March 25, 2004

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A small but dedicated group of men's rowers look to carry on Western Washington University's long tradition of success in 2004.

The Vikings have just 12 rowers this season, five of whom lettered in 2003.

That group has quality, as three of them were in a varsity eight boat that placed fourth in the grand final at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships last spring.

"Two of those three were the biggest, strongest kids in the boat," said Western coach Marty Sauvage. "That's not a bad place to start."

Leading the returnees is senior Josh Griesse (Monroe), who enters his fourth year as a varsity rower. Also back from the varsity eight are juniors Case Sweerus (Gig Harbor) and Jonathan Fox (Shoreline/Shorewood).

Those three will row together in a varsity four, at least in the early part of the season. They'll be joined by senior coxswain Kelly McComb (Bainbridge Island/Bainbridge) and junior Phil DuBois (Olympia/Capital), who will be in the bow. Fox is at No.2, Sweerus No.3 and Griesse at stroke.

"The four is going be our focus early in the year," Sauvage said. "That group trained together the entire fall and had some success at the Head of the Lake in Seattle. With the relative inexperience in the rest of the group, it wasn't worth it to row a varsity eight until the novice kids have learned to race."

The only other returning letter winners are junior coxswain Austin Jenkins (Vancouver/Hudson's Bay) and sophomore Andy Foltz (Sumner). They'll be joined by seven novices in a junior varsity eight, and there's also plans to split into junior varsity and novice fours.

"We usually focus on larger boats, but we'll have ability to go out in small boats and have our new rowers learn the finesse parts of the sport," said Sauvage. "Hopefully they'll develop good habits."

The Vikings open their season Saturday at the Daffodil regatta on American Lake in Tacoma. The season is capped with the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships May 1 at Rancho Cordova, Calif.