For most of us, 4 a.m. rolls around and passes right on by everyday without us even noticing. But for the SPU men's and women's crew teams, when 4 a.m. hits, alarm clocks go off, and the day starts. Rain or shine, sun or not, the crew teams head to the Lake Washington Ship Canal and begin their days about three to four hours before the rest of SPU. "It's enjoyable in its own way," said Junior Meg Giske.

Sophomore Jeremy Bryant had this to say: "It's tough, but I've always been a morning person. It builds community." What's the catch though? Their days end about three to four hours before the rest of SPU as well. "It's worth it, but you do miss out on a lot," said Sophomore Ben Zupke. Through all of that though, the teams are looking strong and this past weekend won three of five possible races at the 22nd annual Blue Heron Redwood Sprints Regatta in Eureka, Calif. The women's junior varsity four-person boat and men's varsity four-person boat placed second in their respective races.

The women's varsity crew defeated runner up Willamette, who had won the invite the previous year, and improved to 2-1 on the year. Their one loss, which occurred last week, came as quite a change from what the ladies are used to, but this win puts them back on track for the rest of this season. They got out quick and tried to put as much open water between themselves and Willamette as possible. Host Humboldt State University (HSU) did not compete in the women's varsity race due to an unfortunate incident before the race even began.

Since the race took place in Humboldt Bay and quite near the mouth of the Pacific Ocean, teams were strongly encouraged to stay away from the mouth as long as possible, but Humboldt thought differently. As a result of venturing a tad bit too far out in choppy waters, their boat got "swamped" and they were forced to forfeit. When a boat is swamped it fills with water and sinks. The HSU ladies had to be rescued by the Coast Guard before the race could begin. "It was a bad move on the official's part," said Bryant. "They were supposed to shorten the course but didn't until later."

As if that wasn't enough drama for one day, the men's races were just as intriguing. The SPU men took two of three races away from the field, and the junior varsity men had to fend off Saint Mary's in order to win by a mere three seconds. The men's varsity four race was even closer than that. Humboldt State was the outright winner by 15 seconds, but the SPU men had their hands full with Willamette closing in on them in the last bit of the race. "The guys had to fight for second place," said Zupke. "They (SPU) pulled ahead in the sprint at the end."

The men and women resume competition again on Saturday at the Governor's Cup in Salem, Ore. The women's varsity team is expected to win, as they are used to, and the men will have their hands full once again.

"It's flat water, but it has a current which the canal doesn't have, and there are bridges to look out for," said Zupke. "The water conditions should be better. It'll be a psychological challenge going upstream though," Bryant said. It should be an interesting set of races, but with the way these ladies and gentlemen have been training, I wouldn't be surprised to see more gold and silver coming home in the crew team's big-rig truck.