University of Victoria Athletics

1997-98 University of Victoria Men’s Rowing

 
Men’s Roster

NAMES

Ken Britton

Adam Cota

Chris Davison

Gavin Eaton

Mike Grace

Steve Handel

Paul Hawksworth

Joji Ishikawa

Dave Jakeway

Sue Jackson

Mark Jess

Patrick Jordon

Ryan Law

Sean Leyland

Kevin Light

Daryl Martin

Spencer Martin

Sean McElgunn

Adrian McFarlane

Trevor McRay

Adam Murrary

Pat O’Sullivan

Adam Parfitt

Mike Rowe

Brad Schwitzer

Anne So

Joe Stankevicous

Dave Symonds

Barney Williams

 
Howard Campbell (Head Coach)
Dave Jordan
 
 
Biography
The 1997-98 University of Victoria men’s rowing crew was the strongest squad Victoria had seen since 1990 as seven athletes returned with national team experience. Not afraid to show their strength, the Vikes began their season at the Head of Gorge Regatta with a course record.
 
The Vikes men’s rowing team won their first ever Canadian University Rowing Championship (CURC) at Elk Lake, Victoria B.C. The tournament included teams from Brock University, University of Calgary, McGill, Queens University, University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia.
 
The men stole the show capturing the varsity men’s eight with Joe Stankevicous, Barney Williams, junior captain Mike Grace Adam Parfitt, captain Paul Hawksworth, assistant captain Dave Jakeway, Spencer Martin, coxswain Sue Jackson and World bronze medalist Chris Davison. Davison also won the men’s lightweight single, while Parfitt finished second to claim a silver medal in the heavyweight single sculls.
 
Adrian McFarlane and partner Dave Symonds won the bronze medal in the men’s lightweight double for another podium finish. Hawksworth and Williams took home the men's pair silver medal. Tallying points, the Vikes won the inaugural Canadian University Rowing Championship.
 
Moving indoors, the Vikes hosted the 13^th Monster Erg Regatta in McKinnon gym at the University of Victoria. For the second straight year the regatta represented the indoor national tournament uniting the east and the west, with a sister event in Toronto, ON. Williams and Stankevicous led the men’s senior B event to take first and second place. Overall, the Vikes demonstrated they were the strongest crew in the country by winning the annual Monster Erg.
 
At the end of the 1998 spring season, the Vikes competed in the annual Brown Cup Challenge hosted at the Gorge Waterway in Victoria, BC. The regatta is between the Vikes and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds for provincial bragging rights and is modeled off the historic Oxford/Cambridge boat race down the Thames River. Not only did the men’s eight defeat UBC for the seventh straight year, but they shattered the Thunderbirds in a record time of 9:46.8, beating the course record by 6.5 seconds. The Vikes won by the largest margin of victory the Brown Cup had seen of 52.7 seconds ahead of the Thunderbird boat.
 
 
Season Summary  
Canadian University Rowing Championship: GOLD (1^st)

• Men’s Eight: 1^st
• Lightweight Single: 1^st
• Heavyweight Sculls: 2^nd
• Men’s Double: 2^nd
• Men’s Pair: 3^rd

 
Monster Erg Indoor National Championship: GOLD (1^st)
 
Brown Cup Challenge: 1^st (9:46.8 record time)