March Carolyn Schneller. Q&A with JLAC s Kenny Purser Collegiate Preview

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1 March 2010 Carolyn Schneller Q&A with JLAC s Kenny Purser 2010 Collegiate Preview

2 Rower s Almanac

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4 Member Services Directory About USRowing The mission of USRowing is to provide ongoing opportunities to achieve excellence in rowing in the United States. In pursuit of this mission, USRowing will achieve the following results: Consistently growing lifetime participation in rowing Safe, fair racing opportunities for all rowers Continually improved performance at the Olympic Games Steadily increasing awareness of rowing Continually growing knowledge and practice of rowing safety, healthy training methods and effective rowing technique Fiscal growth and responsibility The United States Rowing Association was founded in 1872 and incorporated in We are the national governing body for rowing in the United States and administer all aspects of the sport. USRowing would like to thank its official corporate partners, suppliers and patrons for the tremendous support they provide throughout the year. USRowing Board of Directors Pete Cipollone, Treasurer, At-Large Representative Christine Collins, Women s Vice President Caryn Davies, Female Athlete Representative James W. Dietz, Men s Vice President Tom Feaster, Southeast Region Representative Tom Fuller, Treasurer, Northwest Region Representative Robert F. Kidd, Southwest Region Representative Laura Kunkemueller, Secretary, Northeast Region Representative Don Langford, President, Midwest Region Representative Chris Liwski, Male Athlete Representative Joan Schriger, At-Large Representative Lee West, Mid-Atlantic Region Representative Mary Whipple, USOC-AAC Representative Tyler Winklevoss, USOC-AAC Representative USRowing Member Services Center Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday-Friday Phone: (800) 314-4ROW (609) Fax: (609) members@usrowing.org Web site: USRowing Services: Address Changes: (800) 314-4ROW Athlete Services/National Team: (609) Club Services: (800) 314-4ROW Coaching Services: (317) Media Relations/Communications: (609) Membership: (800) 314-4ROW Merchandise: (800) Regatta Services/USRowing Events: (609) USRowing E-magazine Advertising: (609) Customer Service: (800) 314-4ROW Editor: Allison Frederick, (609) USRowing s E-magazine is published bimonthly by the United States Rowing Association, 2 Wall Street, Princeton, NJ All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission prohibited. 4

5 Table of Contents Table of Contents 6 Carolyn Schneller: Opening Doors By Robert Spruck Photos by Igor Belakovskiy 10 Q&A with Kenny Purser, Jack London Aquatic Center By Richard Butler Photos provided by Jack London Aquatic Center 16 Collegiate Preview: A Look at the 2010 Season By Esther Lofgren Photos by Allison Frederick and Brett Johnson On the cover: University of Washington men s varsity eight racing at the 2009 IRA Championships. Photo by Allison Frederick. Table of Contents: University of Washington wins team championship at 2009 IRA Championships. Photo by Allison Frederick. 5

6 6 Junior rower Carolyn Schneller competing at the 2010 C.R.A.S.H.-B. s.

7 Story by Robert Spruck Photos by Igor Belakovskiy The lights go on. Carolyn Schneller knows exactly what time it is. But like any other high school junior, Schneller often wants a few more minutes of sleep at 6 a.m. Tim Schneller, her father, always grants her a few more minutes of rest before returning to get his daughter ready for an early morning training session. Carolyn and Tim then spend the next couple of hours lifting weights to improve her strength, doing cardio to ensure even better endurance and working on the erg to improve her rowing fundamentals. For Schneller, who only started rowing a little more than a year ago, this early morning routine has already begun paying dividends. In February, Schneller finished second in the junior women heavyweight division at the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championship, which was held in Boston. A big thing has been my dad, said Schneller, who is a junior at Western Albemarle High School in Crozet, Va. It never would have happened without his encouragement and his support. I probably never would get up in the morning. But he s always there, and he works out with me. He has pushed me to go as far as I can go. Schneller, who was competing competitively for only the third time, was the highest American finisher and had a time of 7 minutes, 9 seconds. Germany s Judith Sievers won the event as she finished the 2-kilometer race in 7:02. Schneller barely edged out Faith Richardson for second place by 0.1 seconds. Finishing second was definitely a big accomplishment for Schneller, who was optimistic that she would finish in the top-10, based upon the seeding time. Schneller also was targeting a 7:06 or faster time in the 2,000-meter race. But like so many other rowers have experienced through the years, not everything goes according to the pre-race plan. She completed all of her pre-race routines. She fixed her hair. Schneller listened to the 300 Violin Orchestra and The Beast on her ipod. But after finishing those superstitions, almost nothing went according to the plan for Schneller. I started out strong, but then I was going too fast way too early, she said. With more than 700 meters left, I felt like I was dying. Opening Doors Carolyn Schneller At the mid-point of the race, she was ahead of the pace that she set for herself. She went 1:44 during the third 500 meters before drastically slowing down to a 1:49 split during the final 500 meters of the race. It was totally surreal, she said. I could see (Richardson) catching up to me. I was ahead by 13 seconds, and then it was 8 seconds. She was closing quickly. I was then ahead by 0 seconds. When the final time came in, it was dead even. When the final time was announced, I had beaten her. Exhaustion had definitely set in. I was dead tired, she said. But then about 30 minutes later when I realized I finished second, it felt good. It was really cool. It was a new experience for Schneller, who grew up playing team sports. Since elementary school, Schneller s primary sport was basketball. At 5-foot-9, Schneller has found a lot of success in the sport. Each of the last two seasons, she was named to the All-District team selected by the coaches. That (basketball) was my sport, she said. It was also what I always played. After getting cut from the volleyball team during her sophomore year, Schneller was looking for another sport or extracurricular activity to keep her active during the fall season. Her mother suggested rowing as an option after reading an article about 2008 Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Shoop, who grew up in the same town I was dead tired. But then about 30 minutes later when I realized I finished second, it felt good I don t like doing nothing, she said. After the suggestion, I thought that I might just like rowing and decided to give it a try. I was skeptical at first, and I wasn t going to give up playing basketball. It was a really small program and everyone was nice. The rest is history. So Schneller joined the Western Albemarle High School club team. She took advantage of her basketball background and used a handful of those skills in rowing. She said her footwork and her lower-body 7

