SU Men's 3V in IRA Petites and 1V and 2V in 3rd Level

SU's 1V placed third in its semi-final, and the 2V finished second to place both crews in their respective the third level finals.

The 3V finished fifth in its semi-final, so it will compete in the petite final.

A race recap is on cuse.com. All race results are on row2k.com.

SU Men's 1V, 2V, 3V into IRA Semi-Finals

SU's three boats will race in the semi-finals of their events at the IRA National Championship Saturday. All three advanced by virtue of their finishes in their respective repechages.

Results are posted on row2k.com. A quote from Coach Dave Reischman and the start times for Saturday's semi's are on cuse.com.

IRA Announces Its Selections

Today the Intercollegiate Rowing Association announced its list of crews for the 2014 IRA Regatta. SU's men's 1V and 2V eights will square off against 23 other crews in their respective events Friday, May 30-Sunday, June 1 on Mercer Lake in New Jersey.

SU's 3V eight is among the 18 competitors in that event. The entire list of Accepted Crews, including BU, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Navy from SU's dual-race schedule, is available on row2k.com. Additional information about the IRA Regatta is available on row2k's IRA Resource page.

 

Virginia and Notre Dame to Represent the ACC at the NCAA Championship

Today the NCAA announced the contestants for this year's women's Division I Rowing National Championship. Virginia received an automatic berth for winning the ACC, and Notre Dame received an at-large selection. Syracuse did not receive a bid.

All the information, including a video presentation of the selections and heats, can be found on ncaa.com.

Eastern Sprints Race Report, Including IRA Bid

Men's head rowing Coach Dave Reischman has has circulated his post-Eastern Sprints race report, including the mention that Tuesday is the day IRA invitations will be announced.

Results Summary:
V8 = 14th
JV8 = 11th
3V8 = 12th
4V8 = 4th

I am going to take a different approach for this race report and rather than my usual run down on specific crews just make some general comments on our squad as a whole.  I think the results speak for themselves and suffice it to say nobody in our program finds them very satisfying.  We may not have the raw physical talent that we did a few years ago but we have not performed up to our potential in very many races this year.  We haven’t had that race where you can get off the water and say, “that was it…that was the aggressive rhythm we were looking for.”  If there is good news it is the fact that the type of errors we are making on the race course are not due to lack of effort.  The guys are putting it all out there.

Let me try to explain that last comment a little better.  Rowing, and in particular racing, is a study of contrast between the aggression/raw power needed when the blades are in the water with the finesse/subtlety required when the blades are out of the water.  On the drive you are trying to maximize your propulsion and on the recovery you are trying to move in a way that does not slow the boat down and sets up your timing for the next stroke.  If you let the finesse of the recovery carry in to the drive you look slick but don’t have the surge and lift of the boat out of the water that you need to generate boat speed.  If you carry the aggressiveness of the drive into the recovery phase you take some of the “glide” off the boat and usually slightly mistime the change of direction on the front end.  When you get the right balance between the two the boat feels light and lively on the drive and the recovery feels relaxed and easy—like you are literally floating up the slide between strokes.  When you get it wrong….well it feels like a lot of hard work for not much boat speed. 

Our varsity crew was a good example of both of these yesterday.  In the heat we had our best race of the year.  A good start and decent rhythm through the middle of the race.  It wasn’t perfect but as close as we have been this year.  We do not have the raw physical talent of the top crews in our league but if you look at the times from the heats you will see that we were improved relative to margins of crews we raced earlier in the year.  (Note:  I usually never compare times across heats but the conditions were as equal across the heats in the morning as you can get.)  The guys were disappointed to be in the 3rd level final but were in the right frame of mind heading out to the race.  They had an awesome warm up…maybe the best of the year…and then when the flag dropped we tried to be ultra aggressive and didn’t find that balance between aggression and subtlety.  We worked very hard but did not maximize our speed.  The difference is probably about 4 to 5 seconds over a 2000m race but those are a crucial 4 to 5 seconds in our league.  Our other crews were struggling with many of the same issues.

