AVY CREW NEWSLETTER. Lwts Finish Fifth at Princeton. Pull for Navy. Coach Bob Kasper Lightweight Shell Dedication

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1 AVY CREW NEWSLETTER Fall Season November 2016 In this Issue... Fall Racing Recaps Wendy Lawrence Shell Dedication Bob Kasper: Lwt Shell Dedication Date Alumni Reunion Dinner Save the Date: March 4th Locker Program Update Alumni Reunion Rows Navy Online Team Store Spring Racing Schedules Coach Bob Kasper Lightweight Shell Dedication On April 8th, 2017, the Navy Crew Program will proudly dedicate the N150 s newest racing shell for former Lightweight Coach, Robert Bob Kasper. During his time serving the U.S. Naval Academy as a JAG officer in the late 1970s, Bob Kasper dedicated himself to coaching and mentoring the lightweight oarsmen at Hubbard Hall. Coach Kasper began his Navy coaching career training the Plebe Lightweights from He then moved up to coach the Navy Varsity Lightweights from During that time, Coach Kasper had a tremendous positive impact on many future officers in the Fleet, including current CNO John Richardson 82. The shell dedication will take place during the weekend of the annual Navy/Columbia Lightweight cup race in Annapolis on April 8th. Please join the Navy Lightweights for their home race and in honoring the coaching career of Bob Kasper. Pull for Navy Wendy Lawrence Dedication On a hot September morning, Hubbard Hall opened its doors to a powerful collection of guests and former rowers to dedicate the newest Women s shell and to honor the woman it was named after, Wendy Lawrence 81. A rower, coach, and teacher here at the Naval Academy, Wendy touched many lives along the way, as was evident by the turnout to witness the dedication. Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk opened the ceremony welcoming the distinguished group and talking briefly about the technological beauty and speed of the new racing shell. Mr. Gladchuk then passed things off to the Superintendent of the Academy, Vice Admiral Ted Carter 81. A classmate of Wendy Lawrence, VADM Carter spoke of Wendy Lawrence s military accomplishments and forays into space. He also spoke of the impact of 40 years of Lwts Finish Fifth at Princeton The Campaign started off on a very positive foot this fall with a strong, enthusiastic group of Plebes showing up on Day One practice of the Academic Year. To compliment this group, the coaching staff welcomed back the largest returning group of Varsity Men in recent memory. All told, the Lightweight Men at Navy were working to fight for spots on the roster, and through a great deal of the fall season, 9-plus eights of lightweight midshipmen women at the Naval Academy and the roles they have had and will have in shaping the Academy. Former Heavyweight Coach Rick Clothier recounted the formation of the Women s rowing program and how the women who started the team never relented. Former rower and current Commandant of Article Cont d on Page 7... were showing up ready to work. Work has been a theme for the fall as the coaching staff encouraged everyone, from Plebes up to 1/C, to continue to PR on assessments early-and-often, and to make the most of each practice. The weather in Annapolis cooperated (perhaps too much) to stay nice and warm. This made for a longer-than-usual recreational boating season on the Severn and a good number Article Cont d on Page 5...

2 Third Annual Navy Crew Alumni Reunion & Spring Kickoff Banquet Join our Special Guest Speaker VADM Robert S. Harward 79, USN ret. U.S. Navy SEAL Former Deputy Commander U.S. Central Command Former Commander of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force Former Deputy Commander of U.S. Joints Forces Command in welcoming our First Class Heavyweight, Lightweight, and Women Rowers into the ranks of Alumni. Saturday, March 4, 2017 VADM William Lawrence Banquet Facility Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium 6:00 PM Cocktails, 7:00 PM Dinner The Older we get, the Faster we were! Rejoin your teammates, other alumni and parents in celebrating our First Class Midshipmen as they start their final Championship Season on the Severn. All family and friends are welcome! Hear from our coaches, team captains and our special guest speaker, VADM Harward. Registration and payment information will go out in the January Newsletter. Questions? Please contact Coach Rob Friedrich or Kit Vallhonrat 93

