If you've been wondering about the state of college athletics, and maybe marveling at Harvard's recent top-25 basketball rating, or last year when Yale held the top ranking in NCAA D1 men's hockey for two months, Cornell's wrestling team was number one in the country the entire season, or the year before when the Big Red men's basketball team made it to the Sweet Sixteen, wonder no more.
Turns out the Ivies are handing out big money to athletes that are heavily recruited by big time NCAA D1 programs...and some are accepting aspiring students with GPAs and test scores that aren't exactly Ivy League.
An excerpt from an article in today's NYT is below; emphasis added;
"The Ivy League does not award athletic scholarships, but led by endowment-rich members like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, the conference has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in additional need-based aid — with most of the universities all but eliminating student loans and essentially doubling the size of grants meant for middle-income families.
The financial-aid enhancements have had a profound effect on the quality of athletic recruits. Rosters are now fortified with top athletes who would have turned down the Ivy League in the past because they would have been asked to pay $20,000 to $30,000 per year more than at other colleges.
“We’re seeing a significant change in the caliber of the student-athlete,” said Steve Bilsky, the University of Pennsylvania’s athletic director, one of more than 50 Ivy League administrators and coaches interviewed. “It’s not even the same population because the pool has widened. We see a considerable number of student-athletes turning down athletic scholarships from places like Stanford, Northwestern or Duke to come to Penn.”
Andy Noel, Cornell’s athletic director, said: “Eighty percent of our best recruits in the current freshman class would not have come here 10 years ago because we couldn’t match other schools’ offers. The impact has been enormous. And will continue to be.”
A recruited Ivy League athlete must have the academic credentials to survive the stringent and highly selective admissions process at each institution. Coaches have little sway in the admissions process, although they do provide a list of potential athletes to admissions officials. Across the league, about 13 percent of each university’s incoming class is composed of athletes chosen from coaches’ lists.
But the new, plentiful financial aid awards have permitted Ivy League coaches to compete head-to-head in the same recruiting arena as some big-time scholarship programs. And in sports like baseball, soccer, wrestling or lacrosse, where most athletic scholarships are split into partial scholarships worth a half or a quarter of the cost to attend, it is not uncommon for an Ivy League financial aid package to be superior to the athletic scholarship.
At most Ivy League institutions, families earning less than about $65,000 annually are now asked to make no contribution to their children’s education. Families making $65,000 to $180,000 might be expected to pay 10 percent to 18 percent of their annual income on a sliding scale. Ten years ago, such families would have been expected to pay almost twice as much, and their child would probably have accumulated a debt of about $25,000 after four years."
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
National Champions - Part Five
This is the final installment of the first chapter of the new history of Syracuse rowing, entitled Mark of the Orange.
While the third 500 was the key, Street knew that Vic Michalson’s Brown was a very good headwind crew. This was shaping up to be a very long two thousand meters, and they’d have to go very, very hard to hold them off. After the effort of the third five hundred, that was a tall order indeed. Brown evidently knew it had to go early, as the SU lead was too big to overcome in the last thirty strokes. About ten strokes into the last five hundred, Street saw them begin to go. He told his crew “Here comes Brown, just relax.” Waiting for a few beats, the boat noticeably relaxed, the tension seemed to dissipate. Ozzie called the sprint, the rating came up, the boat was flying, and Brown’s push into the Syracuse lead halted, then reversed. With 20 strokes to go, the Orange bow was in front and moving away from Bruno. Those last twenty strokes, Henwood would say years later that he knew they would win, and despite the utter exhaustion, there was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, of joy. So much had gone into this six-and-a-half minutes, so many hours of training and so much effort and struggle, and now, in that instant, it was coming together just as they’d pictured it so many times.
As the Orange eight crossed the finish line, the stands erupted. The hometown crowd had watched and listened and cheered, dismay turning to exuberance as SU had driven through the field in that key third five hundred, held off Brown, then moved out again to win convincingly. Now, as the crew men waited their turn to pull into the awards dock, there were handshakes up and down the boat, back-slapping, yells of congratulations and a celebratory dive into Onondaga by Gerry Henwood. With bronze and silver medals awarded, SU pulled into the dock, Street called the ‘one foot, up and out’ and the oarsmen faced a roar from their coach, teammates, families, friends, and fans.
They had done it. They were IRA Varsity Champions.
For Sanford, the victory was sweet indeed. Walking down to the awards dock, he ran into the Herald-Journal’s Bob Snyder. Earlier, Sanford had heard Snyder was going to write Sanford’s epitaph if the Varsity didn’t come home with the trophy. Spotting Snyder, Sanford told him “Looks like you’re going to have to rewrite your story.”
Pedaling the short distance back to the boathouse from the finish line, Sanford recalled the difficult path they’d trod on the way to the podium. That opening loss to Harvard on a course shortened by a blizzard, the injury to Sibley, his decision to keep Street – at 146 pounds, by far the heaviest coxswain at the regatta – in the Varsity, the pressure to produce after two years of freshman championships, the prior year when he felt SU should have won. The memories flooded back, halted only when he pedaled up to the dock.
