The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-06-26
TIE COLLEGE OARSMEN.
A New Record Predicted From the
Races at Poughkeepsie.
oARsMEN IN FINE CONDITION.

bhhDM IM LA AAa WV ~ AkA'H
The Crews oi' Cornell, Columbia, Penn
sylvan Ia andw isconsin nave Devoted
Every Minute ofThoir Time In Pre-
parinn For the Effort ofTheir Lives.
Poughkeepsie, N. Y, June 26.-All
indications point to a lowering Of the
intercollegiate worlds record for four
miles for eight cared shell when the
crews Of Columbia. Cornell. Pennsyl-
vania and Wisconsin meet on this
river tomorrow. for never In the his
tory of this now famous course have
| the crews seemed to be so evenly
matched as are those here at present.
| 1t is fitting If the record is 10 be
broken that It should be here, for here.
under the shadow of the great Pough-
keepsie bridge, Cornell in 1896 es-
tablished a new worlds record Of 10
! minutes and 20 seconds. The last few
practices of the crews have shown
much similarity in the crews and their
stroke and the respective speeds than
has ever been noticeable before. and
the boats travel so well in practice that
they will undoubtedly be very close
together during most of the four miles.
This afternoon at o'clock a race
between four cared crews Of Penn
sylvanla and Cornell will open the
two days racing. This is practically
a match race, although the committee
of the Poughkeepsle Highland Regatta
association are hoping that next year
1t will lead to entries In singles,
doubles and other fouPs, so as to make
the sport general. This race of four
cared crews will but whet the appe-
tites for the race of the freshmen
eights of Columbia, Cornell and Penn
sylvania which occurs an hour later.
At o'clock tomorrow afternoon,
or as soon thereafter as the weather
will permit. the race of the varsity
eights of Columbia, Cornell, Penn
sylvania and Wisconsin will be Fowed
This ls the race that well informed
experts say is to be one of the closest
and fastest ever rowed by college
crews.
The crews are in the pink of con-
ditlon, and have devoted every min
ute of their time to the work in hand.
There are no suggestions of staleness
or of not enough nerve. and each
coacher today claims that his men
are all in the best of condition. OF
the crews as units the heaviest is the
Columbia varsity, which averages
about 1853 pounds coupled with IN
average height of feet 111a inches,
as in comparison with the crew of Wis
.consin, which for its average height
of feet and inch has but an aver
age weight of 1862 pounds. The men
have been under the personal direction
of their coaches for many weeks and
their frankness in claiming exemptions
from such training diseases as have
heretofore formed excuses for losing
crews is refreshing.
Charles Courtney who for years has
trained Cornell for their great series
of victories, is in charge of the Cor
nell crew this year. DR.. Peet, an old
rowing athletic enthusiast is in charge
of Columbia, and has had to change
the mems methods so much that he has
had a very hard task. Ellis Ward Ii
the Pennsylvania coach. He has In the
I past three years brought his men III
to a wonderful standard. In two races
in which Pennsylvania has seemed tC
have a good chance for winning she
has swamped on this course, with nc
= | apparently BDOu IedSpu LOT IL 6ACGpl
splashing of the oars.
The coach of Wisconsin is q mere
boy, C. C. McConville, who only @
/ few years ago stroked a varsity crew
] which beat Yale He was a pupil OF
Andrew O'Dea.
/ The freshmen crews OF Pennsylva.
MIA, Cornell and Columbia are II
splendid condition, and the two mill
race will be done in fast time. This
4 is always an exciting race, because it,
,e brevity gives a chance for a display
d of dash and squirt rowing not possible
y in the long four mile race of the senior
elghts. The pair cared race will bi
rowed over the two mile course also.
The Poughkeepsie varsity course o
= four miles runs along the west sld'
of the river, in the shadow of the higl
hills, and begins at point three mile
above the Poughkeepsie bridge, fin
: ishing a mile below. 1t is as straigh
as a tightly drawn line could be, ant
the current of the river affects 1t bu
little If the race is not rowed at
time when the up tide makes a swir
in the shallow waters. The miles ar
marked with big round white disk
and the entire race is visible from al
observation train, which runs on tn
west side of the river. The two mil
course for the four cared and Freshmen
eight is rowed from the two mile poin
of the course to the finish.
The four miles stretch of waite
which has come to be known as tn
Poughkeepsie course has been tn
scene of the most important colleg
boat races that have ever been rowe
within the past four years, or sine
1895, when the course was first brough
to public notice through its selection
for the triangular race between Cor
nell, Columbia and Pennsylvania uni
versities.
The course holds the worlds Peoor
of four miles, It having been estah
lished by Cornell in 1896, when tn
lthaeans travelled the four miles In l
minutes and 20 seconds.
The Poughkeepsie course was sc
leeted for the race of 1895, after tn
city council Of Philadelphia had re
fused to pay the expenses OF the crew
= for holding It there. Three years be
fore that a proposal had been mad
by some gentlemen of Poughkeepsi
, interested in rowing to have ColumbiI
i- Cornell and Pennsylvania row the
~ triangular race here, but as Columbi
y did not put a crew on the water tha
81 | ,yaor tho prOnositfOn aid nnf aOVna 10