Sue Ela was there in the beginning, but she was not alone, nor was she the first in line when the modern era of Wisconsin women's rowing came to life 50 years ago.
Make no mistake, Ela is a legendary figure in Badgers lore. She rowed in the first varsity eight boat to win a national championship in 1975. She was the first full-time coach of the program and remains the only UW alum to oversee a women's varsity sport at the school. She was the Wisconsin coach when it won the national title in 1986. She also was the first coach of a women's program to be inducted in the UW Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. Â
"When I think of Wisconsin rowing, I think of Sue Ela,'' said Cindy (Eckert) Rusher, a member of the varsity eight national championship crew in 1986. "She made a huge impact on me and I'm sure many, many other rowers.''
Similar testimonials are sure to come to life when the 50th anniversary of women's rowing is celebrated in Madison starting Sept. 23. Not only have a nearly 400 RSVPs been received for the three-day get-together, those who rowed for the Badgers have been known to make their feelings known whenever they get together.
"It will be very loud,'' Kim Santiago, a coxswain who rowed for Team USA in the 1988 Summer Olympics, said with a laugh, "but a lot of fun.''
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Sue Ela and members of the women's rowing team in 1989
Ela, the UW coach from 1979 to '97, has her fingerprints all over the operation, but hers were not the first to appear.
That distinction belongs to Kathy (Wutke) Smith, whose inspiration in the fall of 1971, curiously, came from two men. One was her father, Robert, who rowed for the UW men's team in the early 1940s. The other was Bruce Niedermeier, who, like Wutke, was a member of the UW Band in addition to being a member of the men's crew.
Wutke lived in the Lakeshore dorms in part because her father did, saying she found inspiration and motivation walking the same paths and hallways. She was also a freshman on the women's swim team, which meant her early-morning walks to and from practices at the nearby Natatorium gave her an opportunity to watch the men's rowers work out on Lake Mendota.
The way Wutke tells it, she struck up a conversation with Niedermeier and the two ultimately went on a date. At one point, the topic of women as competitive rowers came up. Niedermeier pooh-poohed the idea, telling Wutke that women were not built to row.
Wutke was insulted, but also inspired.
"I don't like being told things can't be done,'' she said. "I get involved with things and usually don't quit.''
Wutke, who now lives in Glendale, Arizona, had a series of organizational meetings with Randy Jablonic, the hall of fame men's rowing coach; Milt Bruhn, the former UW football coach who was director of club sports; and Kit Saunders, the director of women's recreational sports.
Wutke met Ela during a recruitment meeting in January of 1972. Before long, the two were putting up notices on dorm bulletin boards, inviting women interested in rowing to help move the project forward.
"Helpful and enthusiastic,'' is how Wutke described Ela. "We were a good team.''
Said Ela: "I consider her the founding woman of our modern-day program.''
Workouts at the boathouse started during the second semester. Wutke said the women trained in the afternoon so as to not disrupt the men's morning routine. Since the women didn't know much about conditioning for rowing in those days – beyond tank workouts, weight lifting and running – they used the U.S. Air Force aerobic manual for guidance.
"Guys were afraid the boathouse would smell like perfume after we got done working out,'' Wutke said. "We told them no, we sweat just like you do.''
In May of 1972, two UW shells rowed against two crews from Minnesota on Lake Mendota. The Badgers finished 1-2 with Wutke and Ela occupying seats on the winning boat. It was a milestone: The first time Wisconsin went head-to-head against another collegiate rowing team.Â
Wutke contracted mononucleosis during spring break of 1973 and never regained the fitness level needed to compete. But her energy and impact have had lasting impact.
Wisconsin won National Women's Rowing Association open championships in 1975 and '86 with runner-up finishes in 1976, '77, '78, '82, '85 and '89. Â
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UW now has two rowing programs for women. The open-weight, coached by Bebe Bryans, is governed by the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA. The lightweight program for women 130 pounds or less, currently overseen by coach Hodge Habibovic, has won five national titles under the banner of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.