8 Carolyn Schneller strength have helped to make an easy transition. She also attributes her conditioning as an added benefit. Despite basketball being her first love, Schneller has found a unique camaraderie with her rowing teammates. We spend so much time together, she said. We wake up early. We take longer road trips. You form a bond with your teammates. A lot of sports say that the team becomes best friends, but with rowing your teammates become your family. It s just an awesome experience. Schneller doesn t know what her future will include, but fully intends for rowing to be a part of the next step in her athletic career. She has still another year of high school before she has to make one of the biggest decisions which college to attend. Schneller has already started being recruiting by a handful of schools. One of the schools that has caught her is attention is University of Virginia, which is only about 20 minutes from her hometown. During her trip to Boston for the C.R.A.S.H.-B. competition, Schneller and her family stopped at Harvard and spoke with some of the assistant coaches. They also visited the Ivy League school s boathouse. She also said that Ohio State and Clemson are schools that she is currently considering. I am just really excited about the entire recruiting process, she said. A bunch of them have started ing me and sending me their newsletters. The whole process is exciting so far. The opportunity to continue to row in college would be the ideal scenario. When she started rowing, she had no idea the amount of success that she was capable of having in such a short period of time. I never thought that rowing could be my sport, she said. From the third grade, on, I always thought that basketball would be my primary sport. I didn t expect this. I don t think that anyone was expecting this. I just never saw it coming. If she continues sticking to her early morning routine and sees continued improved time on the water, her future opportunities are endless. I am going to keep working and trying to get better, she said. The next step would be college. So many opportunities have already opened up. I don t know what to think about all the other possibilities. If I can keep going, then that s what I am going to do. Left to right: Groton School Alumni s Faith Richardson, Concept2 Team Germany s Judith Sievers and Western Albemarle Rowing Team s Carolyn Schneller. 8

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11 Q&A with Kenny Purser Jack London Aquatics Center Story by Richard Butler. Photos provided by JLAC. Q&A with Kenny Purser Located in Oakland, Calif., the Jack London Aquatics Center is a nonprofi t organization whose mission is to inspire the diverse communities of Oakland to experience the waterfront for the purposes of recreation, education and competition. Through its rowing, kayaking and dragon boating programs, JLAC addresses diversity-related issues including cost, transportation and water safety. USRowing caught up with JLAC Executive Director Kenny Purser to talk about JLAC s unique program and the realities of fundraising and creating the proper relationships to grow and sustain aquatics. Prior to joining JLAC in May 2009, Purser was a Regional Director at Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound and founding Principal of Metropolitan Arts and Tech High School in San Francisco. He also served as the Dean of Students at Berkeley High School and as the After-School Coordinator at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley. Opposite page: ARISE High School forms a kayak star during a one-day field trip in fall of The star is an activity they work up to to practice maneuvers. Above: Coliseum College Prep Academy forms a kayak scatter plot during a one-day field trip in fall

12 Q&A with Kenny Purser What is JLAC s mission and what kinds of programs do you offer? Our mission is to provide access to all for rowing and paddling. We hire experienced dragon-boaters and kayakers, in addition to rowers. Believe it or not, we even get rowing coaches in kayaks and dragon boats. They just are not very happy about it, but it s only when I really need them. We have four full-time staff an executive director, program director, head crew coach and kayak/dragon boat instructor. The staff members, including the executive director, are cross-trained to assist during large programming days. We also have five part-time staff members (three crew coaches and two paddling instructors). What are some of the highlights of JLAC s recently released 2009 Annual Report? We saw a significant increase in participant numbers in We grew from 950 people in the July 2007-June 2008 year to more than 2,300 people in Also, there was a huge increase in outreach in the last year. JLAC worked with more than twice as many organizations and schools in 2009 than in What is the demographic of the community where you are located? What are the primary demographics of your participants? We are located in Oakland, which is 37 percent Caucasian, 30 percent African American, 15 percent Asian and 12 percent Hispanic. African American, Asian and Hispanic participants make up 70 percent of the 40-member junior crew and 90 percent of the afterschool group. We served over 1500 students in day, week, and semester programs. What role does race play in your recruitment efforts? To have a credible organization in poor urban communities like Oakland, it is essential that we are diverse at all levels, from the board, to program staff, to volunteers and donors. It helps to have people of color doing the recruiting, but is not essential. What s more important is that teachers and principals have experi- 12

