The WSU novice eight team’s coach is coming back after a strong showing at nationals.

From staff reports Men’s crew ended its season with an impressive finish after one of their teams placed second at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship on May 24.

Head Coach Arthur Ericsson said the WSU novice eight came in just 3 seconds behind Michigan with a time of 6 minutes, 18.04 seconds. Michigan ended up winning many of the events, he said.

“They were clearly the team to beat,” he said. “To come in just one length behind was exceptional.” To be on the novice team, a rower must be in his or her first year of collegiate rowing. Times in previous competitions guaranteed the novice eight a spot in the finals, but it did not guarantee a good performance in the race, Ericsson said.

“They had a really fast time coming off the Pac-10 competition,” he said. “They beat a varsity team and were just behind another varsity team. So we knew we had a shot at medaling, but you never know. A lot of teams were entering and you don’t know who is going to be fast.” With such a strong performance from these beginner rowers, there is a lot to look forward to next year, Ericsson said.

In addition to the returning rowers, novice coach Julia Gamache is also coming back, Ericsson said.

“This was her first year and she is coming back to replicate the success we had this year,” he said. “Continuity is the strength of a team.” In addition, the WSU varsity lightweight four placed fifth in the Grand Final.

The fifth-place ranking was an improvement over last year, Ericsson said. With their time of 7:08.0, they were just 0.7 behind fourth place Northwestern.

“We have a long history with lightweight rowing at WSU,” he said. “They have done quite well, we just need to keep taking it to the next level.” Men’s crew is a club sport at WSU, which means all the participants in the competitions had to pay their own way, Ericsson said.

Approximately $850 per rower was required, in addition to food costs. The men raised money through fundraising and very little, if any, was paid out-of-pocket, Ericsson said.

This was important to the success of the teams, he said.

“If they were not willing to do that work, we would have lost people who could not afford to go,” Ericsson said. “We would have had to have other people and we wouldn’t have had the same chemistry or success.” Women’s rowing also has something to brag about. One of their rowers, junior movement studies major Erica Lewis, has been named to the 2009 Pac-10 Women’s Rowing Accolades All-Conference team. She is currently a part of the varsity eight team for women.