Lightweight Crew at the University of California, Berkeley, the only program on the West Coast solely devoted to men’s and women’s lightweight rowing, has enjoyed a successful history, including the unprecedented achievements of both the men’s and women’s teams in 2002. During the Spring 2002 season, the men won both the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships in the Light 4+ and the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships (PCRC) in the Light 8+ and Light 4+. The women enjoyed success of their own, placing fourth at both WIRA and PCRCs and earning a ranking in the top twenty lightweight teams in the nation. With such a solid season behind them, both squads anticipate another successful spring season, with the men hoping to travel to the east coast for the Dad Vail and Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships for the first time since the late 1980s. Cal Lightweight Crew’s successful history will continue to grow as more people, boats, and championships are added to the program each year.

The proud tradition of Cal Lightweight Crew began in 1973 as a varsity sport with the formation of the men’s team, which rowed alongside the historic heavyweight team. However, within a few years, after borrowing equipment from and rowing out of the heavyweight’s Ky Ebright boathouse, the lightweight men broke off from the heavyweight program to form their own sports club. The coach during this time was Kelly Moore, who in 1975 guided the team to a victory at the Western Sprints, the predecessor to today’s Pacific Coast Rowing Championships.

The remainder of the 1970s saw the advent of two new coaches as well as a new boat. George Piperis coached the program from 1976 to 1978; Marko Meniketti, a former Cal heavyweight coxswain, took over from Piperis in 1979, a year which also saw the program’s first boat purchase. The Pocock 8+, a valuable addition to the growing lightweight team, was christened the Matt Franich in honor of Cal’s longtime rigger.

The 1980s also brought the team new coaches, a new boat, and further success. Mike Fennelly took over as coach from 1980 to 1981, the same year that the Matt Franich was replaced by a new boat, the Calliste. Fennelly slowly transitioned from the position of coach to that of rigger, eventually assuming the role from rigger Matt Franich. 1982 to 1983 saw Tom Tiffany as coach, with the program drawing on his experience as a Harvard coxswain. The coaching torch was passed to Vince Horpel in 1984 and then to Jeff Wilk, under whose watchful eye the team brought home its second Pacific Coast Rowing Championship title in 1987. Fresh from their success, the Cal Lightweights then headed to Albany, New York for the national championships in both 1987 and 1988.

Staying consistent with the previous two decades, the 1990s were again a time of transition and change. The Thomas Martz, Jr., a Vespoli 8+ dedicated in the memory of one of the lightweight squad’s oarsmen of the 1980s, was added to the Calliste in 1990, doubling the lightweight fleet. 1991 marked the exit of Wilk from the program and the entrance of Paul Kommer, who made it his focus to improve the novice program in an effort to build the size of the team back up to its peak late-1980s level.

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