Oct. 18, 2009

The Wisconsin men's rowing team opened its 2009-10 season with a surprising win this weekend at the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston.

A veteran boat led by senior coxswain Matt Francsis was the first to cross the finish line in 16:28.294 in the championship men's four race. Senior Max Goff sat stroke, followed by sophomore Tim Aghai and senior Paul Williams, with senior John Ludders at bow.

The Badgers won by 10 seconds over 20 other boats, including the national team boat, University of California-Berkeley and Stanford. Interestingly enough, second place was captured by the Camp Randall Rowing Club, which included standouts Ross and Grant James and Ryan Fox, all members of Wisconsin's varsity eight last year.

"The win by the four today was pretty surprising," assistant coach Simon Carcagno reported after the race. "We threw that four together last Tuesday, and they did well in practice so we were hopeful, but we didn't expect this much."

With a course as tricky as the Head of the Charles, with numerous turns, buoys, bridges and boats to maneuver, experience certainly played actor in Sunday's win.

"The coxswain, Matt Francsis, did an excellent job steering," Carcagno noted. "We felt very fortunate to win."

Although it was an exciting day overall, it was especially thrilling for the UW squad to overtake the US national team boat, according to Carcagno who watched his rowers intently during the race.

"I think it was a very exciting start to the fall for all of us, but we certainly have a lot of work to do looking forward," he concluded.

The team returns to competitive waters this weekend at the Head of the Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 25 to continue its fall season.

Championship Four 1. Wisconsin, 16:28.294; 2. Camp Randall Rowing Club, 16:38.969; 3. Harvard University, 16:41.243; 4. USRowing Training Center, 16:45.686; 5. University of California-Berkeley, 16:50.072

UW Lineup: Coxswain Matt Francsis, Max Goff, Tim Aghai, Paul Williams, John Ludders