3 Women s Crew: Road to NCAA Champs The Navy Women s Crew team finished the Spring 2016 season with their third appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Midshipmen won the Patriot League, granting them a bid to the NCAA Championships in Sacramento California. At NCAA s the team finished 19th overall in a field of 22 of the top teams in the country. Heading into the Fall 2016 Season, Head Coach Joe Schlosberg knew the team was going to have to conquer more changes and challenges. In August of 2016, Schlosberg brought in a new coaching staff consisting of Assistant Coach Jessica Mahon, Volunteer Assistant Coach Taylor Ruden, and returning Volunteer Assistant Coach Stephen Root. With a new coaching staff on board and a strong class of plebes joining the program, everyone was excited for what was ahead. The women started their season at the Navy Day Regatta in Philadelphia, PA. Traveling with three varsity eights and two freshman eights, the women were ready to show how hard they had been working. The day started with the freshman eight race; the plebes took the course with excitement and executed the race plan well. The first novice eight finished in 1st place finishing 8.63 seconds ahead of 2nd place team St. Joseph s and seconds ahead of Temple. The second novice eight also had a strong race, finishing in 3rd place among the B boats, 25.9 seconds behind 2nd place St. Joseph s and 22 seconds ahead of 4th place team Temple. We couldn t be more pleased with the way the plebes raced at Navy Day. For many of them this was their first regatta ever. They did a great job and showed just how strong of a class they are going to be said Assistant Coach Jess Mahon. The varsity women also showed their depth at Navy Day with the Navy A boat finishing 2nd behind Penn and 5.6 seconds ahead of 3rd place Drexel. The Navy C boat finished in 8th place and the Navy B boat finished in 11th place out of a field of 26. The Women s crew then headed back to the Severn for a few weeks of training and seat racing before sending one varsity eight to Boston to compete in the Champ 8 event in the Head of the Charles. The boat was comprised of a lot of underclassmen, who had continued to show their strength and determination over the past few months. Facing challenging conditions while in Boston, the team finished 26th in a field of 33 boats. The Midshipmen did beat some Patriot League teams, in Georgetown and Bucknell, and they also beat Columbia, Clemson, UMass and Rhode Island. With only a week between the Head of the Charles and the Princeton Chase and challenging wind conditions on the Severn, the team prepared to take four varsity eights to New Jersey. With beautiful conditions on the Sunday before Halloween, the team took to Lake Carnegie in the Women s Varsity 8 event. The Navy C boat finished first among the four Navy 8s finishing in 36th place in a field of 59. The Navy A boat finished just 2 seconds behind them. Both crews finished ahead of Columbia C, Dartmouth C, Cornell B, Rutgers A, Rhode Island B, UNC A, Georgetown A and more. The Navy B and D boats finished 46th and 50th finishing ahead of crews such as UCF B, Rutgers B and Georgetown B. Though the team did not have as strong of a showing as they had hoped for in Princeton, the Midshipmen were able to take away some positives from the regatta as well as areas to focus on. That intensity was evident right away, during the last week of in season training back on the Severn and the team is already looking ahead to 2017 s Road to the NCAA Championships. Navy Crew Newsletter Page 3