There, Ozzie Street was in full voice. Sanford remembers Street talking to the press, saying “I told everybody we had this thing back in April and nobody wanted to listen to me; now maybe in the future you’ll listen to me.” Recalling that moment, Sanford said “I can remember him going off and everybody laughing at him. He had a good time with it and he took full credit. He took full credit for it, which every one of them should have. But you’ve got a guy like (three man Andy) Mogish who sees a camera or a recorder and ducks away and he wouldn’t want to talk - and then you’d see (seven man) Bill Reid, who came out of his shell and he starts talking. The guy you couldn’t get that close to over the years, all the time he was feeling the same thing everybody else was. And he was a real big part of that whole thing.”
The crew threw Street into the river in celebration. And then they threw Sanford in too.
After 58 years, the Syracuse Varsity was finally back on top.
While the third 500 was the key, Street knew that Vic Michalson’s Brown was a very good headwind crew. This was shaping up to be a very long two thousand meters, and they’d have to go very, very hard to hold them off. After the effort of the third five hundred, that was a tall order indeed. Brown evidently knew it had to go early, as the SU lead was too big to overcome in the last thirty strokes. About ten strokes into the last five hundred, Street saw them begin to go. He told his crew “Here comes Brown, just relax.” Waiting for a few beats, the boat noticeably relaxed, the tension seemed to dissipate. Ozzie called the sprint, the rating came up, the boat was flying, and Brown’s push into the Syracuse lead halted, then reversed. With 20 strokes to go, the Orange bow was in front and moving away from Bruno. Those last twenty strokes, Henwood would say years later that he knew they would win, and despite the utter exhaustion, there was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, of joy. So much had gone into this six-and-a-half minutes, so many hours of training and so much effort and struggle, and now, in that instant, it was coming together just as they’d pictured it so many times.
As the Orange eight crossed the finish line, the stands erupted. The hometown crowd had watched and listened and cheered, dismay turning to exuberance as SU had driven through the field in that key third five hundred, held off Brown, then moved out again to win convincingly. Now, as the crew men waited their turn to pull into the awards dock, there were handshakes up and down the boat, back-slapping, yells of congratulations and a celebratory dive into Onondaga by Gerry Henwood. With bronze and silver medals awarded, SU pulled into the dock, Street called the ‘one foot, up and out’ and the oarsmen faced a roar from their coach, teammates, families, friends, and fans.
They had done it. They were IRA Varsity Champions.
For Sanford, the victory was sweet indeed. Walking down to the awards dock, he ran into the Herald-Journal’s Bob Snyder. Earlier, Sanford had heard Snyder was going to write Sanford’s epitaph if the Varsity didn’t come home with the trophy. Spotting Snyder, Sanford told him “Looks like you’re going to have to rewrite your story.”
Pedaling the short distance back to the boathouse from the finish line, Sanford recalled the difficult path they’d trod on the way to the podium. That opening loss to Harvard on a course shortened by a blizzard, the injury to Sibley, his decision to keep Street – at 146 pounds, by far the heaviest coxswain at the regatta – in the Varsity, the pressure to produce after two years of freshman championships, the prior year when he felt SU should have won. The memories flooded back, halted only when he pedaled up to the dock.
There, Ozzie Street was in full voice. Sanford remembers Street talking to the press, saying “I told everybody we had this thing back in April and nobody wanted to listen to me; now maybe in the future you’ll listen to me.” Recalling that moment, Sanford said “I can remember him going off and everybody laughing at him. He had a good time with it and he took full credit. He took full credit for it, which every one of them should have. But you’ve got a guy like (three man Andy) Mogish who sees a camera or a recorder and ducks away and he wouldn’t want to talk - and then you’d see (seven man) Bill Reid, who came out of his shell and he starts talking. The guy you couldn’t get that close to over the years, all the time he was feeling the same thing everybody else was. And he was a real big part of that whole thing.”
The crew threw Street into the river in celebration. And then they threw Sanford in too.
After 58 years, the Syracuse Varsity was finally back on top.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
National Champions, part four
This is the fourth installment of the first chapter of Mark of the Orange 2 - the history of SU Rowing from 1962 to today.
Before the race, cox Ozzie Street and Sibley had discussed the crew’s weak point – the third 500. All season this had been a bit of a problem, and the other crews that had raced successfully against SU had usually made their move there. Sibley and Street decided they had to break that pattern. For the finals, the plan was to start well, stay among the leaders, then pull all out the stops in the third 500 and break away.
The finals featured Penn, Cornell, Northeastern, SU, Brown, and California with the Orange in “lucky lane five” (where Henwood, Street, and Sibley had been a year before when they won the second of Drew Harrison’s three consecutive IRA frosh titles). It turned out to be a classic Syracuse IRA race – a bit of chop, good headwind and a tight pack with no clear favorite.
“Are you ready? Ready all. Row!” They were off.
The pack was pretty tight off the line. Then it settled into a dogfight. Henwood felt a lot of splashing at the start. Then the pace settled, the legs started pounding down, and while the boat wasn’t the smoothest it had been, it was moving. It felt stronger and more powerful somehow, definitely different than the feeling in the heats and reps in the two days before.
The good feeling in the boat wasn’t felt by SU fans on the shore. Listening to the race announcer, they heard the Orange in fifth place after five hundred meters. Out in lane five, the conditions were somewhat rougher than the more-protected inside lanes, and that may have helped the near shore crews open up an early lead. But Syracuse was under-stroking the field at a 33, waiting for conditions to improve.