13 Q&A with Kenny Purser enced our programs firsthand. It is especially helpful if the educators are people of color. In general, students trust teachers they can relate to and will do what they see teachers doing. There are many ways to connect to students and engage them. Kids need to see people they can relate to on the water encouraging them to join them. We invite the teachers to paddle and row with the kids. Are there fees or requirements associated with participation in JLAC s programs? We charge schools $10 per student per 2.5-hour activity. The actual cost is closer to $25 per student, however, we almost always significantly subsidize schools that have a population of over 60 percent Free and Reduced Lunch students. We write grants and collaborate with other programs like Oakland Parks and Recreation and the YMCA. Schools with more resources pay $25 per student. Junior crews pay a fee of $300 per semester, which will likely increase to $500 or $600 next year. All crew participants must pass a swim test. A large majority of our youth either does not swim or is not comfortable in the water. If a novice rower cannot swim, we collaborate with Oakland Parks and Recreation to teach him or her to swim. Kayakers and dragon-boat paddlers are required to wear a PFD. These paddling programs also teach and emphasize water comfort and water safety. When providing services for the undeserved communities, transportation becomes one of many barriers to entry. How does JLAC address this challenge? We have two 14-passenger vans. Keeping vans and drivers operating safely is a huge investment of time and funds. We are getting very creative on getting students to the center. We negotiate deals with principals to have them pay for public transportation. One principal added the center to their bus route. We do double routes. We also provide study hall for students that can get out of school early. Top Left: Skyline High School sophomore Dacari Hodges. Top right: Aviation High School s 10-day learn-to-row class in January Bottom: JLAC Junior Crew. 13

14 Q&A with Kenny Purser What has been your experience in securing funds to enable you to provide such a large community outreach program? As a former high school principal and teacher in Oakland, I have strong relationships with many of the public education leaders in Oakland. Our Board of Directors is composed of well-networked civic-minded community members. I love selling the program! When you offer a learn-to-row or paddle session, how many students return as JLAC rowers? We are happy if we get a 5-10 percent return. If I want to add 40 students in the next year, I will need to teach over 400 to row. We typically only offer youth learnto-row sessions to students that joined the crew team in September of each year. We retain about 70 percent of those students. Starting in 2010, we are offering learn-to-row courses as P.E. class in schools. We have about 100 students signed up. We hope to retain many of these students for the fall season. What are your goals and challenges going into 2010? Our biggest challenge is funding. My goal is for JLAC to teach 1,000 youth to row. We are a long way away from this goal now, primarily because we are at capacity with our current funding streams. I need more vans, boats, and staff to take programs to the next level. We are creating a comprehensive business plan this spring which will help us identify ways to be more strategic with our resources. Above: Students from Aviation High School s 10-day learn-to-row class in January

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16 2010 Collegiate Preview By Esther Lofgren Photos by Allison Frederick and Brett Johnson