4 Navy Heavyweights: Depth and Development The Navy Heavyweight Rowing Team has high aspirations for this year as they develop the young, exciting talent in the program. After graduating 15 seniors last year, three of whom were invited to the Under-23 U.S. National Team Camp, the Class of 2017 was up for the challenge to lead the next group of younger athletes as they build the depth of the Brotherhood. To encourage the development of the team and to have as many younger athletes competing for the top spots, the Navy heavyweights rowed two even boats as their priority line-ups for the first two fall head races. At the Head of the Potomac in Washington DC, the Navy heavyweights were able to sweep the top two places in the Open Eight Event out of 20 entries, which included four George Washington boats and seven Georgetown crews. The Navy 4th Varsity also posted a fast time to place 9th overall, while the 3V, who lost their fin at the beginning of the race, still managed to control their steering enough to beat three of the Georgetown boats. In Philadelphia for the Navy Day Regatta, Navy still raced even boats but without five of their top athletes, who were missing for the SEAL Screener back at the Naval Academy. Even without those integral athletes and not putting their top lineup together, Navy placed a strong 3rd and 4th place, close behind Drexel and George Washington s top boats. Again, Navy s 3V and 4V competed well against the competition, finishing 10th and 13th out of a field of 31 boats. Depth and development have been the focus for our team this fall season, remarked Head Coach Rob Friedrich. Even when we were missing five guys for the SEAL Screener, the next oarsmen were ready for the challenge. Our depth is much better than in recent years and the athletes have shown such resiliency in their training. As you can imagine, all of our SEAL candidates survived the screener and will move on to the next phase. The following weekend, Navy traveled two boats up to Boston for the Head of the Charles. The Navy Varsity placed 13th among collegiate varsities in the Championship Eight Event, just ahead of the Cornell and Penn. Navy s 2nd Varsity rowed on Saturday in the Club Eight Race, where they finished 9th out of 36 crews in the event. At the Princeton Chase, Navy showed, again, they were one of the deeper teams in the league by placing four varsity crews in the top 26 places of the 44-boat field. Even though Navy s top boat only matched their 7th place varsity finish from last year, all of their other boats moved up and performed much better. At the end of the fall season, Coach Friedrich seemed pleased with the team s progress and remained focused on their development and commitment to training, Seniors Scott Gibson and Sawyer Rogers have created an atmosphere of training on the team that we haven t seen in many years. The younger athletes have made a commitment to build their endurance training in addition to the normal team workouts. The extra mileage on the erg has made a huge difference in their development and commitment to the sport. The Navy plebe squad has been, silently, performing well all Fall. The Navy coaches are excited about this group and believe they can make an immediate impact on the varsity line-ups for the spring racing season. While most schools have been racing only one freshman boat during the fall or sprinkling their talent among their varsity crews, we have been working with four strong plebe boats on a daily basis, explained Coach Friedrich. Our Plebe Coach John Flynn has done a great job, keeping the plebes focused on developing walk-ons and building the group s strength and conditioning, in preparation to train with the varsity athletes during the winter months. You can see the affects already, with four plebes breaking into the top ten on the varsity erg list, which includes two walk-ons that just started the sport. The plebes showed their depth at the Rutgers Invitational for their last event of the fall season. The top two even boats won the day, placing first and second in a freshmen-only race, while the 3rd plebe boat won their event with the 4th plebe boat not far behind. The heavyweight team is as motivated as ever and poised to turn some heads this spring season.

5 Lightweight Article cont d... of days where the team was eeking-out the best strokes possible. That said, the percentage of PR efforts on the erg and majority of racing was very positive, laying down the foundation for winter training and a successful spring Kicking off the fall season in Washington DC at the end of September, the Navy Lights were able to give the Plebes a taste of the racing life, along with continuing to develop as many quality athletes as possible. The Varsity and Plebes both raced in even lineups, and managed to post encouraging results just behind their heavyweight brethren from Hubbard Hall but in front of league opponent Georgetown and the heavyweights at George Washington. Training toward the Navy Day regatta three weeks later, the Lightweight Mids were able to race again in even boats, and test out their small boat skill in the coxed 4+ s. Bolstered by an impressive win in the Freshman/Plebe 4+, the Varsity even boats picked up 3rd and 4th place finishes behind a resurgent UPenn team. Continuing to stay the course to develop the Class of 2020 and allow for as many Varsity athletes to gain experience as possible, Navy Day proved to be a solid stepping-stone day in Philly. Boston and the Head of the Charles greeted the 1V and 2V Lightweight 8+ s with gale force wind warnings for the weekend and, at times, epic conditions. The Navy Lightweight 2V raced in the Club 8+ event, and once again managed to re-qualify the entry for the following year by finishing 12th of 36 entries, the majority of which were heavyweight 2V and 3V crews. The following day, the Navy 1V went out and attacked a gusty course that was challenging for even Charles River expert coxswains, and paced in 4th to 5th place before getting pressed to the outside on the final few turns, finishing 8th. The Navy 150 crew was the 6th place EARC Sprints school overall. The experience garnered by both the coxswains and our young crews on the challenging Charles course will undoubtedly prove to be good for the team progression and ability to succeed in Boston next year. Finishing off the fall season with the Princeton Chase for the Varsity is always a highlight for the Navy Lights. Typically a quick course, the weather was fantastic and provided a great window into the competitiveness of this squad. The Varsity A, B, and C lineups hit the water and put forward some very promising results, with the Navy A line-up finishing 5th overall, only 0.6 out of 4th and 5 seconds out of 2nd. The B and C lineups had very competitive pieces as well, beating a good number of the EARC League opponents that were at the Chase. The Class of 2020 also managed a strong outing, despite some last-minute equipment issues in the A boat, and both Plebe 8+ s raced aggressively. It was great to see the walk-on Plebes mixed within the A and B lineups, and these very young oarsmen held their own against international and top domestic recruits in the Ivy League. The final race of the day, however, put a solid Navy Lightweight stamp on the Princeton course, with 3 of the Varsity 4+ lineups taking Top-10 finish positions (3rd, 6th, and 8th). The team now looks with anticipation to the training volume and commitment to technical improvement coming up, and continuing to move in the right direction. Winners are made in the winter, and the Navy 150 squad looks forward to the work ahead and racing to come. Navy Store Now Open We are pleased to announce our Navy Crew On-Line Store is open for business. To make these items available for Christmas, the store is open for a limited time. On-line orders will close on November 16th. As always, part of the proceeds will go to helping support all three rowing programs. We appreciate your support!