Coming to the thousand meter mark, the Orangemen were right where they wanted to be, behind Penn, Cornell, and Brown all in the inshore lanes, but well within striking distance. Cal wasn’t handling the conditions as well and seemed to be faltering just a bit, while Northeastern’s hard effort the day before in the heat seemed to have taken a toll; NU fell off the pace in the second five hundred.
Ahead at the finish line, the crowd may well have groaned upon hearing Syracuse was in fourth at the midpoint, but Sanford wasn’t concerned. He was thinking “just keep a steady pace as the water gets better, up your stroke and you’re going to go faster and faster and so at the 1,000 meter mark we were in fourth place and then we just went through the rest of them in the last 1,000 just by swinging and rhythm and taking the stroke to a 34-35 as the water got better. And we were long as hell. We were the longest crew out there and into that headwind that paid off because then they just went by – just motored away.”
The Orange were determined to make this their strength; for weeks they’d been focusing on driving through the third 500, and the crew dug in. As the Orange entered the third five hundred, from the bow seat Henwood saw the engine room in the middle of the boat “moving a wall of water with each stroke”. With the powerful Purdy, Evancie, Shamlian and Townsley driving the boat into the headwind, they started to move away from Penn and Cornell. Halfway thru that 500, SU had broken clear of Penn and Cornell, leaving Northeastern, and Cal further back. The power kept coming, and with 500 to go it was SU in front of Brown by almost a length.
Syracuse had gone from well back in fourth to well out in the lead in just five hundred meters. The Orangemen had taken the worst part of their race, that dread third five hundred, when the legs are screaming and there’s so far to go and they had made it theirs.
Before the race, cox Ozzie Street and Sibley had discussed the crew’s weak point – the third 500. All season this had been a bit of a problem, and the other crews that had raced successfully against SU had usually made their move there. Sibley and Street decided they had to break that pattern. For the finals, the plan was to start well, stay among the leaders, then pull all out the stops in the third 500 and break away.
The finals featured Penn, Cornell, Northeastern, SU, Brown, and California with the Orange in “lucky lane five” (where Henwood, Street, and Sibley had been a year before when they won the second of Drew Harrison’s three consecutive IRA frosh titles). It turned out to be a classic Syracuse IRA race – a bit of chop, good headwind and a tight pack with no clear favorite.
“Are you ready? Ready all. Row!” They were off.
The pack was pretty tight off the line. Then it settled into a dogfight. Henwood felt a lot of splashing at the start. Then the pace settled, the legs started pounding down, and while the boat wasn’t the smoothest it had been, it was moving. It felt stronger and more powerful somehow, definitely different than the feeling in the heats and reps in the two days before.
The good feeling in the boat wasn’t felt by SU fans on the shore. Listening to the race announcer, they heard the Orange in fifth place after five hundred meters. Out in lane five, the conditions were somewhat rougher than the more-protected inside lanes, and that may have helped the near shore crews open up an early lead. But Syracuse was under-stroking the field at a 33, waiting for conditions to improve.
Coming to the thousand meter mark, the Orangemen were right where they wanted to be, behind Penn, Cornell, and Brown all in the inshore lanes, but well within striking distance. Cal wasn’t handling the conditions as well and seemed to be faltering just a bit, while Northeastern’s hard effort the day before in the heat seemed to have taken a toll; NU fell off the pace in the second five hundred.
Ahead at the finish line, the crowd may well have groaned upon hearing Syracuse was in fourth at the midpoint, but Sanford wasn’t concerned. He was thinking “just keep a steady pace as the water gets better, up your stroke and you’re going to go faster and faster and so at the 1,000 meter mark we were in fourth place and then we just went through the rest of them in the last 1,000 just by swinging and rhythm and taking the stroke to a 34-35 as the water got better. And we were long as hell. We were the longest crew out there and into that headwind that paid off because then they just went by – just motored away.”
The Orange were determined to make this their strength; for weeks they’d been focusing on driving through the third 500, and the crew dug in. As the Orange entered the third five hundred, from the bow seat Henwood saw the engine room in the middle of the boat “moving a wall of water with each stroke”. With the powerful Purdy, Evancie, Shamlian and Townsley driving the boat into the headwind, they started to move away from Penn and Cornell. Halfway thru that 500, SU had broken clear of Penn and Cornell, leaving Northeastern, and Cal further back. The power kept coming, and with 500 to go it was SU in front of Brown by almost a length.
Syracuse had gone from well back in fourth to well out in the lead in just five hundred meters. The Orangemen had taken the worst part of their race, that dread third five hundred, when the legs are screaming and there’s so far to go and they had made it theirs.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Christmas is coming!
First published in 1963, Mark of the Oarsmen is a narrative history of Syracuse University rowing from 1885 to 1960. SARA has orchestrated the second printing of Mark of the Oarsmen and is now available for alumni and friends of Syracuse rowing. The newly printed 400 page / 80 photo hardcover book will be shipped to you direct from the Ingram Press for the cost of $39.95 (this price includes shipping).This book is an absolute must read for anyone who has pulled an oar for Syracuse. Plan ahead...this makes a great holiday gift!
“Ten Eyck’s varsity crew dashed off to a beautiful start, managed to hold a three foot lead over the Sailors at the first eight mile.
Navy began to come up.
Rammi raised the Syracuse beat.