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18 2010 Collegiate Preview HEAVYWEIGHT MEN The last time a team swept the eights at IRAs was 1997, when the University of Washington capped an undefeated varsity eight season with the Ten Eyck trophy. So it s not a stretch to guess that the University of Washington is again looking to make history, this time by repeating its performance. Even though the Huskies graduated four members of last year s varsity eight, the freshman crew row2k.com called the most talented frosh eight ever at the IRA is now in the varsity mix, and the deep squad is well underway to forming fast lineups across the board. We re having a lot of fun watching the young guys step up to fill the spots, said coach Mike Callahan. Last year s UW eights experienced both wins and losses before finding success at the IRA, but Callahan is planning to continue running his program in the same way that produced the results at the right time. Everything we do is focused on winning on the last day of the season, he said. However, the pre-ira season last year put Cal as the front-runner for the national championship, and there are signs of an even stronger team under Mike Teti, now in his second year as head coach. As Pac-10 champions and last year s San Diego Crew Classic winners, along with a winning dual season performance in , the Golden Bears are focused strongly on performing at IRAs this time around. There s nothing we do here that s out of the ordinary we do your basic training, basic technique, ergs, small boats. We try to get all the food groups in, said Teti. We don t really verbalize it, but winning all our races is understood as the goal. The goal that we focus on to reach that is a complete boat and a race that has no weak parts. With four athletes returning from the IRA silvermedal crew, as well as three under 23 and senior national team members, Cal is heading into the spring dual season ready to line up and test its speed which, based on a sweep of the varsity, junior varsity and novice eight events at the 2010 San Diego Crew Classic, looks to be quite fast. Rounding out the top West Coast contenders is Stanford. The Cardinal turned a short roster into a top performance at IRAs last year and is looking to do the same this year. In spite of a repeat in low varsity numbers, Stanford coach Craig Amerkhanian has high expectations of what his rowers can do again this year. Amerkhanian quoted Chris Costello in describing his training philosophy. In rowing, you get what you deserve 95 percent of the time. We are training daily to eunsure our abilities continue to expand, and we get what we deserve. Stanford will be building off a sixth-place finish in the varsity eight at its season-opener, the Crew Classic. Although the grand final at IRAs last year was a West Coast/ East Coast split, this fall has demonstrated that the Sprints League is stacked with tough competitors this year. Wisconsin and Harvard defeated Berkeley and Stanford in the men s champ four with coxswain event at the Head of the Charles, with their counterparts at Brown knocking out national team boats from Germany, France, and Great Britain in the men s champ eight event. Brown, last year s Sprints winner with wins in five out of six events, is focusing again on performing both in local dual racing and nationally. The team travelled to San Diego for its season opener at the Crew Classic last weekend, finishing a strong second in both the varsity and junior varsity eight events. With only one oarsman graduated from last year s IRA varsity eight, coach Paul Coke is looking to his deep team to build off last season s successes and disappointments. We didn t try to be slow early last year, said Cooke. There are a few lessons we learned that will help us improve over the course of the season again. Starting its season not in sunny San Diego but in slightly colder Ithaca, N.Y., will be perennial strong- 18

19 2010 Collegiate Preview performer Harvard. With most of its varsity eight and IRA squad returning from last year, as well as several rowers finding success at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships last summer, coach Harry Parker believes the raw materials are there for a great season. Thus far, the sophomores have made very good progress indoors. The key will be just how well they transfer their strong conditioning from indoors to rowing on the water, said Parker. The wild card of this year will be the team that had everyone talking at IRAs last year. Boston University, with Tom Bohrer returning for his second season as head coach, got everyone s attention when it rebounded from an unexceptional dual racing season to capture its first-ever Eastern Sprints medal (a bronze in the second varsity eight), before even more unexpectedly knocking defending-champs Wisconsin from the IRA Grand Final with a blistering sprint. The Terriers started their season on the right foot, finishing fourth in the varsity eight and earning a bronze medal in the second varsity eight at last weekend s Crew Classic. With seven rowers returning from the varsity eight, look for another strong year from a program on the rise. Rounding out the Sprints League top competitors is Wisconsin, who appears to have rebounded already from a mixed 2009 season. The team that took home as many medals from last spring s Sprints as Brown and Opposite page: University of Washington coxswains (left to right) Katelin Snyder, Michelle Darby and Laura Denman display their trophies. This page, top: University of Wisconsin Varsity Eight. Middle: University of Washington Varsity Eight. Bottom: Brown University Varsity Eight. 19

20 2010 Collegiate Preview Harvard threw down a challenge at this year s Head of the Charles, defeating Harvard, Cal and Stanford in the championship four event. The home-grown team isn t interested in looking back to the 2008 championship-winning season or last year s stumble. Instead, head coach Chris Clark says Wisconsin is focused on trumping the beatable, but not too often, juggernaut that their rival schools have in the form of pedigreed international rowers. Last year s deep team placed boats in five of six grand finals at IRA. This year, the Badgers hope to race their way onto more medal stands. PAC-10s will be held May 16 at Lake Natoma, Calif. Eastern Sprints will be held May 16 at Lake Quinsigamond, Mass. The IRA Championship will be raced June 3-5 on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. LIGHTWEIGHT MEN For the lightweight men, 2009 was the Year of Princeton. The Tigers varsity eight ruled the water no matter where they raced, from the Head of the Charles to IRAs to the wooden-boomed lanes of the Henley Royal Regatta. Princeton s first perfect season and post-season since 1973 had somewhat the air of a finale. Coach Greg Hughes was announced as the replacement for long-time heavyweight head coach Curtis Jordan, just weeks after Hughes crew claimed the Temple Challenge Cup. Marty Crotty has stepped into the head coach role, and four new rowers have stepped into the seats of the 2009 boat s graduates. And so far, it s been a seamless transition. Princeton dominated its fall racing schedule with wins at the Charles and the Princeton Chase. Our new blood comes in many shapes and sizes, said Crotty. I ll let the racing this spring write their story. The Tigers are looking back to last season, but only to know what speed we must be faster than, come spring, Crotty continued. Our goal is to continue to raise the bar. Rising to Princeton s challenge is consistent strong-performer Harvard, whose depth shone at last year s Sprints, where they won the Jope Cup by being the only team to find the medal stand in all five events. Harvard returns five of its bronze-medal IRA varsity eight crew, including captain Martin Eiermann, who raced seven-seat in the German lightweight men s eight at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poland last summer; two other Crimson oarsmen com- 20 peted at the 2009 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. The Crimson have performed well this past fall, trumping Navy, Georgetown, Cornell and Yale at the Charles, and finishing just a half-second behind Princeton at the Chase. Besides working to earn Harvard a place atop the IRA podium, our major goal is to have every crew medal at Sprints for a second consecutive year, said coach Charley Butt. Butt believes his crew has what it takes to win this year. As for specific goals, nothing more than meeting potential. Princeton University Men s Lightweight Eight at the 2009 IRA Champ Navy has been making a statement this year, perhaps hoping to build off a lackluster sixth-place finish at last year s IRAs. The program sees coach Steve Perry back on the coaching staff this year. Perry was the assistant/novice coach from The Midshipmen have had a strong fall, finishing third at the Princeton Chase and less than a second behind Harvard at the Head of the Charles. With two oarsmen gaining international experience last summer as part of