One of the most anticipated segments of the reunion is a documentary about women's rowing at UW, which has roots back to the late 1890s. Clubs were formed and there were races involving sororities stretching to the mid-1930s. The rowing initiative disappeared from radar until a rebirth took place in 1971.
Since '72, Wisconsin has produced 16 Olympians and 41 World Championship participants. Six – Mandi Kowal, Carie Graves, Peggy McCarthy, Kris Thorsness, Yasmin Farooq and Jackie Zoch – have been inducted in the National Rowing Hall of Fame.
"I never thought rowing would become what it has,'' Wutke said. "The whole experience for me was you can make a difference. It's like having a dream and having that dream come true.''
It's appropriate that Wisconsin women's rowing and Title IX are celebrating 50th anniversaries at the same time. The two milestones empowered countless women everywhere, but nowhere more so than at UW. The list includes everything from a ground-breaking aviator like Carey (Lorenz) Dunai, one of the first fully qualified female Navy pilots, to a prominent business leader like Julie Van Cleave, who served as chief investment officer for the UW Foundation.
"It's a huge deal and that's why so many people are coming,'' Eckert said of the two milestones. "The history is amazing.''
The list of impactful characters should probably start with Ela.
"It's very cool to see her go on and become a coach and help other women be part of something like this,'' Wutke said.
"She's a great coach,'' Eckert said. "She didn't talk a lot, if you know what I mean, but what she said was important and you listened.''
A distinct culture came to life within the UW women's rowing family that's still thrives today. Santiago, an Olympic coxswain in 1988, said alums have multiple text chains, Facebook groups, Zoom portals and other contact points.
"Whenever Badgers get together, there are no barriers really,'' she said. "Once a Badger, always a Badger. People are always reaching out.
"When you are part of the Wisconsin women's rowing tradition, there's this bonding that happens where you're always considered the underdog. That helps build this strong bond between teammates.
"Competing is great. Winning is great, too. But what I think you'll hear from most (alums) is the camaraderie that you build with your teammates.''
Eckert, a two-time U.S. Olympian, said rowing for UW gave her the confidence and work ethic to handle just about anything.
"An incredible program that's given people so much,'' she said. "There are so many amazing women that have come out of here.''
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For all its enduring success, Wisconsin is still seen as an outlier in the rowing world because of its Midwest stylings. The pulse for the sport tends to beat loudest on the east and west coasts.
"In my mind, when I think about Badger women's rowing, it's the tenacity that you develop,'' Eckert said.
"We all have moments in our lives that change us, that send us in a new direction, and for me that was rowing at Wisconsin. I loved that combination of hard work and fun. They're very committed. Everyone's got your back. It's a great team atmosphere.''
Eckert is part of a proud, unique legacy. All three of her children are accomplished college rowers with daughters Kay and Alie competing for Stanford and son Nick rowing for Yale. In fact, she and her husband, Jack, who rowed at Harvard, will miss the reunion to watch Nick compete for the U.S. in the World Championships in the Czech Republic.
Two other Olympic rowers from UW, Maddie Wanamaker and Vicky Opitz, have similar root systems. Wanamaker's mother, Janet, and father, Tom, competed for the Badgers in the 1980s, while Optiz's grandfather is Jablonic, an architect of the modern men's program, and her mom, Kay, and dad, KC, spent time on Lake Mendota as Badger rowers.Â
Eckert was asked how it made her feel to see her children opt for other elite college rowing programs. All were recruited by UW coaches. Alie was good enough to row for Team USA in the Olympics.
"There's definitely a part of me that was very sad that my kids did not go to Wisconsin,'' Cindy said. "They all considered it. They know what a great experience that I had and how much I loved it and what an impact it had on my life.
"It was hard for me, particularly with my daughters. I would love to have seen them continue the tradition that I was a part of.''
Eckert found some solace, though. Asked if her children had as much fun as she did, Cindy laughed.
Sue Ela was there in the beginning, but she was not alone, nor was she the first in line when the modern era of Wisconsin women's rowing came to life 50 years ago.
