1977 - the year that wasn't, Part Six - small boats at the IRA

The IRA finals were rowed in typical Onondaga conditions, namely a headwind that varied from stiff to soft throughout the day. As a result, some races were considerably longer than the usual 6:00 – 6:25, putting a premium on conditioning and strength. That would prove to be perfect for SU’s freshman eight.

Freshman coach Drew Harrison’s previous three seasons had ended with consecutive bronze, silver, and gold medals; there wasn’t anyplace to go but down from there. The 1977 crew, stroked by Art Sibley and coxed by Ozzie Street was loaded with power and size, and for the first time, more than half of the crew (Street and Sibley, Gerry Henwood in seven, Peter Henriques in the three seat and Kevin Rung in bow) were experienced rowers. The other four oarsmen (two man Dave Fish, John Stockwell in four, Jeff Braun and Steve Anthony manning the engine room in five and six) were prototype Drew Harrison freshmen – big, tough and strong. Their IRA campaign started with promise as they recorded the fastest time of any freshman crew in the heats, defeating second place Northeastern by a bit of open water in 6:50.2, earning a bye on Friday as they advanced directly to the finals.

The slow time of the Orange freshman eight was indicative of the strength of the headwind on Thursday, which wouldn’t let up for the rest of the Regatta.

Meanwhile, the freshman four, comprised of guys from the second frosh eight, finished a very creditable second in their heat on Thursday in a time that would have garnered first place in the other fours heat. Things didn’t go as well the next day, as the four faced a three-boat repechage where only the winner would make the Grand finals. Coming in second behind Yale, SU didn’t make it to the Grands, but did win Saturday’s petites by three-tenths of a second over Wisconsin in what would prove to be the closest race of Finals day.

In addition to the two varsity eights, Coach Sanford had a pair with, pair without, and a four without entered. Manned by the same athletes who had just won the Eastern Sprints in the third varsity, the three crews would prove to be tough competitors.

Throughout most of the seventies and eighties, the small boats at the IRA came from three different talent pools; third varsity heavy eights; varsity lightweights, primarily from the Ivies; and varsity heavies and lights from schools outside the EARC such as Marist, San Diego State, Oregon State, Coast Guard, and WPI. Occasionally IRA/EARC schools that were facing lean years would break their varsity eights into small boats, a practice that has fortunately fallen out of favor.

The four without cox was always an exciting race where bowmen, unaccustomed to steering, managing a race, and handling the myriad tasks so ably handled by coxswains could prove to have an effect on the outcome far more significant than their efforts with one oar might imply. With Walter “Pappy” MacVittie, Fred Gliesing, Dan Hanavan in bow, and Andy Papp at stroke, the crew needed to get a race under their collective belt before they were really ready to go. After failing to win their heat, the Orange four without stormed into the finals, winning their rep by open water. In the Grand Finals, they finished just out of the medals in fourth.

If the four without was a potentially very exciting race due to the steep learning curve facing bowmen in the four (almost all steering was handled by bowmen in those days), the pair without added another complication. Balance and timing, so critical in a pair-oared shell, were not typically among the strong suits of the denizens of the third boat. And with just over two weeks to get familiar with each other, learn to steer, develop a bit of rhythm and coordination, establish some sort of communication process, and develop a racing start, settle, and sprint, the workload was high indeed. And success would only accrue to the boat that managed to do this consistently in two, or perhaps three, consecutive races.

The pair without proved to be challenging for Syracuse’ Pete Hausman and Bill Samios, as they finished well back in the heats and rep, Racing in the petites on Saturday, SU found its groove, rowing a great race to finish second, with no open water separating them from winner Cornell. A pair from Wayne State won the Grands convincingly over two oarsmen from Rutgers’ varsity eight.

If there’s one event that was not meant to be rowed in the conditions facing all crews, on all days, in all lanes that year, it was the pair with coxswain. Likened to doing leg presses for eight minutes, the usually-interminably-long pair with event was going to be a marathon at the 1977 IRA. Each crew’s oarsmen would have to contend not only with the drag of the coxswain lying in their bow, but the headwind which varied from stiff to very strong throughout the three days would make for a tough row.

Syracuse’ pair with, manned by the redoubtable Rick Tremblay and Pete Gaines, with Neil Prete in the cox’n ‘seat’, qualified via the repechage on Friday by finishing fourth, thereby gaining the last qualifying spot for Saturday’s finals. An indication of the conditions was the time registered by Yale, winner of the rep, who crossed the line in 8:35. The conditions worsened by Saturday morning, and they proved far too much for SU’s gallant crew to handle. In a race won by Yale in 9:15, the Orange entry finished sixth after struggling with the rough conditions.