21 2010 Collegiate Preview ionships. the U.S. Under 23 lightweight men s four, Navy will be a team to watch for this spring. Yale surprised many fellow racers and spectators alike with its second-place finish at last year s IRAs, after finishing fifth in the varsity eight at Eastern Sprints. The Elis have continued to push for the top of the pack, finishing top among colleges in the lightweight four with coxswain event at the Head of the Charles. Yale returns three of its varsity eight rowers from last year and will be looking to continue its strong team presence during this rebuilding year. Georgetown, whose varsity eight finished third at Sprints last year and fourth at IRAs, has also put together solid performances this fall, including fourth among colleges at the Head of the Charles and a top- 10 finish at the Chase. The Hoyas return five of their 2009 varsity eight rowers. Other teams to watch this year include a young Cornell squad, whose 2009 freshman eights dominated the Eastern Sprints, and Columbia, who nearly matched Yale s speed at the Princeton Chase. The Eastern Sprints will be raced May 16 at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The IRA Regatta will be raced June 3-5 on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. HEAVYWEIGHT WOMEN DIVISION I Last year, the question in women s Division I rowing seemed less to be, Will Stanford win NCAAs? but rather,...by how much? With a stacked 2009 boat three returners from 2008 s silvermedal crew, including a Great Britain national teamer, plus two U.S. Olympians Stanford held off the University of Virginia by 0.37 seconds to win the final. Stanford looks nearly perfect on paper again in 2010, with its entire varsity eight and all but three of its NCAA squad members returning. But the rest of the country knows that, although the cards look to be stacked in Stanford s favor, the NCAA team championship is anyone s game in As Stanford coach Yaz Farooq said, The team understands that pursuing a national championship is not a right, it s an opportunity and this year, it will take even more to make it happen. The other hot-button rowing topic in women s collegiate rowing this year is the vote to designate it as an NCAA team sport, a change from its previous classification as an individual team sport a classification it shared with sports such as swimming and track and field. This season sees women s rowing becoming the first time collegiate rowing in the United States will be scored, instead of raced, with each of the three varsity events weighted. The winning crews in each event will no longer be recognized as national champions in their event unless their team performs well enough to win the team championship and medals will be awarded only to top finishers in the varsity eight event. The question arises: if teams know that their varsity eight can t compete with the top eights in the top few programs, will they stack their second eight or four to increase their team score? The long-standing tradition in women s and men s collegiate rowing has been to put together the fastest varsity eight, then the fastest second varsity eight, and then the fastest varsity four. But the new NCAA designation may mean that fastest does not equate with most competitive in determining a team s boating choices to the consternation of some rowers, coaches, and spectators. For 21

22 2010 Collegiate Preview Stanford University Women s Varsity Eight at the 2009 NCAA Championships. example, last year s national champions in the second varsity eight, Yale, would have received only the thirdplace award of their team finish. On the other hand, a team designation will make sure that the program that wins truly has a deep and top-performing squad. This may favor schools large enough to field long rosters; yet that description only holds for half the schools among the top six team finishers from last year. Yale coach Will Porter echoed the sentiment of many coaches. The NCAA designation of women s rowing as a team sport is a mistake, said Porter. It is unfortunate that our sport has fallen victim to the political manuverings of rowing coaches who see that as the only way into the NCAA championship, rather than boat speed. However, most coaches, Porter included, also said that the new team designation had not affected their preparations for the 2010 season. The team concept has been the focus for us for a number of years now, and the goals for the program have always been team-oriented, said Cal coach Dave O Neill. Whether or not coaches support the new NCAA designation and its ramifications, all Division I schools will be competing solely for the team championship 22 this year, and it will be those who can create the best three-boat squads that will succeed. How do the top teams in 2010 stack up? In addition to Stanford, two strong West Coast competitors this year are the University of California and the University of Washington. Cal was one of three teams to make it onto two medal stands at NCAAs last year (in the varsity eight and second varsity eight), building off a very strong PAC-10 performance that was highlighted by golds in the second varsity eight and varsity four, silvers in the varsity eight and novice eight, and Cal s second consecutive team championship. The second-place team at NCAAs heads into the spring 2010 season with two women returning with under 23 national team experience, as well as one Olympian. Cal is taking advantage of a large and deep roster to use internal competition to train longer and harder this year before testing its speed against other schools. We are focused on the championship races, said O Neill. But we re waiting a little longer before hitting our top end. I m sure it will have a positive effect in the end. In their second year with legendary coach Bob Ernst at the helm, the University of Washington women continue to be a program on the rise. Building on a seventh-place team finish at the 2009 NCAAs,

