Windermere Cup: UW men's coach shakes up varsity lineup

Just like the old Elvis Presley song, the Washington men's varsity rowing shell is "all shook up."

Three rowers and the coxswain who will compete tomorrow against Cornell and the under-23 crew from the Czech Republic in the Windermere Cup weren't in the varsity boat during last week's victory over Oregon State.

The changes don't stop there. Two varsity rowers from last week are being assigned new seats in the boat.

"We just weren't going fast enough," said Washington men's coach Bob Ernst. "We're looking for speed and we're looking for rhythm and some way to express our physicality and psychological potential."

The new coxswain is senior Stephen Hertzfield, from Bethesda, Md., and the new stroke is junior Kiel Peterson, from Poulsbo.

Colin Phillips, a junior from Coronado, Calif., is the new No. 5 rower in the middle of the shell and Aljosa Corovic, a sophomore from Serbia, is back in the varsity boat at No. 6 after a week in the junior-varsity boat.

Dusan Nikolic, a senior from Serbia, has moved from varsity stroke to the No. 7 seat (one ahead of the stroke) and Ante Kusurin, a junior from Croatia, is moving from No. 3 to bow.

The Huskies are ranked fourth in the nation, and Ernst said, "We weren't near our potential. We aren't going to finish trying until the season is over."

The lineup for the 12th-ranked UW women's varsity isn't being juggled for tomorrow's race against Cornell and the favored under-23 Czech Republic crew that features the European nation's top female rowers.

The first club and sub-varsity races tomorrow are at 10:20 a.m., with the featured Windermere Cup varsity events at 11:15 a.m. for the women, and 11:20 a.m. for the men.

Notes

• Tonight's fireworks show over Union Bay is set for 9:30 p.m. and will last 20 minutes. It is choreographed to music that will be broadcast on KMTT 103.7 FM. Windermere is hosting a free viewing party for the public at the UW baseball field. This is the first year a fireworks show will be a part of the regatta.

• Ernst said the UW men's freshman boat might compete in the junior-varsity race along with the unbeaten UW junior-varsity boat and Cornell.

• This could be among the most memorable yacht parades in the history of opening day. The parade will follow the crew races and this year's theme is "Sentimental Journey" and features several vintage boats.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com