Oregon’s Club crew team tested the waters for the first time on Oct. 25 at the Portland Loop Regatta.
The race began in Lake Oswego and ended seven miles later at Oaks Amusement Park. Oregon State, Portland, Portland State and Washington competed alongside Oregon in the regatta.
The Oregon men finished third with a time of 26 minutes, 11.42 seconds, behind Oregon State and Portland. The women’s four-person boat took home the silver medal, crossing the finish line at 32:58:42 just behind Oregon State.
Last weekend the team again rowed on the Willamette River — participating in the Portland Fall Invite — and placed well.
The Ducks competed against Portland, Portland State and Evergreen.
This time, the men’s four-person boat placed first with a time of 14:15. The men’s eight-person boat finished at 14:24, taking second place behind Portland.
“The men’s four-person boat brought it all together halfway through the race and we just decided to row well,” rower Adam Fagan said.
The women’s eight-person boat also finished second behind Portland, recording a time of 18:01.
The Portland Fall Invite also gave Oregon’s novice boats a chance to test their skills and race against other schools. The men’s eight-person boat finished in first place, and the same went for the women’s four-person boat. The Ducks also entered two women’s eight-person boats which finished third and fifth respectively.
On Nov. 9, the men’s and women’s crew teams will take their varsity squads to Lake Union in Washington to compete against some of the Northwest’s best. Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete in the Head of the Lake Regatta.
“We are looking forward to participating in this regatta because it will be the first time some of our varsity rowers have rowed through the Monte Lake Cut, which is a great experience,” crew coordinator Melissa Johnson said.

No wind, but lots of rain
The Club sailing team got off to a chilly start last weekend.
The Ducks hosted their first regatta at the Columbia Gorge and competed against schools from the Northwest District. Some of their opponents included Western Washington, Washington, Portland State and the University of British Columbia.
On Nov. 1 there was little wind, posing many problems for the teams. Despite the lack of wind, two races took place. Oregon’s George Yioulos and his crew finished in fifth place out of 12 teams and Rob Dubuc took home the bronze medal out of nine teams.
The final day of the race was canceled due to too much wind and snow.
“We made a hell of an improvement over last year,” Yioulos said. “It was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life. But the team made the best of it and we sailed well.”
The team consists of 20 members, which is a massive number compared to the six participants the Club had last year.
The Club not only has many new members, but two new boats as well.
The Ducks plan to test their new boats out in Seattle on Nov. 14 and 15 at the North North Regatta. This will be the first time the sailing team will bring both a varsity and junior varsity team.

Hockey continues search
Oregon’s Club ice hockey team competes on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against California at the Lane County Ice Arena. Currently, the Ducks are 0-4 in the Pacific-8 Conference and are looking for their first win this season against the Golden Bears.