23 2010 Collegiate Preview the Huskies finished second among college programs in the championship eight at this fall s Head of the Charles Regatta. The program s last NCAA victory was in 2002, led by a varsity eight that included future double Olympic medalists Mary Whipple and Anna Mickelson-Cummins. Under Ernst s coaching, there may be future national teamers among this year s deep and hard-racing crew, which is returning seven of its varsity eight members. Other west coast teams to watch for this year are the University of Southern California, who opened its season with a pair of silver medals in the varsity eight and second varsity eight at the Crew Classic; Washington State, who earned a bronze in the Crew Classic second varsity eight and won the novice eight; and Oregon State. The Big Ten Conference looks to be strong again this year, with top teams Michigan State, University of Michigan, and The Ohio State University racing well at NCAAs last year and producing strong performances this past fall. Michigan State is looking to build off of its solid sixth-place team finish at NCAAs last year, which ties the highest placing the young program has ever achieved. The team is returning five of its varsity eight, which last year went undefeated in regular season racing. MSU is looking to again top the Big Ten medal stand before putting on another top performance at NCAAs. I hope that our tough schedule will allow our team to work on executing their race plan while under pressure from great competitors, said coach Matt Weise. We have always focused on every individual s contribution to the team, and the NCAA team sport designation only adds fuel to this philosophy. Perennial powerhouse Michigan is looking to bounce back from a lackluster 2009 season. The Woverines took seventh among college crews in the champ eight event at the Head of the Charles, just behind Stanford. With more alums on the 2009 U.S. Women s National Team than any other school, coach Mark Rothstein knows how to develop athletes to perform. With six members of his varsity eight rowers returning, he is again leading a program with the potential for some fast speed on the water. The Ohio State University surprised some people last year with its eighth-place team finish, but coach Andy Teitelbaum was not one of them. Last year was a solid year, said Teitelbaum. But we are always measuring ourselves against the crews winning gold. This year, the Buckeyes are aiming for Big Ten hardward en route to NCAAs. OSU will race both Sprints League and ACC teams before the Big Ten Championships, a rigorous regular-season schedule that Teitelbaum says, has us respectful of everyone s speed. Mostly, we are just trying to go as fast as we can, and see where that puts us. Wisconsin is also a school on the rise, earning a program-best NCAA finish by taking silver in the varsity four. The program s new intensity seems to have coincided with the hirings of assistant coach Karen Kraft-Rigsby and novice coach Megan Cooke-Carcagno, now both heading into their second year with the program. The Badgers return five of their varsity eight athletes and more than half of their NCAA squad, and are focusing on a more consistent performance this year. We had better wake up from hibernation early, because it s game on as soon as we hit the water, said coach Bebe Bryans. Our goals for this year are to be faster than we were last year, and to take full advantage of every racing opportunity we have. One can t discuss the South without focusing on Virginia, whose incredible racing at NCAAs last year pushed them from a mixed-results dual season to a fourth-place team finish at NCAAs. We re not really using last year s or this past fall s results as motivation, besides verifying to ourselves that we are in the hunt, said coach Kevin Sauer. The Cavaliers had strong representation at all three levels of World Rowing Championships last summer, which Sauer believes has contributed to Virginia s push for an even better season this year. I just think it expands [the rowers ] horizons and expectations of excellence. Any time you go down the race course hard is an education, and will help our program as well. Virginia is off to a fast start, with wins in the 23

24 2010 Collegiate Preview varsity and second varsity eights (and a third eight just four seconds back from their second eight) at last weekend s San Diego Crew Classic. With seven athletes returning from the varsity eight and 22 out of the 25 NCAA squad members back in 2010, the program looks to be in an excellent position to accomplish Sauer s goal for this year, to have fun, go fast, and go for the win every time we race, with the ultimate goal of being at the NCAAs with a chance to win. In 2009, Virginia s nine-year winning streak at the ACC regional championship was ended by Clemson, before the Tigers continued on to win their firstever NCAA title (in the varsity four) and finish 12th overall as a team. This year, Clemson is looking to bring a deeper team to their dual and championship races, and to build off the momentum of last year s breakthrough season. This year will be a challenge, since the opportunity to sneak up on someone is just about over, said coach Richard Ruggieri. I do expect ACCs to be one of the biggest challenges to date. We will need to be just about perfect to accomplish our goals. The Tigers deep squad, with 18 of 23 returning from NCAAs, looks to be headed down the right path to be just that. The Sprints League, which made up half the varsity eight final at NCAAs last year, will yield several very fast crews again in Yale, Brown, Princeton, and Radcliffe are all looking to build off last year s speed and find another gear this year. Yale, the 2009 Sprints champions, was just edged out into third place in last year s NCAA team championship (the Elis tied Cal in points, but placed fourth to Cal s third in the varsity eight event). Yale also medaled in two of the three events, a feat matched only by Stanford and Cal. Their Eastern Sprints-winning novice eight adds to a deep team that is looking to continue its three-year Eastern Sprints winning streak and regain its NCAA varsity eight champion titles. This strong Yale crew took first among colleges in the champ eight event at the Head of the Charles and defended that win against Princeton, Brown, and Virginia at the Princeton Chase a week later. But coach Will Porter says his team is not focusing on the past few years as its positive or negative motivation. I think the current team is aware that no one cares how good we were last year, said Porter. Every weekend this spring, we have an opportunity to prac- 24

