SU MEN TAKE FIRST, WOMEN SECOND AT SYRACUSE INVITATIONAL.



It was a windy (strong and gusty from the south) day and a windy (turns and buoys down the Seneca River) course and when it was over nearly 70 crews had rowed the distance at the Syracuse Invitational. SU’s Men’s Varsity Four A boat won its event over Cornell and eleven others crews. SU’s Women’s Varsity Four A rowed through Buffalo (the crew, not the city) to finish second behind the Big Red’s A four.

Men’s Coach Dave Reischman was the starter for the head race so didn’t get to see his crew perform, but said the guys in the boat reported handling the gusts well and rowing clean, which is encouraging. Reischman says the times show some improvement for the B and C fours. “They looked better,” he said. “But they’re not there yet.

Women’s Coach Kris Sanford said her top crews did not deal with the tough conditions as well as she’d have liked. “We have to be able to handle wind and torrential whiteout rain when it comes,” Sanford said. Still she was upbeat. Sanford has been putting the women’s team through some brutal workouts this fall and she says the athletes have responded very well. “I love this team,” she said. “I’m thrilled with what they’ve been doing.”



The men’s A boat was all juniors – the same guys who were the stern four and cox in their freshman boat in the spring of ’08 – Mike Gennaro stroking, the Berry Brothers Dan and Vince at three and bow and Dan Turner at two. Kenny Marfilius coxed.



Reischman said consistency was the key to handling the conditions. "Its' always changing," he said. "The water was pretty flat at the start but then you'd come around a corner and the wind would punch you right in the face."

For the women’s A four, Lydia Wong coxed, Sydney Axson was stroke. Susan Groff at three, Allison Ehrke and two and Natalie Mastracci in bow.



Just about everybody on both squads got into one of the varsity fours ot a freshman eight.

Other schools competing were Colgate, Rochester and Marist along with UB and Cornell.

Coach Reischman's report on the Princeton Chase

Conditions: 61 degrees, sunny, light head wind, lots of current from rain day before.

Click here for complete times etc.

Eights Summary: The quick summary of results is that our first boat was 6th and our second boat was 40 seconds back in 25th place. Princeton won and was 11.4 seconds out on us with Yale, Columbia, BU, and Cornell all sandwiched in between the winners and us. I was pretty happy with the varsity’s race for the first time down a race course this year. We were clean and had a decent rhythm for much of the race. The guys felt the let the pace sag a little bit too much in the middle part of the race course but rowed solid in the first part and last part of the race. That is pretty typical of a crew’s first fall race. The second boat really struggled to find the type of rhythm that they had in practice and 40 seconds is too far off our first boat. We will have to address that moving forward.

Fours Summary: After the eights race the guys get about 30 minutes of rest then we split the eights up in to fours and go back out for race #2. I like fours racing in the fall because I think you get a better look at the strengths and weaknesses of your squad. Again, I think the results are pretty telling of the challenges we will face in the spring. Our “A” boat (all juniors) had a great race and finished second to a strong Princeton crew by 0.4 seconds. A close one! Not a bad margin for just over 13 minutes of racing. Strong rhythm and good cadence al l the way down the course. There was a pesky BU crew in front of us that probably should have yielded the last turn to us but insisted on staying in our way. Such is fall racing. The “B” and “C” boats didn’t have very good races at all and this is, obviously, a bit of a concern. They were 74 seconds back of the “A” boat and that isn’t a good margin for either boat. We had this same issue, although not such a big margin, last year at this race and we were able to get things back on track by Thanksgiving so we will have the same challenge this year.

Frosh Head of the Fish Report: Our frosh had their first race of the fall at the Head of the Fish. The first race for frosh is always a huge learning experience, particularly for the Novices in the crowd. Everyone survived the ordeal quite well. Our A boat finished first by 25 seconds over Hobart. The B boat finished 4th. I am looking forward to seeing these guys race again this coming weekend.

Next Up: On this Saturday, October 31st, we will be hosting our own fall head race at the Ten Eyck Boathouse. The varsity will race in fours and the frosh will race in eights. We will keep our “A” 4+ the same this week. To determine the rest of the fours line ups we will have a pairs race on Thursday AM. For most of the fall I decide on pairs partners but I told the guys they can choose their own partners for this one. We will see if we find some interesting new combinations for the B and C fours and if we can close that gap. The race course for this weekend starts on the Seneca River about half way to the Belgium Bridge (at channel marker 258) and finishes in front of the boathouse at the Long Branch Bridge. Racing starts at 10:00 am!

Head of the Charles - Orange Alums uniquely prepared for conditions

As Dave Reischman would say, "it was Syracuse weather!"