Stroke for stroke, the two crews races together until a few yards away from the finish, Syracuse with a mighty surge shot out in front by a quarter boat length and won." - Excerpt from Mark of the Oarsmen
Saturday, December 10, 2011
National Champions! Part Three
Despite having to work their way into the Grands via the repechage, Varsity bowman Gerry Henwood and the rest of the crew knew their boat was comprised of guys who had won at the IRAs before in Drew Harrison’s victorious 1976 and 1977 crews, along with seniors Bill Reid, Andy Mogish, future Olympian Bill Purdy, Tom Evancie, and Dave Townsley who all had won silver as freshmen. If anything, the reps had helped the crew get just a bit more racing experience, a big help after the late-season injury to sophomore stroke Art Sibley had resulted in a line-up shift for the Packard Cup against Dartmouth
Weather for the finals featured a headwind causing the first thousand to be either “pretty” or “very” choppy depending on who’s recalling the conditions. The Varsity Grand Final would be the last race of the day, and there was lots of racing to be done before the closing event. In the first of the eights races, Drew Harrison’s freshman eight successfully defended its national championship, handily defeating Northeastern with Cornell coming in third. This was becoming a typical SU freshman performance, with the crew gaining considerable speed at IRA camp and defeating crews that had beaten them earlier in the season. Northeastern had won the Sprints, and the victory was sweet indeed for the Orange frosh. As the bemedaled and beaming freshman eight pulled away from the awards dock, the finish line crowd roared its approval of the first of what they hoped would be an Orange sweep of the eights. The freshmen had delivered, now it was up to the JV and Varsity.
Alas, while the JV was able to finish with a podium spot, it was not the top place. Capturing bronze behind Penn in front followed by the Northeastern Huskies, the second eight acquitted itself well, staying in contention throughout the race in conditions that were slow – and getting slower as the head wind seemed to build.
With the small boats and lower eights out of the way, it was time for the marquee event – the Varsity Eights.
Weather for the finals featured a headwind causing the first thousand to be either “pretty” or “very” choppy depending on who’s recalling the conditions. The Varsity Grand Final would be the last race of the day, and there was lots of racing to be done before the closing event. In the first of the eights races, Drew Harrison’s freshman eight successfully defended its national championship, handily defeating Northeastern with Cornell coming in third. This was becoming a typical SU freshman performance, with the crew gaining considerable speed at IRA camp and defeating crews that had beaten them earlier in the season. Northeastern had won the Sprints, and the victory was sweet indeed for the Orange frosh. As the bemedaled and beaming freshman eight pulled away from the awards dock, the finish line crowd roared its approval of the first of what they hoped would be an Orange sweep of the eights. The freshmen had delivered, now it was up to the JV and Varsity.
Alas, while the JV was able to finish with a podium spot, it was not the top place. Capturing bronze behind Penn in front followed by the Northeastern Huskies, the second eight acquitted itself well, staying in contention throughout the race in conditions that were slow – and getting slower as the head wind seemed to build.
With the small boats and lower eights out of the way, it was time for the marquee event – the Varsity Eights.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Rowing and Democracy
There's a pretty interesting bit of research underway to assess the influence of rowing - the trireme, three banks of oars, ancient Greek type of rowing - on the growth of democracy in Ancient Athens.
According to a piece from Bowdoin College's website,
"Many of the rowers were at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, recruited into service to fit out Athens’s sizeable naval fleet. Their participation in the ship’s teamwork was an embodiment of the new democratic ideal, says Munn.
“These people had no influence and all of the sudden the city adopts a new naval strategy and they’re at the heart of it,” he observes. “Think about what you need to function effectively in a democracy; you need to be able to work as a team. I believe it gave them the confidence to take the rights of the democracy and use them as a political force.”
We'll keep you posted.
Now, we who rowed under Drew, Bill, and Dave know that "democracy" does NOT accurately describe Syracuse rowing - but perhaps that's because ancient Syracuse was one of Athens' rivals...
According to a piece from Bowdoin College's website,
"Many of the rowers were at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, recruited into service to fit out Athens’s sizeable naval fleet. Their participation in the ship’s teamwork was an embodiment of the new democratic ideal, says Munn.
“These people had no influence and all of the sudden the city adopts a new naval strategy and they’re at the heart of it,” he observes. “Think about what you need to function effectively in a democracy; you need to be able to work as a team. I believe it gave them the confidence to take the rights of the democracy and use them as a political force.”
We'll keep you posted.
Now, we who rowed under Drew, Bill, and Dave know that "democracy" does NOT accurately describe Syracuse rowing - but perhaps that's because ancient Syracuse was one of Athens' rivals...
Friday, December 2, 2011
Mark 2 - part 3
Talking with his crew before launch on Friday, Coach Sanford reminded them that “as bad as the boat felt and as bad as your rowed you all know what the boat feels like when it’s going well.” He told the guys to remember what it felt like when they were going well, remember they were relaxed…don’t put any extra pressure on, just go out and row what you’re trained to row and you’ll be fine.”
Off the line, and pretty much throughout the race, Northeastern set a furious pace; SU was content with a solid and comfortable second. The top two would qualify. The day was hot, with temperatures near ninety, and the decision to not go all out may have been influenced by Evancie’s dehydration the day before. Whatever the reason, at the end of the Friday morning racing, SU’s Varsity was into the finals, albeit without the benefit of a win in either the heats or the reps.