6 Commemorative Locker Program Update The Hubbard Hall commemorative locker program is off to a great start, with nine lockers already purchased and several more pending, according to Rusty Yeiser 74 from the USNA Foundation. Dirk Mosis 73, had the honor of purchasing the first locker (pictured on the right) and his locker plate is now installed in the men s locker room on locker #73 for his class year. Plebe Rower Andrew Knoll 20 is the proud athlete housed in the Dirk Mosis Locker for the season. For those just learning about the program, here is the information provided in the last newsletter: Given the rich history of Navy Crew that Hubbard Hall represents, it is fitting to provide an opportunity for former Navy rowers and other alumni, family, and friends of Navy Crew to both honor past glory and provide for the success of future midshipman crews. The Navy Crew Excellence Fund provides critical private support for capital and supplemental program support for all three Navy crew programs: heavyweights, lightweights, and women. With a $2,500 charitable contribution, you may customize a tribute to the people, history, and traditions that will continue to inspire midshipmen who pull an oar for Navy. Your personalized plate will be affixed to the front of a locker in the men s or women s locker room on the second deck of the boathouse where it will remind future Navy rowers of the legacy of excellence they have inherited. Your gift will also afford you recognition in the Naval Academy Foundation s donor recognition society, the President s Circle. For additional information on the Navy Crew Commemorative Locker program, see the on-line Locker Program Brochure, or contact: Rusty Yeiser 74 U.S. Naval Academy Foundation / rusty.yeiser@usna.com go Navy

7 Wendy Lawrence Article cont d... Midshipmen, Colonel Stephen Liszewski 90 followed Coach Clothier. He spoke of how Navy Rowing shapes what and who a Mid becomes and how the women who row today stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before them. When Wendy Lawrence began to speak, she expressed her gratitude to Navy Crew and the Naval Academy. Rowing and the Naval Academy allowed me to follow my dream. If you want to learn the meaning of hard work, it starts with sitting in one of those boats hard work, focus, perseverance, determination, the ability to push through pain, to keep going when things are hard and ultimately teamwork. Lawrence continued, And so, if you want to know the definition of teamwork, it s sitting in that shell and rowing together and that directly translates into the definition of being a good shipmate as well. So, the skills I got here as a rower directly translated into life as an officer in the fleet and as life as an astronaut. Wendy Lawrence then charged the current and future members of the team to see that name on the shell and understand that it represents the opportunity they have to become the best person they can be and leave the door open behind them for those that who will follow them. The Wendy Lawrence shell helped the Navy women win the team title at the 2016 Patriot League Championship and then helped the women finish 19th as a team at the 2016 NCAA Championship. Navy Crew Alumni Rows and Reunions As in past years, this Fall offered a few chances for the old oars of Navy to get back out on the water and prove that they still have what it takes to Pull for Navy. On the Yard, the reunion classes for this year classes ending in 1 s and 6 s had the opportunity to make Hubbard Hall, and a spin in the creek, part of their Reunion Weekend experience. These Alumni Rows kick off on the Saturday morning of the reunion with coffee and bagels in the N Room. After some good catching up, and more than one tale told of great races and some memorably long practices back in the day, each class has the chance to get down to the dock and put together a crew. Spending the morning at Hubbard Hall and getting back out on the water has been the highlight of many Reunion Weekends, and we encourage every class to make the Alumni Row a part of their return to the Yard. Highlights from this year s Reunions included a chance for the 1991 alums to race against a group of 2006 lightweights, proving that you never forget how to do a creek shot, or how to take the rating up. The Class of 1996 the Pikers were able to be joined by their Plebe coach, Dan Lyons 81, and rowed once again under his watchful eye. The Class of 1971 Heavies and Lights put an eight together and bravely ventured all the way out to Severn, where they met up with the returning Plebe crews from the Class of The 71s declined a good natured challenge from the plebes, but it was great to see the two groups representing nearly fifty years of Navy Crew taking strokes alongside each other. The Classes of 1981, 1986, 2001, and 2011 also got their oars wet again, and many of the classes that shared Reunion Weekends rowed together in line-ups with other classes, proving that every Navy rower learned the same skills in their time at Hubbard. Navy Crew alums got together off the Yard again this fall as well, taking advantage of the new Alumni Eights event at the Head of the Charles to give themselves a training challenge and a good excuse to get up to Boston for the Charles. This year, two Navy Crew Newsletter Page 7

