We continue the story of SU Crew, with this excerpt from the chapter provisionally titled "1979"
Three consecutive freshman eight national
championships. A convincing win for
Syracuse’ varsity eight at the IRA. Two
weeks in England racing international crews at Nottingham and Henley. A very
strong recruiting class for freshman coach Drew Harrison, the return of most of
the varsity eight and half of the medalist JV (check medal and number of
returners). All the pieces were in place for 1979 to be another championship
year fro the Orange, with expectations high for all crews. As the team brochure quoted head coach Bill
Sanford; “They’ve all tasted victory and should be hungry for the title again.”
1979 was going to be the year that cemented Syracuse
rowing’s position among the elite programs in the nation. Bill Sanford had seen the program return to
greatness after 58 years’ absence from atop the IRA podium. Yet despite all the promise, the year after
winning the IRAs would prove to be more than disappointing for the Orange. It wasn’t just the failure to win the IRA, it
was a sense that the entire season had been misspent.
All in all, the summer of 1978 had been productive on many
levels. Racing two full eights at the Henley and Nottingham International
Regatta had dramatically increased SU’s reputation in the rowing community, a
reputation that would help recruiting.
On top of Drew Harrison’s string of gold medal frosh eights, the daily
mentions in the news generated increasing interest among experienced high
school rowers. Sanford noted this in the
pre-season media kit, stating: “Because our program has done so well in recent
years we keep attracting better athletes and this year’s frosh group looks to
be the strongest I’ve seen.”
The multiple races for the varsity and a combined
freshman/JV eight was “like going to the Elite Eight in NCAA basketball, going
up against teams that were really fast, more mature, and had a different
approach. The Romanians were all in the
army, mature and older – when one of their guys started talking to a couple SU
guys, their coach yelled at him and he hurried back to his crew…” Sanford
recalled. The pressure, the level of
competition, and the reward of racing internationally raised expectations for
the future.
But the season-extending trip to the UK had a downside as
well. Coach had a feeling towards the
end that the guys had had just about enough racing and needed a break for a
while. As campus came alive again in the
fall and the team reassembled, there wasn’t the same level of intensity in the
boathouse that had been there the previous fall. It wasn’t anything really noticeable, just a
bit less energy. As Coach Sanford
recalled, “there was a motivational issue with some of those who had given all
their life to crew, initially some folks wanted a break, yet they still came
out and made an effort.”
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