Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1899-06-20
READY FOR BIG RACE.
Varsity Crew in Splendid Training
for the Poughkeepsie
Event

LOT the POughkeepSle
Event.
Madison, Wis, June 17-TSnecioI T..
The Wisconsin university boat crew has
put in week of hard work on the water
III preparation for the big uuadran-11lar
race which occurs June 81 at Pouchkeen-
sic, between Pennsylvania, Cornell, Co
lumbia and Wisconsin. Coach McCon-
vile has put them through practice twice
day, morning and afternoon, and as q
result the crew is rowing in the best
form it has ever shown, and all the mem
bers are in prime condition. Practice
for the last day or two has been in the
new shell, just arrived from the East
1t IS the best boat a Wisconsin crew mas
ever rowed in, and it was pulled over the
course III fast time yesterday, though the
timers are mum as to the exact fgurea
The crew leaves for the East Monday
morning at 5:15, and will have a weeks
practice on the racing waters before the
the night before, in the special baggage
car III which 1t was brought from the
East. This car is 60 feet long, but
hole had to be cut in one end to let i'm
the shell, which is two feet longer. Be
sldes the crew, two substitutes will be
taken along, one for each side of the
boat, and Coach McCOnville and Mana
ger Roy Smoker will also go with them.
This will make the proverbially -unlucky
number ID, but the Wisconsin bows are
not superstitious, and say they will re-
fuse to be hoodooed by this fact.
As to their chances in the race. the
boys are modest beyond the firm belief
that they will make good showing.
McCOnville says it will be "a peach of a
race" The odds seem to favor Pennsyl-
Vanla. with a crew made up entirely of
veterans with the exception of one man,
and all strong and practiced rowers.
Hope of defeating her rests mainly on
the fact that the Pennsylvania stroke is
Il hard one to pull for long distance.
and in a fOur-mile race even her strong
crew Will be put to a severe test. The
Wisconsin stroke this year is a modifica-
ton of Andy O'Dea's Yarra-Yarra, or
rather Il combination of this and the
English stroke. 1t is a deceptive stroke.
and sends the boat along much faster
than would appear from the eXertions of
the crew. Those who have watched it
say that a stroke of 80 to the minute
sends the boat over about as much water
as the old 3S. The men bend low to the
oars, and use the legs and back more
than in any other stroke. The easy
movement gives an advantage in Il long
race.
This years crew is fully as good and
probably batter than the one which sur
prised the Fasteners by finishing third
in the big race last year. Only four Of
that crew are in the boat this year
Dillon, Anderson, Sutherland and Will
liams. They are rowing in better form
than Il year ago. and the new men show
up well. The crew, as a whole, is
heavier, and will average about 165
pounds The members and their posi-
tons, as finally decided for the race, are:
Bow-Little.
No 2-WelSh.
No 3-Mather.
No. 4-Lyman.
No 5-GibSOn. ia
No. 6-Sutherland.
No Anderson.
Stroke-Wiiliams.
CoXSwain-DillOn.
AS before stated, Dillon, Anderson,
Sutherland and Williams were members
Of last years crew. Gibson, at No. ),
comes from ST Johns Military academy,
and he pulls strong, steady oar. Welsh,
a Madison boy, Is a freshman, and this
is his first year in a boat. He has only
had a week with the Varsity crew. but
is making an excellent showing. Mather,
who is also a football player, was on the
freshman crew last year, and strong
and steady OarSman, as are Lyman and
Little. Dillon's work shows much i'm
provement over that of last year
The new shell is a mod,l of beauty.
1t is named the ''Camilla,' said by the
student mythologists to be for the Nor
wegian goddess of speed. 1t is very
rigid, due largely to the double advan-
tage of mold-boards between each rover.
forming water-tight compartments for
each, which prevents the flooding of the
entire boat in case of rough water Rub
Der valves connect each compartments
and there is a pump at the rear which
the cOXsWaln can operate with his feet
and remove the water from any and all
compartments in case it comes in over
the SIDE