We will find out on Tuesday if we did enough to get invited to the IRA and we are all hopeful.  I learned long ago as a coach that some years you have better talent than others and whether you are fighting for a spot in a grand final or the 3rd level final your job is to maximize your crew’s potential.  We haven’t done that yet and coaches and athletes alike need to accept responsibility for that.  If one of us starts to point fingers instead of focusing on what each of us needs to do we are going to be disappointed. 

If we get the invite for the IRA our goal is simple:  to finish the weekend saying it was our best racing of the year and we maximized every bit of boat speed that we were capable of generating.

I need to give a special thanks to all the parents (those present and those from afar) that helped out with the food tent in Worcester.  In particular, Anneliese and Doug Mund who led the efforts with the very capable of assistance of many others.  I know our coaching staff sure appreciated the ability to wander over for a breakfast burrito (…and burger….and pulled pork…) and drink to keep us going through out the day.  Thanks to you all!

I will keep everyone posted on the IRA.

$20,000 after 1,000 Hours in Annual Endowment Campaign

We are 1,000 hours down (40 days) into our 2,000 hour piece and we have already raised close to $20,000! As we cross the half way mark, this is the gut check time and time to step up. One of the best way to support the team is by contributing to the SARA Crew Endowment. The time is NOW to click below or write a check. It is time for everyone to put their oar in the water.

A special recognition to the class years of 1965 – 1969 who have sprinted ahead in the number of contributors. AWESOME. The class years of 1980 – 1984 still lead in the dollars contributed category. Remember, shirts for the winning class years. We cross the line on June 18, 2014 at 8 a.m. 

We will continue to give update every 10 days via email and the SARA blog. Here is the link to donate to the SARA Men’s Crew Endowment.  All donations are tax deductable. If there are any questions, please contact Joe Kieffer ’88 – 267-228-1341  or jkieffer@email.com. Thank you in advance for your support of Syracuse Rowing.
 

SU Women Wait to Hear about NCAA Bid

The SU women have traded the screens on their ergs, cox boxes and SpeedCoaches for those on their computers, tablets and phones.

The team's third-place finish at the ACC Championship did not earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Championship to be held May 30-June 1 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.

So coaches, athletes and the rest of the SU Crew family will watch the NCAA Selection Show at 5:00 pm EDT this Tuesday. 

Options for finding the show are:

--The Division I Championships section of NCAA.org.

--The Division I Rowing section of NCAA.com.

Harvard Wins Eastern Sprints

Harvard beat Brown and Princeton to win the Eastern Sprints. SU's 1V finished second in the Third-Level Final, and the 2V finished fifth in the Petite Final. All results are on the EARC's site.

For a glimpse of the West Coast crews aiming for the IRA, check out the results from the Pac-12 1V Grand Final on jamcotimes.com. Click on "Index" to see other results.

SU Women Take Third at ACC Championship

The No. 18 Syracuse women's rowing team finished third overall after claiming a silver medal and two bronzes at its first ACC Rowing Championship on Saturday morning on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C.

"We are really pleased to row with the caliber of crews that are at ACC Championship," said women's head rowing coach Justin Moore. "It was a great statement for the enhanced ACC. This is the first time in my tenure that we have beaten Notre Dame in an eight. The margins show our continued progress."

The Department of Athletics Communications has all the info, including times and line-ups, on cuse.com.

 

Preview of This Weekend's Action

The Department of Athletics Communications has posted the following previews of this weekend's action at the ACC Championship and the Eastern Sprints:

Eastern Sprints Story

Eastern Sprints Video

ACC Championship Story

ACC Championship Video

Video: Time to Get Fired Up

Rower and Orange Oar correspondent Holly Johnston '15 has created a video retrospective of the 2013-14 season as a farewell gesture to the Class of 2014.

When you watch it, be on the lookout for footage that will make GoPro want it for an ad, music that will do the same for iTunes, a workout that gives the "step-up" a new name, coxswains that maintain the tradition of sleeping in overhead compartments on long bus rides, putting the miles in on the water, winning tropies in spring races and Nanook of the North playing with his dog.

Enjoy as the ACC Championship approaches.

Next Up: ACC Championship and Eastern Sprints

The May 16-18 weekend is a big one on the SU Crew calendar. 

Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th, the women will be at the ACC Championship on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. The ACC has created a web page for the regatta, including the schedule, a map and hotel and restaurant information, and has already tweeted to welcome SU and Notre Dame to their first ACC Championship.

(If you have difficulty reaching the ACC Championship page, go to the ACC home page, scroll down to "ACC Championships Central" and click on "Rowing.")

Sunday the 18th, the men will be at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester, MA. Coach Reischman reports that the best source of travel/viewing information is on the Row2K page. If you can’t make it to Worcester you can watch the racing live on d3cast.com (currently the ECAC/NIRC Championship is airing on the site) and follow results on twitter at @ecacrowing and @quinsigrowing.

Packard Cup Race Report

One of the Dartmouth senior captains, upon accepting the Packard Cup for his crews win in the Varsity Eight, made the comment that he had raced Syracuse for four years and it seemed like every race came down to a couple of seats.  This year would prove no exception as 3 of the four races were decided by less than one second.  While ultimately the results were not what we wanted, there was not a whole lot of backing down from the challenge from any crew out on the water. 

Varsity Eight: 
Dartmouth 5:36.6
Syracuse
5:37.5


This course can be a bit tricky off the start as the current tends to move your bow to the starboard side and you have to keep readjusting.  We didn't have a very clean start and had to steer a bit to get back on our point.  Dartmouth was out early to a half length lead and when we shifted to pace it looked like we may have been a bit eager to get the margin back instead of just sticking our rhythm.  We would take some seats back and they would push back out.  With 500m to go it was still about 3/4 of a length and we started our sprint around 400m to go in an effort to get back on even terms.  We were inching up on them all the way to the line but ended 0.9 seconds short.  

This was a very tough loss for the guys to take.  A good effort all the way down the course but we can't afford to be even slightly off on our execution.  If you have been following my race reports for a few years, you know I try to tell it like it is.  This is a hard working bunch of guys and this losing streak we are on is gutting them.  We have got one more shot to get this right at the Sprints and I know these guys will leave it all out on the water.  Execution, execution, execution.....

Second Varsity Eight:
Syracuse 5:37.3
Dartmouth
5:37.7

This race started out much like the varsity race.  Dartmouth was out to a couple seat lead and then used a push around 700m in to move out to the a full length by the 1000m mark.  Our guys stayed in it, though, and had the lead down to 2/3of a length with 500m to go and I thought Dartmouth was starting to pay for their efforts in the first 1000m.  We started the Sprint early and started inching back and then with about 200m to go we got some real pressure on them and snuck by in the last 3 strokes.  A solid race by these guys and a nice job of keeping faith through the 3rd 500m.  The confidence gained from getting it done in the last 500m should come in handy at the Sprints. 

Third Varsity Eight: 
Dartmouth 5:43.8
Syracuse
5:46.7

Once again Dartmouth had the early lead of the line by a few seats..  Our guys drew even about 500m in and pushed out to about 2/3 of a length by the 1000m.  I could tell we were pushing hard in the third 500m but we couldn't seem to put Dartmouth away.  That can come back and get you and around 600m Dartmouth started to move.  It looked we were paying a price for all of our hard work in the first 1000m.  About 300m to go and Dartmouth was even and continued to pull away for the final margin.  I know Coach Stangel challenged his guys to go after the first 1000m and they did that.  A bit more efficiency in the 3rd 500 and they will keep it going all the way to the line.

Fourth Varsity Eight: 
Dartmouth 5:49.6
Syracuse
5:50.2


Our 4V had the best start of all the Syracuse Crews and got out to the early lead.  The kept going hard and had a full length at the 1000m.  To Dartmouth's credit they didn't back down and had the margin down to about 2/3 of a length at 500m to go.  The guys fought hard and Dartmouth kept moving into us but we didn't make it easy.  They slipped through us in the last few strokes to take the win.

Keep the faith.  The guys are working hard.

Men's Recruiting class for the Fall of 2014

Men's head rowing Coach Dave Reischman has announced the list of high school seniors who will begin their Syracuse careers in the fall. 

