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.