSU’s 6:14:91. This event was a close race for both teams in a 4 boat race and another success for Mackenzie, novice cox.

The next event for WWU Men’s Crew was the second varsity 4 event where the JV 4 took a very large lead on WSU, SPU, and PLU. The JV4 left nothing in the tanks and released the beast in the first 500 meters rowing at a steady 34 strokes per minute. To widen the gap even further, Zac coxed the crew to 38 strokes per minute in the last 500 meters where Western took first with a time of 6:53:63.

For the last event of the day, Mackenzie coxed Western’s second novice 8 through a challenging race with WSU’s and UPS’ second varsity 8 boats. WWU men’s second novice 8 did well staying in-line with varsity rowers. They placed third at 6:57:41 while WSU placed first at 6:29:26, and UPS second at 6:48:45.

All in all Western Men’s Crew team were in high spirits from their performance and are looking forward to the rest of the racing season! For a complete list of results of the Daffodil cup click here. Check out or schedule to find out when and where the next races will be held.

The men’s crew team is fast approaching their first race for 2012. They have been training hard all year round and have been fairly fortunate with the weather. A few rows in the snow and chop created more of a challenge but the guys overcame this, expecting nothing less from the Pacific Northwest. It is spring break now and the team will be refining their boat speeds over the next week in order to produce the fastest eights and fours they can. Everyone is very motivated and charging for the NCRC team title, seeking a gold medal in every race they are in. The guys are looking really good, acquiring more speed on and off the water. Together, each boat is moving faster and faster through every practice. “We are setting ourselves up to peak right around championship time and the next two and a half months will be the most difficult, mental and physical game all of us have ever played with ourselves”, explains Team Captain, Joe Gregersen. The Western Men’s Crew team has their first race this weekend in the Daffodil Regatta, which will be held on American Lake in Tacoma, Washington. For directions please click here. Please come out and support us!

Here is a schedule of the races for the Daffodil Cup:

N8 is Novice 8, N4 is Novice 4

V8 is Varsity 8, V4 is Varsity 4

M is Men, W is Women