Oregon State
Wisconsin
No. 14 Men's Crew Loses In Snowy Wisconsin Race
April 08, 2000 | Women's Rowing
April 8, 2000
MADISON, Wisc. - - Snowy conditions didn't slow down the No. 14 Oregon State men's crew, but a stuck oar dashed the Beavers' hopes of beating either No. 6 Wisconsin or No. 18 Michigan on Saturday morning.
OSU's time of 6:15.9 was perhaps skewed by the fact that they were brought to a dead stop after an oar got stuck in the water - called `catching a crab' - some 400 yards from the finish line.
Wisconsin pulled away from both Michigan and OSU early, and finished in 5:59.7. OSU was leading Michigan for a good portion of the race, but just as the Wolverines began to make their sprint, OSU's oar stuck, and Michigan cruised past to finish in 6:08.4.
"The effort was there, but we weren't putting it in the same direction at the same time," OSU coach Dave Reischman said. "We had good practices, but we misfired in the race. It looked like we were spinning our wheels. We had Michigan early, but they started to make a move and then we caught a crab at about 400 meters in."
Temperatures were in the low 60s when OSU arrived in Wisconsin on Thursday, but by Friday eight inches of snow had fallen, giving the Beavers new conditions and different wind to deal with come race time.
"The guys did an excellent job of handling adverse conditions," Reischman said. "It's been quite a trip, it was a good experience. We learned a lot and the guys are eager to come back in future years."
The men will race next in a home meet in Vancouver, Wash. on Saturday, Apr. 15 when Stanford makes a visit.
RESULTS
VARSITY EIGHT - 1. Wisconsin 5:59.7, 2. Michigan 6:08.4, 3. Oregon State 6:15.9