That's the meteorological report from this year's Head of the Charles, aka the three-mile-long party with a boat race running thru it. Saturday dawned cold - not chilly, not brisk, not bracing - but damn cold - and I would know as my race was the first of the day. Tom Darling let me use his rack space at Cambridge Boat Club - and although it was just a tiny bit too high for me (as most rack spaces are), launching from CBC was a whole lot better than the 'public' launch site - Thanks Tom!

The Orange were well represented in at the Charles; Tom took a year off (tough for a guy who finished second last year), but his Club-Mate Tracy Smith raced, as did Jen Sacheck, Bill Purdy, el Presidente Jason Premo, Joey Peter, Chip Gibson, and probably a few other alums I don't know about. The ones who raced on Saturday were blessed by the weather gods - after the first race it warmed up considerably, and it was actually pretty nice for most of the day.

Sunday was the Polar Opposite (notice the double meaning???), with conditions ranging (in descending order) from miserable to horrible to just like Long Branch in March. Cold, windy, with snow at times, the conditions forced Jen to change launching sites to avoid swamping before the start, but she powered thru in her single, chattering teeth, sleet-encrusted racing shirt and all.

Prez Premo had better luck racing in the 40+4+ with several other SU alumns - John Dancks, Daavid Schnall, and Eric Summers, passing three crews and holding off another crew for the last thousand after an inspirational, if brief, speech ("Push them back!") from the Prez.

Bill Purdy was also racing in the senior master's 4+, and won...for something like the sixth time. The competition is getting closer, but I suspect Bill and his buds are just toying with them.

Future Prez, tech guru, and all-around fine human being Tracy Smith jumped in a quad to race the Director's Cup. Trace et al powered down the course in fine fashion, coming in a very close second to a crew that was probably cutting arches/had a motor/pulled a Rosie Ruiz - how else could they beat Tracy??

Chip Gibson raced in the Alumni 8 event for Belmont Hill, which managed to squeeze in one whole practice before the race. Paddling up to the start line Chip saw Bojan Mandaric, former SU Grad Assistant extraordinaire and Northeastern alum (looks like Bojan et al won the event) and a bunch of other guys he'd seen on the start line in his college days. Chip is pushing for an SU alumni boat for next year (he is hereby in charge of said alumni 8, you can reach him at cgibsonjrATdelandgibsoninsDOTcom, please send erg scores and monetary bribes).

Racing in the Grand Master's Single (unlike chess, all you have to do to qualify is survive into your fifties to qualify...), I had the chance to say hello to the guy starting right behind me - some schlub named Tiff Wood. After the greetings, I suggested he hang back so I could let him go by after the BU Bridge. Tiff, who is a very nice guy, obliged. Outside of some pretty creative steering and a little difficulty getting warm enough to race hard, the race went well, the result about where I wanted (in the top half), and it convinced me that its time to get back into racing.

Full results are here.

Did you race in the Head of the Charles?

If you did, shoot me an email w the event, what was the most fun, and any other details you feel like providing, especially info about other alums who suffered thru the race.

email to jpadudaAThealthstrategyassocDOTcom

Fall 2010 Banquet Date Set

The Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association is pleased to announce that a date has been set for a SARA Rowing Banquet, which will be held in Syracuse on Saturday, October 30, 2010.

This event, which the SARA Board hopes to make an annual function, will coincide with the Syracuse Invitational Regatta (men and women both racing at home) as well as the 30th, 20th and 10th Reunions for the SU Women.

Additional details to follow!

2009 Foot of the Charles

Alums!  Mark your calendars.

The SU women will be in Boston to race the Foot of the Charles Regatta on Saturday, November 14.

Race times and launching location to follow shortly.

Kris Sanford Inducted into Children's Museum International Hall of Fame

Check out the full story on the SU Rowing website.

Congratulations Kris!

Crew of 1959 - Hall of Fame...Reflections on the Weekend

From SARA President Jason Premo:

Well, for those who were unable to attend, we had a very successful, very feel-good weekend. Eight of the nine Champions returned to Syracuse, as did two of the spares and the manager! It was wonderful to see how impactful their rowing experience at SU was, and remains to be, in their lives. And equally nice that their return brought such happiness and fond memories.

The '59 guys and the '56 Frosh Champions each had nice private dinners ("filled with tears" as one oarsman put it) Friday night, followed by a small gathering at Pascales.

Saturday morning two alumni boats took to the water, including the original Champion line-up from 50 years ago! An able Chuck Levy gladly filled in at 4 seat. They Champs looked smooth and invigorated by being back out there. After the row, the '59 Boat was inducted into the Syracuse Rowing Hall of Fame*, and given plaques, framed photos, and awesome commemorative shirts, designed by Lynne Pascale. A few members of the squad, including Captain Jim Kries had some stirring words to share, again reminding us of the power of their experiences here. Then more than 50 of us attended the football game ....ehem....

