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Fall 2024

Club

1975 WSU crew team detail—Bob Appleyard
Winter 2023

A legacy of collegiate rowing

Robert “Bob” Appleyard (’75 Zool., ’79 MS Environ. Sci., ’86 PhD Vet. Sci.) rowed with Cougar Crew all four years of college, coached Washington State University’s women’s crew team for a year during graduate school, and went on to become a longtime race official with the United State Rowing Association (USRowing) and International Federation of Rowing Associations (FISA).

In 2023, he gave the keynote address during Cougar Crew Days. Find his speech below.

Read about Appleyard’s career in “Different strokes.”

 

 

We’ve been celebrating the first 50 years of Cougar Crew, and my task this evening is to reflect back over those … » More …

Winter 2019

Cougar Crew profiles

Out here, among the rolling hills of the Palouse, generations of rowers have pulled hard.

They’ve learned life lessons on the Snake River, where conditions can change instantaneously and team work is essential. They’ve forged lifelong friendships. They’ve made memories.

Here, a few former WSU oarsmen share theirs.

 

The Idea Man

Rich Stager (‘74, Civ. Eng.) started his freshman year at WSU Pullman in fall 1970. His parents had recently moved to Pullman; his father had taken a job as a project manager for the construction of Lower Granite Dam.

» More …

Gold medal from 1984 Olympics
Winter 2019

Good as gold

They came from behind—counting their strokes, catching the Belgian boat, and gliding to gold on California’s Lake Casitas.

Theirs was the first Olympic gold medal in men’s double sculls for the U.S. since 1932. To date, it remains the last medal of any kind for America in that event.

While they took first place, neither had been selected by U.S. Olympic coaches.

Rowing partners Paul Enquist (’77 Mech. Eng.) and Brad Lewis earned their spot at the 1984 Summer Olympics by challenging—and besting—the national team.

“We didn’t take no for an answer,” says Enquist, who—along with Lewis—was cut from the Olympic selection camp.

About three … » More …

WSU women's rugby team in England
Summer 2017

Play across the big pond

The Washington State University women’s rugby players returned from their historic March trip to London with some bumps and bruises, but it’s the memories of competing against some of the world’s best club teams, seeing famous landmarks, and building camaraderie that they’ll remember the most.

After months of planning, fundraising, and training, the team—ranked seventh nationally in the most recent Division I poll—became the first WSU sport club in over 30 years to compete internationally.

During spring break, WSU took on the Blackheath Football Club at Rectory Field in Charlton, South London. Founded in 1858, Blackheath is the oldest open (without restricted membership) rugby club … » More …

Cougar Crew Days
Fall 2013

Cougar Crew Days

In March, alumni and team members of men’s crew, the oldest sport club at WSU, gathered for Cougar Crew Days, as they do each year. But this year’s celebration had special significance: 40 years of rowing competitions.

Rich Stager ’74 and Ken Abbey, vice president of business affairs, formed the crew team in 1969, built the Cougar Shell House on the Snake River, and appointed landscape architecture professor Ken Struckmeyer as the first coach. The team entered competition in 1973.

The Cougar Crew Days included a banquet, auction, and the annual race between team members and alumni. According to Doug Engle ’80, they raised … » More …