The local press wasn’t overly impressed with the race, with one reporter noting “Syracuse was overhauled in the stretch for the second straight day and Syracuse winds up second behind Northeastern.” Both Northeastern and Syracuse were going to qualify comfortably, as third place Princeton was a solid two lengths behind the Orange and wasn’t a real threat at any time. The reporter noted that after the hard row in the previous day’s heats, Sanford’s crew was more than content to qualify without expending any additional energy, energy they’d certainly need in the finals on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours later they were at the starting line.
Off the line, and pretty much throughout the race, Northeastern set a furious pace; SU was content with a solid and comfortable second. The top two would qualify. The day was hot, with temperatures near ninety, and the decision to not go all out may have been influenced by Evancie’s dehydration the day before. Whatever the reason, at the end of the Friday morning racing, SU’s Varsity was into the finals, albeit without the benefit of a win in either the heats or the reps.
The local press wasn’t overly impressed with the race, with one reporter noting “Syracuse was overhauled in the stretch for the second straight day and Syracuse winds up second behind Northeastern.” Both Northeastern and Syracuse were going to qualify comfortably, as third place Princeton was a solid two lengths behind the Orange and wasn’t a real threat at any time. The reporter noted that after the hard row in the previous day’s heats, Sanford’s crew was more than content to qualify without expending any additional energy, energy they’d certainly need in the finals on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours later they were at the starting line.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
National Champions! Part Two
This is the second part of what will be the opening chapter in Mark 2.
It started with that loss to powerful Harvard on a Syracuse course shortened by the weather, then a Goes Cup win over Cornell, as Navy stayed home. The Eastern Sprints saw Yale upset the Harvard Varsity, with Syracuse finishing third.
The Orange looked to have another shot at Yale with the Eli joining Dartmouth and MIT on Packard Cup race day in Syracuse. But Orange stroke Sibley was nursing a pulled scapular muscle after the Sprints, forcing a change in the varsity lineup. Henwood moved from bow to the other end of the boat to stroke, with fellow soph Steve Anthony coming up from the JV to row in bow.
Alas, Dartmouth deprived SU of its shot at Yale by upsetting the Eli in the morning, as the Orange dispatched MIT. SU had to be content with taking care of the Big Green and winning the Packard Cup in the afternoon.
By all accounts, the boat had been flying at the Packard Cup, with Anthony’s mental toughness and power contributing to the dominant performance. Still, Sibley’s recovery was a big concern. While no one discounted Steve Anthony’s ability and will to move a boat, Sibley was the varsity’s guy and he had worried he wouldn’t be ready for the IRAs.
He wasn’t the only one wondering; a local reporter had asked Coach Sanford about Sibley’s status. The Coach’s response had been unequivocal – “we need Art in the boat at the IRA”. That opinion was shared by the crew. Seven man Bill Reid had insisted they go out in a pair while Art was working his way back, and the row had done wonders for Art’s confidence. Art recalled that Bill had told him he wanted nothing more than to get Art back in the boat, and he had come back to the dock at the end of the row with renewed confidence. (Soon) Sibley returned to his spot, facing Ozzie Street.
In spite of Sibley’s return the Varsity hadn’t moved well in Thursday’s opening heat. The boat had felt out of sync and heavy. Trying to get some swing in the boat, Street had called the rating down from 34 to 32 “to settle the crew down. I hoped dropping the cadence would get them in a rhythm, But it backfired and Cal began to move out on us,” and when the rhythm stumbled, the crew couldn’t get it back together. Despite holding on to the lead for the first part of the race, SU couldn’t maintain it. Cal pulled away in the last forty strokes, earning a spot in the finals and consigning the Orange to a trip to the reps. After the race, the crewmen were a bit dispirited; they’d worked very hard in the race but the boat hadn’t moved like it had in practice, and now had to race again on Friday.
Attitudes brightened when the crew learned that six-man Tom Evancie had been suffering from dehydration most of the race and thus had little left in the last 500. Evancie was hustled into the care of the trainers, who administered IV fluids. He started feeling much better before the day was over. As for Evancie’s teammates, they knew they had a much better race in them, and began to focus on their next race; the reps. The crew would have to race well on short rest to make the Grand Finals.
It started with that loss to powerful Harvard on a Syracuse course shortened by the weather, then a Goes Cup win over Cornell, as Navy stayed home. The Eastern Sprints saw Yale upset the Harvard Varsity, with Syracuse finishing third.
The Orange looked to have another shot at Yale with the Eli joining Dartmouth and MIT on Packard Cup race day in Syracuse. But Orange stroke Sibley was nursing a pulled scapular muscle after the Sprints, forcing a change in the varsity lineup. Henwood moved from bow to the other end of the boat to stroke, with fellow soph Steve Anthony coming up from the JV to row in bow.
Alas, Dartmouth deprived SU of its shot at Yale by upsetting the Eli in the morning, as the Orange dispatched MIT. SU had to be content with taking care of the Big Green and winning the Packard Cup in the afternoon.
By all accounts, the boat had been flying at the Packard Cup, with Anthony’s mental toughness and power contributing to the dominant performance. Still, Sibley’s recovery was a big concern. While no one discounted Steve Anthony’s ability and will to move a boat, Sibley was the varsity’s guy and he had worried he wouldn’t be ready for the IRAs.