25 2010 Collegiate Preview tice how we cover the distance against an unknown opponent. The Elis return five of last year s varsity eight rowers and 15 from their NCAA squad, a deep team sure to be a strong contender this spring. Perennially competitive Brown is back in the medal hunt this year, looking to improve on a fifthplace team finish in Returning more than half of its NCAA-finalist varsity eight and second varsity eight, Brown finished fifth among colleges in the champ eight event at the Head of the Charles this fall. Coach John Murphy, the winningest coach in the history of the NCAA team championship, will be looking to regain the Eastern Sprints team title and the NCAA team title for Bruno this year. Radcliffe also looks to be a team on the rise, after a 2009 season that saw them return to the medal stand in every varsity event at Eastern Sprints. Although the Black-and-White finished 14th among teams at NCAAs, the young team finished within a few seconds of Stanford and Michigan in the champ eight event at the Head of the Charles this past fall. Radcliffe will be looking to improve off of its fifth-place finish in the varsity eight at its Crew Classic season opener. The Black-and-White return four of its varsity eight members and 15 of its NCAA squad members. Princeton also looks to be building towards a strong team presence in 2010, both within the Sprints League and nationally. Last year s NCAA grand final placement by the varsity eight helped lift lackluster perfomances by the second varsity eight and third varsity four with coxswain to an overall 10th-place team result for the Tigers. Returning six of its varsity eight members, Princeton looks to have a fast first eight again this year, taking third among colleges in the champ eight at the 2009 Head of the Charles, and third (behind Yale and Virginia) at the Princeton Chase. Coach Lori Dauphiny has focused her crew this year on taking things one race at a time, but with a big-picture goal in mind. We learned that there is room for improvement, said Dauphiny. I believe that we will have more depth than last year. We are ready to get back on the water and test our ability. The 37th racing of the Eastern Sprints will be held May 16 in Camden, N.J. The PAC-10 Champi- Women s varsity eights from top to bottom: Yale University, University of Virginia and Stanford University. 25

26 2010 Collegiate Preview Above: Western Washington University won its fifth-straight NCAA Division II title in Opposite page: Division III Champions Williams College. onships will be raced May 16 at Lake Natoma, Calif. The ACC Championships will be held April 24 at Lake Hartwell, S.C. The Big Ten Championships will be raced May 1 in East Lansing, Mich. This year s NCAA championships will be held May at Lake Natoma, Calif. DIVISION II This looks to be another strong year for Western Washington University, who in 2009 captured its fifthstraight NCAA title. The Vikings are returning seven of their varsity eight rowers from last year, as well as three of their varsity four rowers. The Vikings, who have placed among the top three teams for the past eight years, have the strong leadership of three-time CRCA DII Coach of the Year John Fuchs. However, last year s biggest challenger, Mercyhurst College, is looking to reclaim its number-one ranking from last year and this time, carry it all the way through the NCAA final. Last year, the Lakers, coached by 2009 CRCA DII Coach of the Year Adrian Spracklen, won their first medal at the NCAA Championships since Mercyhurst finished second in the varsity eight and finished a deck out of second place in the varsity four with coxswain, earning them a second-place NCAA team finish. 26 Nova Southeastern will also be looking for a spot atop the medal stand this year. Last year s NCAA third-place team finisher earned its rank with a decisive win in the varsity four and will be looking to improve on its sixth-place finish in the varsity eight. The Sharks, led by coach John Gartin, are returning five of nine members of last year s varsity eight and all but one from their varsity four with coxswain. Other teams to watch this year include Seattle Pacific University, who last year turned an at-large NCAA bid into a third-place finish in the varsity eight; Philadelphia University, who finished fourth in the varsity eight and fourth as a team; and Dowling College, who finished fifth in the varsity eight. Regional championships for the west, east, and south teams begin in April. NCAA team and at-large varsity eight bids will be announced Tuesday, May 11. The NCAA Division II Championships will be raced May at Lake Natoma, Calif. DIVISION III The question in NCAA DIII women s rowing this year is: who is going to unseat Williams? Last year saw the Ephs defend their title in the varsity eight and capture their fourth-straight NCAA team title. Williams appears to be on track for a fifth national title