Many headed to the follow-up gathering at the Inn Complete (thanks Tracy!), where we all had another chance to hear stories from the Champs before everyone said goodbye.

In all, a great weekend, and an encouraging reminder that we should continue to put such events together and embrace the history and community that Syracuse Rowing provides us with.

Enjoy the Fall, Everyone!

Jason

Race Report from Poughkeepsie

Via Coach Kris Sanford:
We took one 8 down to Poughkeepsie this past weekend to race in the Poughkeepsie Regatta commemorating the history of the IRA regatta. It was a very unique event and I am very happy we could be a part of it. The boat was chosen based upon a 6k erg test and a pair trial.

We travelled down to the race site on Friday. Our van broke down 40 miles outside of Syracuse, but with the expert driving of assistant coach Pete Magee and help of the folks at the athletic department, we ended up being only about an hour behind. Rowing is always a challenge on the Hudson and practice was no exception. Although we did not have much boat traffic, the wind picked up pretty quickly and we had to cut our practice short due to the chop. It was great to get on the course though – it was a 4 mile course and really a coxswain race so it was good to get out there and see it.

That evening, we attended a dinner alongside the river where they played old films of the IRA’s. My dad was the guest speaker and gave a great history of the days of glory when the boats were lined up side by side and started with a cannon! People at the start knew who won the race because they had a rocket that they shot up with colored smoke with the school colors who won. It was a great event and the athletes saw a glimpse of the history of the sport. Poughkeepsie was also celebrating the opening of the longest footpath across water in the world (very, very cool!) and so after dinner we were able to watch a lantern and fireworks show.

When we showed up to race on Saturday, the water was flat and perfect for racing. We were the first race to go off so we got the best water, although the chop had picked up considerably by the time we started. The officials lined us up side by side in the middle of the river mimicking the old IRA style and said go. The lane assignments were as follows – 1 – Vassar, 2 – Army, 3 – Marist, 4- Cornell, 5 – Syracuse, 6 – Penn, 7 – Columbia. We were first off the line followed very closely by Cornell. The first two miles of the race were great – we rowed at 31 ½ (as did Cornell) even though we have not rowed there yet this year. We went stroke for stroke with Cornell for the first 2 miles. Everyone else fell way behind. To have the opportunity to race so closely with someone for so long is priceless – both boats were fierce and showed great courage. At the two mile mark, Cornell began to move out on us and slowly walked away. We finished 2nd behind them and well ahead (at least a minute) of everyone else. I was pleased with the first half of the race. The 2nd half of the race was not bad – Cornell just moved and we did not rally. A barge went by and we did not handle the wakes very well. I also believe that Cornell was rowing more efficiently than us and so we paid the price of the first 2 miles in the 2nd half of the race. The team is very excited to see Cornell and others again in 3 weeks at the Princeton Chase when we have a few more weeks of practice under their belts.

I was very skeptical of this race going into it as we had only been on the water for 2 weeks and 4 miles is really long (25 minutes in fact!) for so early in the season. But after having been there, I am really happy we went. The team learned some valuable lessons, got some racing under them, and saw a great glimpse of rowing history that they were not aware of.

To date, the team has been doing really well this fall. We are addressing 2 issues that I believe are our weaknesses – technical efficiency and fitness. In the past, we have trained approximately 14 – 15 hours a week. We have increased that to a full 20 hours a week. Everyone does two practices a day M – Th, one on Friday and Saturday. A typical week’s schedule looks like this:

M – W Row 6:30 – 8:30 AM, 1 – 1.5 hour scheduled erg in the afternoon
T – Th Row 6 – 7:30 AM, lift weights 8 – 9 on campus, 1 hour run in the afternoon
F – 4 -6PM row
S – 8 – 11 row

Everyone is working really hard, not complaining, and really buying into what we all believe is going to take us to the next level.

On the technical front, I have brought in my dad to help coach the varsity M – Th mornings. This has been so helpful as another coach allows actual coaching to take place instead of just practice management!! Coaching just 1 or 2 eights is very manageable and people are getting lots of individual technical attention. This will definitely pay off come spring.

Things are going really well for us and momentum is huge. The work we are doing is going to pay off and the athletes really buy into that. The NCAA also recently voted to go to automatic qualifiers for the NCAA championships which means that we have a direct way into the championship through the Big East Championship. This format begins in 2011.

It is a great time to be a part of this program whether you are a current or past rower. I encourage you to get out and see us on the water at one of our racing venues – we love the support and it will bring back great memories of your days on the water!

Hall of Fame Plaques - 1959 Crew

Homecoming Weekend

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