He wasn’t the only one wondering; a local reporter had asked Coach Sanford about Sibley’s status. The Coach’s response had been unequivocal – “we need Art in the boat at the IRA”. That opinion was shared by the crew. Seven man Bill Reid had insisted they go out in a pair while Art was working his way back, and the row had done wonders for Art’s confidence. Art recalled that Bill had told him he wanted nothing more than to get Art back in the boat, and he had come back to the dock at the end of the row with renewed confidence. (Soon) Sibley returned to his spot, facing Ozzie Street.
In spite of Sibley’s return the Varsity hadn’t moved well in Thursday’s opening heat. The boat had felt out of sync and heavy. Trying to get some swing in the boat, Street had called the rating down from 34 to 32 “to settle the crew down. I hoped dropping the cadence would get them in a rhythm, But it backfired and Cal began to move out on us,” and when the rhythm stumbled, the crew couldn’t get it back together. Despite holding on to the lead for the first part of the race, SU couldn’t maintain it. Cal pulled away in the last forty strokes, earning a spot in the finals and consigning the Orange to a trip to the reps. After the race, the crewmen were a bit dispirited; they’d worked very hard in the race but the boat hadn’t moved like it had in practice, and now had to race again on Friday.
Attitudes brightened when the crew learned that six-man Tom Evancie had been suffering from dehydration most of the race and thus had little left in the last 500. Evancie was hustled into the care of the trainers, who administered IV fluids. He started feeling much better before the day was over. As for Evancie’s teammates, they knew they had a much better race in them, and began to focus on their next race; the reps. The crew would have to race well on short rest to make the Grand Finals.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Mark of the Orange II - Chapter One, National Champions! Part One
Bill Sanford stood near the victory dock at the IRA finish line on Onondaga, waiting for the start of the last race of the day – the men’s Varsity Eight. As the tall, gangly coach listened for the announcer’s call that the race had started, the north wind ruffled his thinning hair, foreshadowing a rough start and long race for the big boats. After a season that had started out with a poor showing in a home loss to Harvard, the crew had come together, improving seemingly every week. With a solid string of wins in dual meets, a decent showing at the Sprints, and strong talent up and down the boat, Sanford felt confident his crew would be among the medalists.
Less than an hour before, coxswain Ozzie Street had launched the Varsity from the dock at Longbranch. Walking down the boat, shaking each man’s hand before they pushed off, Sanford had seen little of the banter that normally marked the pre-race launch. Instead, he felt a quiet confidence coming from the crew. Normally sophomore stroke Art Sibley and his classmate and bowman Gerry Henwood would be bouncing around, annoying the upperclassmen on the crew, but this was different – the guys were “wired, they were ready to go but they seemed relaxed and happy they were in the finals…they were quiet and I think that was because they were focused.”
Finals day had dawned hazy and a good bit cooler than Friday; a steady headwind was predicted and conditions on Onondaga looked to be a bit choppy, especially near the start of the two thousand meter course on the lake’s eastern shore. As the boathouse bunkroom came to life, most of the guys came out on the balcony to check conditions before heading into the dining room/Sanford living room for Sandy Pisani’s pre-race breakfast. With all three Orange eights in the Grand Finals along with an SU entry in almost all the small boat events, there was much to be excited about at Longbranch. Buzz Congram’s Northeastern crew also had crews in each of the eight finals, and the Huskies, along with Brown and California, the guest from the West, were looking like serious competitors for the top of the podium.
There was a good deal of confidence in all the SU boats. The JV was coming off a very solid season, the frosh were looking for a third straight title and the Varsity had seen very solid results late in the season that had been a bit unsatisfying for the Orange.
Less than an hour before, coxswain Ozzie Street had launched the Varsity from the dock at Longbranch. Walking down the boat, shaking each man’s hand before they pushed off, Sanford had seen little of the banter that normally marked the pre-race launch. Instead, he felt a quiet confidence coming from the crew. Normally sophomore stroke Art Sibley and his classmate and bowman Gerry Henwood would be bouncing around, annoying the upperclassmen on the crew, but this was different – the guys were “wired, they were ready to go but they seemed relaxed and happy they were in the finals…they were quiet and I think that was because they were focused.”
Finals day had dawned hazy and a good bit cooler than Friday; a steady headwind was predicted and conditions on Onondaga looked to be a bit choppy, especially near the start of the two thousand meter course on the lake’s eastern shore. As the boathouse bunkroom came to life, most of the guys came out on the balcony to check conditions before heading into the dining room/Sanford living room for Sandy Pisani’s pre-race breakfast. With all three Orange eights in the Grand Finals along with an SU entry in almost all the small boat events, there was much to be excited about at Longbranch. Buzz Congram’s Northeastern crew also had crews in each of the eight finals, and the Huskies, along with Brown and California, the guest from the West, were looking like serious competitors for the top of the podium.
There was a good deal of confidence in all the SU boats. The JV was coming off a very solid season, the frosh were looking for a third straight title and the Varsity had seen very solid results late in the season that had been a bit unsatisfying for the Orange.
Mark of the Orange II - a note from the authors
John Nicholson and I have completed the first chapter of the history of Syracuse rowing from 1960 to today (or perhaps 2010). You'll be able to read this chapter here - exclusively - in several posts.
We've decided to begin the new book with what is arguably the seminal event in SU rowing history over the last fifty years - the 1978 IRA Varsity Championship. Seems like a natural after concluding the initial Mark of the Oarsman with the story of SU's Pan Am crew of 1959.
