TACOMA, Wash. - Throughout the spring semester GoLutes.com will highlight the five individuals and two varsity four crews from the PLU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020 that will be inducted on March 12. Today's installment features the PLU men's rowing varsity four boats from the 1970 and 1971 seasons. 

The 1970 and 1971 PLU men's varsity four boats pieced together arguably the greatest two-year stretch of rowing greatness in program history. Six men occupied the varsity four during that span. Ralph Neils served as coxswain, Malcolm Klug sat at stroke seat, Conrad Hunziker at No. 3, and James Puttler at No. 2 for both seasons. Bruce Dahl served as the bowman in 1970 while Tim Brueckner inherited the bow seat in 1971.

The Lute varsity four was unstoppable in 1970, finishing the regular season undefeated. The mighty Lutes went on to win the prestigious Western Sprints, besting rowing blue bloods University of Washington, University of California, Oregon State University, and the University of British Columbia.

The story didn't end with a win at the Western Sprints however, with the Lute varsity four raising their own funds and traveling to Syracuse, New York for the 1970 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. The Lutes impressed in the opening day, defeating Harvard College for a spot in the finals. The Lutes performance, utilizing a borrowed boat from the University of Pennsylvania caught the nation's attention with the New York Times remarking in the June 13th edition:

'A crew program without a coach, a budget or much of a uniform. The latter is the T-shirt one buys in the campus bookstore. Yet the Pacific Lutheran orphans yesterday beat a four from prestigious Harvard, the nation's oldest and perhaps most distinguished university that has boat houses bulging with coaches, oars and oars men.'

The underdog Lutes continued to impress in the finals, finishing with the bronze medal spot behind crews from Rutgers University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Lutes proved the win over Harvard was no fluke, besting the Crimson again in the finals along with crews from Columbia University and Princeton University.

The Lutes varsity four put together another undefeated run in 1971 before being edged by a bow ball (three inches) at the Western Sprints to the Washington Huskies, a crew the Lutes had bested earlier in the season. PLU was eligible once again for the IRA Championships but was unable to attend.

Neils, Klug, Hunziker, Puttler, Dahl, and Brueckner were self-coached and self-sufficient from day one, relying on fundraising and their own rowing acumen to become a powerhouse receiving accolades from prominent coaches from around the nation.

As coxswain, Neils cherished the time with members of the crew team, a sport that taught him to have a never give up attitude.

"Just keep at it and don't ever quit," reflected Neils on the life lessons learned while on campus.

For Puttler, it was the lesson of making athletics a life-long endeavor.

"Athletics has been a lifetime effort and rowing was part of the education of making athletics an important part in my life," said Puttler.

And while they cherish the accolades on the water, including a win at the Head of the Lake in Seattle against the Huskies, Brueckner recognizes the uniqueness of his time on campus away from the boathouse.

"I thought students at every school could walk into their professor's office, call them by name, and sit down to visit with them about pretty much anything. Years later, after talking with a lot of graduates from other institutions, I learned that my years at PLU were unique that way. I'm grateful for the staff and faculty of PLU for having created that kind of an environment for me and for many," said Brueckner.

50 years later, the saga of the 1970 and 1971 varsity four continues to be told amongst the men's rowing squad and has rightfully earned induction into the PLU Athletics Hall of Fame.