"Much of the credit goes to Coach Stangel and Coach Cottingham for all of their hard work on the recruiting trail," he said.  Also, our athletes spend a lot of time as tour guides and hosting recruits when they are on campus.  They do so willingly and give our prospects a great understanding of what our program is all about.  In addition to this list, there are a handful of experienced rowers who will be attempting to make our squad via the walk-on process. 

"We are deep into identifying rising seniors for next year so if any one knows of a talented High School rower that would be a good fit for Syracuse please send us a name and rowing program and we will do the rest.  Good character, good HS academic record, and athletic talent are a must.  Rowing experience is optional."

The Class of 2019

First	Last	Height (in)	Weight (lbs)	Rowing affiliation
Marcus	Bentzen	6’4"	207	Stavanger RC (Norway)
Samuel	Busco	6’3"	195	Liverpool HS (NY)
Anders	Carlson	6’5"	190	Marin RC (CA)
Michael	Dobscha	6’4"	195	St. Ignatius HS (OH)
Michael	Glaude	6’5"	170	Newport RC (PA)
Andrew	Greer	6’1"	180	W.T. Woodson HS (VA)
Brandon	Jackson	6’5"	195	Sebastian River HS (FL)
Scott	Londregan	6’2"	190	Christian Brothers Academy (NJ)
Kolton	McClure	6’6"	205	Forest Park HS (VA)
Noah	Messner	6’4"	210	Forest Hills Central HS (MI)
Ethan	Pascucci	6’4"	205	Archbishop Carrol HS (PA)
Gavin	Sebald	6’2"	200	Dayton BC (OH)
Glen	Wolyner	6’2"	185	Kent School (CT)
Amba	Guerguerian	5’4"	119	Asheville RC (NC)
Dominic	Santora	5’6"	112	St. Ignatius HS (OH)

Raw Results from Packard Cup

Row2k.com has posted the times from today's Packard Cup between SU and Dartmouth in Hanover, NH.

Conditions: Tail current. Calm conditions at the start of racing, increasing mild headwind, gusty at times, by the conclusion of racing.

Varsity 8:
Dartmouth     5:36.6
Syracuse     5:37.5
 
2nd Varsity 8:
Syracuse     5:37.3
Dartmouth     5:37.7
 
3V:
Dartmouth     5:43.8
Syracuse     5:46.7
 
4V:
Dartmouth     5:49.6
Syracuse     5:50.2

Stay tuned for analysis.

 

Early Season Race Report

SU women's head rowing coach Justin Moore has released his comprehensive March-April race report, highlighted by analysis of the Kittell Cup and Orange Cup victories. Here are excerpts:

Orange Challenge Cup – The Orange Challenge Cup is one of the most historic in the sport of women’s rowing, raced between three founding members of the EAWRC (Syracuse, UPenn and Northeastern) from the very moment the Syracuse Women’s Rowing Team existed (1978).

1V8+ - For some reason, this race is always a great one. Penn had a great start, and led all crews through the 500m mark. With a firm head wind, we made it a priority to row one beat lower than normal and make a big press in the “wind shadow” of the Mass Ave Bridge.  Our move was extremely effective, taking us from even with Penn to 6 seats up.  Entering the final 500 meters, NU raised their rating to 38 and used the flatter water in lane 3 to gain advantage.  S.U., who had a length advantage starting the final 500 looked threatened.  However, in the final 200m, we shifted speeds and held off NU's charge, winning by 2.3 over NU and 10.5 over Penn (who had lost to Yale by 6.9 the week before).

2V8+ - A strong start, followed by a strong base, saw SU control this race from the 500m mark on. The margin reported in Row2K was 8.5 between SU and Penn, but both the coxswain and I recorded our time as 3 seconds faster.  No matter, the truth will reveal itself in time.  NU, whose varsity had a great 2nd 1K, was not a fast in their 2V, falling 16 seconds back by the finish. 

 V4+ A and B – With a varsity crew that is a “bubble crew”, we continue to discuss the importance of our 2V8+ and V4+ results, in terms of defining how “complete” our team is.  Our V4+ really delivered – racing to a 25 second victory over both Penn and NU, while under-stroking both teams.   