We're currently working on the rest of Mark 2, and as always welcome contributions, photos, race programs, and corrections of factual errors. Undoubtedly some will offer suggestions and we'll take them under advisement.
Now, read on!
We've decided to begin the new book with what is arguably the seminal event in SU rowing history over the last fifty years - the 1978 IRA Varsity Championship. Seems like a natural after concluding the initial Mark of the Oarsman with the story of SU's Pan Am crew of 1959.
We're currently working on the rest of Mark 2, and as always welcome contributions, photos, race programs, and corrections of factual errors. Undoubtedly some will offer suggestions and we'll take them under advisement.
Now, read on!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Men's Foot of the Charles 2011
Results:Varsity Fours:
1. Harvard A 12:53
11. Syracuse A 13:22
15. Syracuse B 13:43
20. Syracuse C 13:51
30. Syracuse D 14:23
Frosh Eight:
1. Harvard A 12:21
5. Syracuse A 13:23
A full array of photos can be found here.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
November 19, 2011 FOOT OF THE CHARLES (MEN) - Schedule
This coming Saturday, the SU men will be racing in Boston at the Foot of the Charles (men's version). The crews will be launching out of Newell Boathouse (Harvard). Racing schedule is as follows:
Varsity 4+ races: 7:30 a.m.
Frosh 8+ races: 8:00 a.m.
Come on down and cheer on our guys!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
2011 Foot of the Charles
The SU Women made a strong statement this morning in Boston that they came to race.Conditions were generally good over the 2.3 mile course -- 13-15 mph SW winds with some gusts. Crews dealt with a strong tailwind for the first 1000m through the powerhouse. As the course turned, the crews powered through a stiff headwind for the last mile. Water conditions remained relatively flat.
In a field of 39 V4+s, the SU Women came out with a 3rd (SU B), 4th (SU A), 16th (SU D), 23rd (SU C), and 39th (SU E).
The novice 8+ also fared well with a 4th place finish in a field of 23!
Full results can be found here.
A full array of images of the day can be found here.
Next weekend, the SU Men come to town for their turn at the Charles.
Friday, November 11, 2011
SU Women Racing in Boston this Weekend - FOOT OF THE CHARLES 2011
Coming off a great performance at the Syracuse Invitational last weekend, the SU women will take it on the road to the Foot of the Charles in Boston tomorrow (Saturday, November 12). Come on down and watch the races! The team will be launching from the Radcliffe Boathouse.
Here's the morning racing schedule:
9:45 AM V4+ Race
10:45 AM N8+ Race
11:15 AM 3V8+ Race
Super Mike Selected as Male Athlete of the Month
story courtesy of www.row2k.com
PRINCETON, N.J. - Mike Gennaro (Havertown, Pa.) was selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Month for October, the organization announced on Thursday.
"It's an honor to be recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee," said Gennaro. "It's a privilege to be among athletes from all these other sports. It's nice to represent rowing in any way I can."
Gennaro won two gold medals at the XVI Pan American Games held Oct. 15-19 in Guzman City, Mexico. He won his first gold with U.S. teammate Ty Otto (Seattle, Wash.) in the men's pair. The crew crossed the line 1.67 seconds ahead of Brazil for the gold medal in 6:47.07.
The following day, Gennaro stroked the U.S. men's eight crew to victory. After taking command off the start, the crew built more than a one-second advantage during the first 500 meters of the race and increasing that lead to more than three seconds over Mexico at the midway point. Despite a late charge by Canada, the U.S. crew cruised to a 1.69-second victory.
The Syracuse University graduate and former captain won gold in the men's eight earlier this summer at the 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
Gymnast Jordyn Wieber (DeWitt, Mich.) was selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee's Female Athlete of the Month for October, while the U.S. women's field hockey team was awarded Team of the Month. Beijing Olympic rower Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio), a women's single sculls gold medalist at the XVI Pan American Games, came in third.
Each National Governing Body nominated one female, one male and one team per discipline. A voting panel selects the winners from the pool of nominees, with online fan voting via Twitter accounting for 10 percent of the total vote.
FEMALE 1. Jordyn Wieber, Gymnastics 2. Lauren Gibson, Softball 3. Margot Shumway, Rowing
MALE 1. Mike Gennaro, Rowing 2. Danell Leyva, Gymnastics 3. Kibwé Johnson, Track & Field
TEAM 1. U.S. Women's Field Hockey Team 2. U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team 3. U.S. Softball Team
Monday, November 7, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Dr. Bruce Chamberlain - 1920 - 2011
It is with a very heavy heart that we report the loss of the Godfather and undisputed Patriarch of Syracuse University Rowing, Dr. Bruce Chamberlain. Dr. Chamberlain passed away Wednesday evening in Syracuse at the age of 91.
As reported by John Nicholson:
Dr. Chamberlain rowed in varsity and JV boats for the Orange, graduating in 1943. Along with Dr. Tom Kerr he co-founded the Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association and was a steadfast support of the rowing programs for the rest of his life. He was instrumental in the publication of the Mark of the Oarsmen and was team physician for the men's team for many years. Dr. Chamberlain was inducted into the SARA Hall of Fame in 2010.
A memorial service is scheduled at DeWitt Community Church on Saturday, November 26 at 11:30 a.m. Additional details will be provided as they become available.