8 men s eights represented Navy in the Alumni race; the women s group who has raced in the past two years was not successful in the Charles lottery this year, but is already making plans to return next year. Racing on Saturday, the Navy A entry, made up of heavyweight alums, took 11th overall, up one spot from last year. Leading that crew was former Varsity stroke Matt Fluhr 12, with Brandon Karpf 15 at the helm. Joining them were Dylan Cawdry 15, Julian Hagberg 16, Dave Sands 16, Tom Egger 15, Ted Baumgardner 13, Peter Lutter 15 and, to keep all the younger alums in line, Gordon Schmidt 03. The Navy B entry was mostly drawn from the ranks of the lightweight alums and the Class of 2010; they took 29th out of 50 boats in the race. Stroked by Kevin Mott 10 and coxed by Alex Duncan 10, the crew also featured Julian Bowling 10, Colin Edwards 10, John Beinert 09, Josh Accomando 08, Michael Kerrigan 10, and Brian Sharp 10, plus guest heavyweight Jim Prial 10 in the bow. Each fall, the Navy Master s group looks to fill these Charles lineup with alums who have been able to keep training, so put it on your calendar and contact Kit Vallhonrat 93 about your interest. As we look forward to next fall, we hope to see even more alums out on the water so, as your reunion draws near, drum up interest amongst your former boat-mates, and have a point person contact Coach Friedrich so we can prepare for the numbers you are expecting from your class. The Alumni rows take place every Reunion weekend, so even if you are from a non-reunion Class and just in town for the game, we d love to get you in a boat, so bring some trou and the coaches will be ready and waiting to get you back out on the water so you can Still Pull for Navy! Class of 1996, Pikers, after their alumni row with Dan Lyons Class of 1991 Hwts and Lwts after their row in the creek Hwt and Lwt Alumni Boats at the Head of the Charles 2006 Alumni on the dock after their reunion row Class of 1971 showed up ready to row Class of 1966 also stopped by during their reunion weekend Navy Crew Newsletter Page 8

9 Navy Crew Spring Racing Schedules Heavyweight Schedule April 1 Princeton (Navy/Princeton and Smith Trophies) Princeton, NJ April 7 George Washington Invitational Washington DC April 8 George Washington Invitational Washington DC April 15 Syracuse/Cornell (Goes and Stagg Trophies) Ithaca, NY April 22 Harvard/Penn (Adams and Clothier Trophies) Philadelphia, PA April 30 Columbia/George Washington/Hobart Mercer County, NJ May 14 EARC Sprints Worcester, MA June 2-4 IRA National Championships Sacramento, CA Women s Schedule March 25 Murphy Cup Regatta Camden, NJ April 1-2 Doc Hosea Invitational Camden, NJ April 7 George Washington Invitational Washington DC April 8 George Washington Invitational Washington DC April 22 Clemson Invitational Clemson, SC April 23 Clemson Invitational Clemson, SC April 29 Temple Philadelphia, PA May 12 Patriot League Championships Camden, NJ May NCAA Championship West Windsor, NJ Lightweight Schedule March 25 Princeton (Murtaugh Cup) Princeton, NJ April 1 Yale (Johnson Cup) Princeton, NJ April 8 Columbia (WIT Cup) Annapolis, MD April 15 Georgetown (Forster Cup) Washington DC April 22 Harvard (Haines Trophy) Cambridge, MA April 29 Penn (Callow Cup) Annapolis, MD May 14 EARC Sprints Worcester, MA June 2-4 IRA National Championships Sacramento, CA