Sweeping the River

The University of Washington's Huskies seemed to belie their nickname. They were the tallest and skinniest of eleven crews that lined up at Poughkeepsie last week for the big race. Said shrewd Coach Al Ulbrickson: "As long as my crew averages 6 ft. 3, I never worry about weight." He found plenty of other things to worry about.

For example, his freshmen crew won their race. Ulbrickson regarded that as bad--might give them big heads and a tendency to loaf next year. When his junior varsity won the next race, Al said: "I'd feel more confident if we'd dropped one of them. By the law of averages it's just impossible to sweep all three races." Furthermore, Ulbrickson had lately observed that his varsity oarsmen hadn't been rowing up to snuff. He didn't like that either.

Just after 7 p.m., his moody beanpoles jockeyed their shell out into the Hudson. The coxswain dropped his arm, signaling to the starter that the Huskies were ready. At the gun, they dug furiously to get headway, then settled down to a smooth 30 strokes a minute.

Easy Beat. Pennsylvania's crew, hitting up an energetic 36, flashed out in front. Cornell was right behind. Ulbrickson's long-armed, long-legged men were using a lot less energy and staying very close. At the mile mark, still doing a smooth 30, Washington was in the lead. Navy's beef-trust crew was up to 34 and not gaining an inch. After two miles, the Huskies stepped up their beat a little and pulled away to win easily by 2 1/2 lengths. California, an old rival, was second.

Washington had swept the river for the third time, a trick they first turned in 1936, the year they went on to become Olympic champions. Ulbrickson's boys had a way of shining brightest in an Olympic year.

Dangerous Rival. The Olympic rival that Ulbrickson worried most about was Harvard, which had its own private "sweep" last week. Coached by a scholarly ex-Washington oarsman,* Tom Bolles, Harvard set a new course record on Connecticut's Thames River to whip Yale for the tenth year in a row. This week, on Princeton's Carnegie Lake, N.J., the Huskies will face Harvard, Yale and eight other crews to determine who will row for the U.S. in the London Olympic games.

* As are the crews of California, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, M.I.T., Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Rutgers.

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