27 2010 Collegiate Preview in 2010, after its top two eights took first and second among DIII schools at the Head of the Charles Regatta this past fall. The depth is there, said coach Justin Moore, the 2009 CRCA DIII Coach of the Year. But I believe both crews can find more speed this spring. We have improved our racing schedule, with some challenging early races against DI scholarship teams. However, several strong teams in Williams New England conference, as well as in the New York conference, challenged the Ephs throughout the 2009 season, and will be looking to take the title from them this year. Chief among the competitors is Bates, whose first varsity eight pushed through a fast-starting Williams boat to take the lead just before the final sprint in the NCAA final. Although Williams was able to regain the top spot in the final strokes, Bates definitely made its presence felt, and is aiming to build on that momentum this year. We got on the water the earliest we ve ever been on it this spring, said coach Peter Steenstra. And we re banking on that extra water time to help us start our season with some big wins, and get ahead of Williams earlier in the season. Trinity College, the third-place finisher in both the NCAA final and in the team championship, also looks to be on track for an even stronger performance this year. The Bantams won the Head of the Charles collegiate four with coxswain event by nearly 15 seconds this past fall, and will put their training to the test early this season, finishing first among DIII crews at the San Diego Crew Classic last weekend. Other schools to watch this year include last year s fourth-place team finishers at NCAAs, Ithaca College; the West Coast Conference s top team finisher, the University of Puget Sound; and both Smith College and St. Lawrence University, who tied for sixth in the NCAA Team Championship last year. The New England Championships will be held May 1 on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The New York State Championships will be held May 1-2 at Whitney Point Lake in Whitney Point, N.Y. The Northwest Collegiate Rowing Championships (NCRCs) will be raced April 17 at Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Wash., and the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association s Championships (WIRAs) will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Natoma, Calif. The Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship will be raced April 24 on Pinchot Lake in Lewisberry, Pa. The Dad Vail Championship will be raced May 7-8 in Philadelphia, Pa. The NCAA DIII Championships will be raced May at Lake Natoma, Calif. LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN The IRA Championship last year had some exciting upsets in the lightweight women s eight, with Radcliffe topping Georgetown and Princeton, and Bucknell pushing through Stanford in the final 500 meters. But one completely unsurprising performance came from Wisconsin, which led wire-to-wire and won by two boatlengths of open water. At the 2009 Eastern Sprints, the Badgers won the varsity eight and second varsity eight, additionally capturing second and fourth in the varsity four en route to winning the team championship. And Wisconsin only seems to be getting faster, turning in a smoking-fast performance at the Head of the Charles this fall where the Badgers bested second-place Vesper by 26 seconds, and were nearly 50 seconds ahead of the next collegiate team. With six athletes back from the 2009 varsity eight, the Badgers don t just look good on paper. They are already performing on the water and look poised to continue their two-year reign. Last year s IRA silver-medalists, Bucknell, stayed largely off the radar this past fall, but its young boat from last year five freshmen raced in the IRA varsity eight has only gained speed and maturity. 27

28 2010 Collegiate Preview The Bison continue to rebuild and grow this year; four IRA varsity eight returnees could help spur the program to a competitive 2010 IRA finish. Georgetown appears to be on track to improve significantly on its disappointing fifth-place finish at last year s IRAs. The Hoyas took second among collegiate entries in the Head of the Charles lightweight eight event and the top two eights finished second and fourth at the Princeton Chase this past fall. Georgetown s deep team managed to find a medal stand in every event at the 2009 Eastern Sprints a feat which earned it a second-place team finish behind Wisconsin. This year, the Hoyas will be looking to use their depth to a more significant advantage. Bronze medalists at the 2009 IRAs, Stanford struggled in its fall racing but look to be back on track for another strong performance this year. After a disappointing ninth-place finish at the Head of the Charles last fall, the Cardinal captured the lightweight Coggeshall Cup at last weekend s San Diego Crew Classic. The young crew will need to find more maturity and poise to make its competitive mark this spring. Radcliffe has put forth a solid season so far, and looks to be a strong medal contender at IRAs. The Black-and-White took third among collegiate lightweight crews at the Head of the Charles, and finished just behind Georgetown at the Princeton Chase. Last year s fourth-place finisher at the IRA is returning seven rowers from that IRA crew. With one of the largest squads Radcliffe has ever fielded, this is a crew that every opponent should ready themselves for. Princeton has also stepped up their expectations and performance in After finishing last in the grand final at IRAs, the Tigers are aiming to make it onto the medal stand this year. A fourthplace finish among college lightweight crews at the Head of the Charles and a 12-second win at the Princeton Chase point to a crew that is determined to make its mark. Last year s young crew now has a year of racing and training under its belt. The team that took second in the varsity and won the varsity four in 2009 could be in a position to improve on those placings this year. Top: Bucknell University Women s Lightweight Eight. Middle: Georgetown University Women s Lightweight Eight. Bottom: University of Wisconsin Women s Lightweight Eight. 28

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