April 21, 2008

Corvallis, OR (UWIRE) -- The Oregon State men's varsity crew came close but could not pull off the upset of the No. 1 crew in the country, as the Beavers fell to Washington on Saturday, Apr. 19 on Montlake Cut in Seattle, Wash.

The closest race of the day came in the Varsity 8+ race, as the Beavers held close to the Washington V8+ crew through the rough weather affecting the race course, before Washington began to pull away as the boats approached the finish line.

"This year Washington's V8+ is really a talented boat," said Oregon State head coach Steve Todd. "We get another go with them at the Pac-10's in a month. The goal between then and now is to close that gap."

The rest of the Beavers' crews shared similar fates as the Huskies managed a sweep of the races on Montlake Cut. Oregon State was closest in the Junior Varsity 8+ race, where the Beavers found themselves in a battle with the Washington 3V8+ for second behind the Huskies JV8+. However, the Huskies came out ahead, finishing 4.7 seconds ahead of the Beavers' crew. Despite strong efforts, both the Freshman 8+ and the Varsity 4+ crews fell short for the Beavers.

"It was a really challenging day today for all our crews," Todd said of the 30-degree temperatures and occasional rain. "The cold and the wind took a few of our boats out of their element a little. But we talked after the races and that's no excuse - both teams raced through the conditions and we just let the weather affect us a bit too much."

On the women's side of the action, Oregon State Varsity 8+ crew defeated No. 8 Washington to highlight the races on Saturday, Apr. 19 on Montlake Cut in Seattle, Wash.

The V8+ race was hotly contested from start to finish, with the Beavers and the Huskies trading leads throughout the race. However, as it came down to the final 500 meters, the Beavers pushed ahead to capture the 1.7-second victory and the upset of the No. 8 crew in the country. The victory marks the second straight race in which the Beavers have taken down the Huskies, with the last race coming in the 2007 Pac-10 Championships.

In other action, the Beavers' came up short in the Novice 8+ and Varsity 4+ races. The Oregon State Third Varsity 8+ managed a third place finish in their heat, coming in ahead of Washington's third freshman crew by 24.5-seconds.

(C) 2008 OSU Daily Barometer via UWIRE