3V8+ - Just like last year, the Penn 3V prevented an SU sweep.  Coached by US Jr National Team Assistant Coach Cass Cunningham, this group simply out-skilled our crew in some very difficult conditions.  The 3V raced in a firm head wind, with the beginning of whitecaps licking off the top of the waves in the basin (ahhhhhh Boston). 

After the race, I had the pleasure of heading to CRI to meet with some local alumnae and shake hands with Mark Lyvers – the first coach of SU Women’s Crew.  We are very happy to announce that this year’s varsity racing shell will carry his name (The Mark Lyvers).

The Kittell Cup:  Another traditional cup race for S.U., this annual race against Boston University also had the University of Minnesota as a guest.  

1V8+ - While Penn took 5 seats from us in the first 250m, Minnesota took even more.  We found ourselves crossing the first 500m with our coxswain on their 2 seat.  They halted Minnesota’s progress by the 500 meter mark.  Then we moved to within 4 seats of even.  Minnesota had a good response and looked to stretch the lead to 6 seats.  500 meters out, one could see SU shift gears and capture the momentum.  SU was coming fast and hard and Minnesota seemed unable to respond.  The flag fell and then 1.9 seconds later it went up again.  SU had won by 7 seats.  I should also mention that B.U. had been even with us at the 400m mark, but then fell 21 seconds behind over the final 1,600m – so SU retained the Kittell Cup.

2V8+ - It was clear at the start of the day that the Minnesota 2V was the other strong 2V in Boston this weekend.  They had beaten Dartmouth by open water the day before and posted a time that was one second faster than ours.  Undaunted, our crew did what they do, taking nearly a length in the first 500m. Showing that they are learning how to be better racers, the crew did not sit on the Gophers.  At the 700meter mark, SU made a good push to clear daylight between the boats.  We went on to win by 8.5 over Minnesota and 31 over B.U. 

V4+A and B – After a close starting 250 meters, Syracuse started to “carry the boat” a little better into the head wind.  By 700 meters that advantage became a length.  The Gophers were a game crew and continued to stick, but in the end the Orange was just too much, cracking things open in the second 1K and finishing a full 9 seconds ahead, with our B4+ only 10 seconds behind Minnesota’s A 4+ and 25 seconds ahead of B.U.'s A4+ entry.  Again, our 4+s and 2V made a strong statement about the depth of our team.  

3V8+ - Minnesota, with a deep team consisting of a 3V and 4V8+ proved too much for our 3V.  Clearing a length in the first 500, with SU doing the same to BU, the women were unable to experience the thrill of boat on boat racing. 

$16,000 after 750 Hours in Endowment Annual Campaign

We are 750 hours down (30 days) into our 2,000 hour piece and we have already raised over $16,000!    A special thanks to those from the class of 1961, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1980, 1983 and 2002 for the leadership gifts.  We have received 13 donations  that are between $500 and $5,000.   So far, we already have 24 separate class years contributing in this year’s SARA Men’s Crew Endowment Annual Campaign.   While 10 class year teams are off and racing, we still have 2 class years teams still sitting on the blocks.  It is time for everyone to put their oar in the water and get your checkbook out.

The class years of 1980 – 1984 lead both in number of contributions and dollars contributed..   Remember shirts for the winning class years.   We cross the line on June 18, 2014 at 8am. 

We will continue to give update every 10 days via email and the SARA blog.  Below is the link to or address to donate to the SARA Men’s Crew Endowment.  All donations are tax deductable.    If there are any questions, please contact Joe Kieffer ’88 – 267-228-1341  or jkieffer@email.com.    Thank you in advance for your support of Syracuse Rowing.

Note – the next Men’s race is at home against Dartmouth – on FRIDAY, May 9.   Hope to see you then or listen in at 712-432-4418

Keep SU fast on the water by giving to the SARA Men’s Crew Endowment.
    

Checks can be made payable to:
Central New York Community Foundation
Memo line: SARA Endowment

And mail to:
Central NY Community Foundation
431 East Fayette Street, Suite 100
Syracuse, New York 13202
Or donate by credit card or bank transfer at: www.cnycf.org/sara