Our sympathies and prayers go out to Dr. Chamberlain's family. We have lost a great man and a true gentleman.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Men's Team Races Head of the Charles for Bartosz
The Men's Team will be racing the Head of the Charles this weekend and as participating members of Pull for a Cure this year they have been raising money for Lymphoma Research in honor of Bartosz. If you'd like to donate click here and keep an eye out for the Men's Team to come down the course with "Shrimps" on their backs as they race for Bartosz.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The hardware
Here's Mike Gennaro on-site after his two trips to the top of the podium at the Pan Am Games...
Gennaro's golden - again
SU alum Mike Gennaro's done it again - this time his gold is of the Pan American variety for the men's eight. After winning the World Championship in the U23 eight, Mike was back in the stroke seat for the Pan Ams. The US led from the start in a wire-to-wire win. Clocking a 5:39.3, the American eight was 1.8 seconds in front of our neighbors to the north, with Argentina coming in third in 5:41.8.
Earlier Mike and pair partner Ty Otto of Seattle had won the men's pair, making this Mike's third international gold this year. In the pair, Gennaro and Otto led from the start after a blazing 1:37.6 in the first 500. Brazil was second, with Canada taking the bronze.
With London hosting next year's Olympics, Mike's parents and family will want to make sure their passports are up to date for another trip overseas.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Help Solve This Mystery
SARA Board Member Adlai Hurt received a vintage copy of the fabled first run of Mark of the Oarsmen as a gift. Inside was this cryptic inscription (click on the image to enlarge it).
Here are Adlai's thoughts:
My primary suspects for “Tom” include those historical committee members on Page 370: Thomas Dunham, Dr. Thomas Kerr, or Thomas Rouen. I’m not sure who “Gools” could be.
On a similar line of thinking, “Dick” might be Richard Horstmann from the historical committee.
Any ideas who this book belonged to?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Fall in Syracuse
Many thanks to the Syracuse Women's Rowing Facebook page for these beautiful images of fall rowing in Syracuse. Miss it yet? I sure do.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Coach Moore again tapped to run USRowing U-23 Pre Elite Camp
(many thanks to Orange Oar Editor John Nicholson for this article)Following an extremely successful 8 week camp over the summer of 2010 that culminated with Club National Championship wins in the Senior 2- and 4x, Syracuse head coach Justin Moore has again been asked to lead the camp in the summer of 2012.
“The pre-elite camp’s goal is to take some of the best collegiate athletes we have in the country and help them to understand how to train as national team athletes,” Moore says. “It’s a month living the life of a national team athlete.”
“I tried to make it a priority in the summer of going out and helping in being part of the process and doing what little I could to help bring athletes forward.. With the pre-elite camp, we really tried to respond to what Tom Terhaar and Annie Kakela were looking for, and the priority of the camp was to expose, and maximize the time we had exposing the women to small boats rowing,” said Moore.
Although 2011 marked Coach Moore’s and Syracuse’s’ first involvement with hosting the camp, the outstanding feedback from athletes from universities around the country, their coaches when they returned to campus this fall, and achieving the objectives set out by USRowing, will ensure that it won’t be the last.
Moore has coached some of these women before. Notre Dame’s Molly Bruggeman is one whom he coached in juniors. “He’s a great coach,” she says. “Syracuse is lucky to have him. I pretty much know how he coaches and it’s been helpful in my improvement.”
Monday, October 3, 2011
Andrew R. Tedesco - SU Class of 1953
It is with a heavy heart that we report the loss of SARA member Andrew R. Tedesco ('53). Andy was the stroke of his JV crew during his time at SU.He will be missed.
Many thanks to Ed Shepherd for bringing this news to our attention.
Friday, September 30, 2011
SEPTEMBER ORANGE OAR NOW ON-LINE
The September issue of The Orange Oar, SARA'S quarterly newsletter is now on-line at http://www.saracrew.org/
It features interviews with Coaches Justin Moore and Dave Reischman on the outlooks for the women's and men's teams, coverage of the shell dedication to Bartosz Szczyrba and the usual updates on our alums in Backsplash.
There's also Tracy Smith's Letter from the President, information and registration forms for Coach Bill Sanford's induction to our Hall of Fame and much more.
In addition, the June issue recapping the spring season also has now been posted at http://www.saracrew.org/
If you have information for the next Orange Oar contact John Nicholson at jsnich@twcny.rr.com.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Bartosz Boat Dedication: Greatness, Determination and Shrimps
This morning at the boathouse alumni and current team members came together to pay homage to Bartosz Szczyrba and dedicate a shell in his honor. Although, as current members of the team we did not have the good fortune to have known Bartosz, however, through the great many stories we have heard from those who did, its obvious to us how much influence he had and continues to on the lives of those who knew him and this program. For those who were unaware, we are currently raising money for 'Pull for the Cure' at the Head of the Charles Regatta which normally raises money for Breast Cancer but given the circumstances we have worked with the organizers and the American Cancer Society to have the funds raised by our program go to lymphoma research in honor of Bartosz. Please help us in this endeavor and together we can work to fight this horrible disease.
To donate please go to the teams page at SU Men's Crew: Pull for the Cure
Here are some photos from this mornings ceremony.
To donate please go to the teams page at SU Men's Crew: Pull for the Cure
Here are some photos from this mornings ceremony.
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