Folks …

We may be five days past the Vernal Equinox, but in Downeast Maine, evening temperatures are still below freezing, with days only a bit warmer [good for drawing sap for Maple Syrup], however the surest sign of Spring is that the Blue Crews are on the water and ready for racing … 

Racing for the Blue Crews this weekend:

Folks …

We may be five days past the Vernal Equinox, but in Downeast Maine, evening temperatures are still below freezing, with days only a bit warmer [good for drawing sap for Maple Syrup], however the surest sign of Spring is that the Blue Crews are on the water and ready for racing … 

Racing for the Blue Crews this weekend:

• Navy LWs travel to Lake Carnegie to challenge Princeton for the Joe Murtaugh Cup.  It will be the first test for both squads after winter and spring break training.  Last year on the Severn the Tiger 1V [5:58.7] led the Mids [6:05.4] at the finish. The Tigers also won the second varsity race, but the Midshipmen claimed first place in the third varsity and first freshman contests. 

  Navy will look to build on the success of last spring, which was highlighted by the first varsity battling its way to second place at the IRA National Championship. The lightweights will look to replace 13 members of last year's team with a rising group of physically strong seniors and juniors.

  The Midshipmen return four members of the first varsity, six members of the second varsity and eight members of the plebe crew.

  The Murtaugh Cup was established in 2008 and is presented to the winner of the varsity race between Navy and Princeton. The trophy is named after the former Princeton and U.S. lightweight rowing coach, Joe Murtaugh.

  Navy won the first Cup in 2008, but the Tigers have claimed wins in the last two races. Princeton leads the overall match series race, 39-10.

  Head coach Steve Perry on the team's off-season training…

   

  "We sat down as a team and did some assessment, physically. We used that information to set a standard and after we returned from (winter) break, we saw how close to that standard we were. Most everyone was in better shape.

  "Some coaches say you can win in the winter, and I believe in that. The physical strength that you gain in the winter is fantastic."

[see full article from Navy Sports below]

• Yale LWs will "do a couple of 2,000 meter pieces" in a scrimmage against the Trinity HWs on the Housatonic at Derby. With flooding conditions and fast water, it may be difficult to extrapolate the results to next week's Eads Johnson Trophy versus Navy on Lake Carnegie.  The match-up with the Trinity Bantams from Hartford, will consist of several pieces.   This series of "Test Brushes" follows several months of indoor training and a two-week spring-break training session on the Housatonic. 

Yale Captain Andrew Hakanson '11 pointed to a successful winter and a strong schedule as an indicator of potential success this season.

 

"After a lot of work over the winter, Y150 is excited and optimistic for the upcoming racing season. We have a strong squad this year with high expectations". "All indications point towards a fast and competitive field where close racing is commonplace. Having fierce opponents is what makes lightweight rowing so fun. I know our team will rise to the occasion each weekend and race it up."

• Yale HWs will open their season against Brown on the Seekonk River in Providence, R.I., this Saturday.  The Bulldogs and the Bears will each field five eights. The Bulldogs claimed three of five races in last year's opener against the Bears, winning the freshman eight, third varsity eight and the four.  This time around Yale will look to make moves on Brown in the second and first varsity eights.  The varsity eight lost by 1.8 seconds last year to a Brown crew that would go on to take third at Eastern Sprints.  This will be the first regular season race for new Yale HW Coach Steve Gladstone.  Also returning to Brown are head coach Steve Gladstone and freshman coach Joel Scrogin.  Gladstone served as the head coach of the Bears from 1982 to 1994, leading Brown to four Eastern Sprints championships and five IRA titles before retiring to co-found Resolute Racing Shells.  Scrogin, a 1999 graduate of Brown and Eastern Sprints champion his freshman year, briefly held a position as assistant coach of the Bears beginning in 2004. 

  When Steve Gladstone coached Brown’s heavyweight crew team from 1982 to 1994, Paul Cooke was one of his varsity oarsmen. This Saturday, the tables will turn as Gladstone returns to Providence as head coach of Yale heavyweight crew, which will take on the Cooke-coached Bears.

  It is a poetic opening to the Bulldogs’ spring season, the team’s first under Gladstone since his appointment as head coach last August. While neither Gladstone nor captain Derek Johnson ’11 could predict how the Yale boats would fare over the weekend and through the season, both said the team is well-prepared for competition.

  “The squad has really picked up a very strong team ethic and a significant portion of them have been able to put into action a lot of the new mechanics and technique we're using,” Gladstone said. “I couldn't be more pleased with where we're at.”

  The team has spent no more than 1 to 2 percent of practice time at race speed, he explained, because it wants to build to top pace for the three most important races of the year: the Eastern Sprints on May 15, the Yale-Harvard Regatta on May 28 and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship, which starts June 2.

  Gladstone said he has implemented a substantially different training schedule to past years, which includes a new periodization plan that sequences training components into a program to maximize boat speed over specific distances.

  But the results of this first competition will not necessarily indicate how well the Yale team will perform later in the season, Gladstone said.

  “Through the course of the season they will adapt to the higher speeds and become more proficient at race day,” he said. “That being said, there’s nothing more we'd rather do than win all the races.”

   [see full articles from Yale Sports and Yale Daily News below]

• Navy HWs open their 2011 on 9-10 April at the George Washington Invitational on the Potomac River at Foggy Bottom.

• Yale Women , who were ranked sixth in the preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll, open the spring season on Saturday against un-ranked Penn and Columbia on the Housatonic River in Derby, CT. The teams will be racing for the Connell Cup.

Yale's varsity eight won the NCAA title for the third time in the last four years last May. Six members of that winning boat have graduated, so it would only seem natural for Yale head coach Will Porter to have different expectations for his squad in 2011. Porter, though, never changes his outlook.

"My expectation is FUN," he says. "We love to race. We love the challenge of covering 2k as fast as we can.  We have trained hard all year to get to this spring ready to throw ourselves at the 2k distance."

Porter's formula of making sure his rowers enjoy the experience has been very successful. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine years and have finished in the top six four straight years. In addition, Yale has won four of the last six Ivy League titles and has captured the Charles Willing Team Trophy for overall supremacy at Eastern Sprints in three of the last four years.

Despite all that success, Porter isn't worried that this year's team will feel pressure to live up to those lofty standards.

"Right now there is a distinct feeling of no pressure," Porter said. "I think that is a result of most of last year's varsity eight graduating, and this year we have a whole new group eager to see what they can do at the 1V level.  Also, all the women who are currently on our team came here BECAUSE we are good and there are very high expectations within our program."

Still, there will be differences from previous years.

"We are small this year," Porter says. "We have a small squad and we are small in stature. We will have a very different approach to our racing. We are no longer a bruising heavyweight crew. We are more of a mid-weight light and quick group."

“We are young, a bit immature and a bit naive in our approach,” Porter said. “They are better than they realize they are and more capable than they give themselves credit for.”

Porter emphasized that only real race experience could turn the team’s freshmen into veteran rowers. He acknowledged that as much as he would like to hurry their development, maturity only comes from experience and he said he has had to be patient.

One factor that could be to Yale’s advantage this season is the high number of races at home, on the Housatonic River. Four of the team’s six races are at home this spring, compared to just two during the 2010 spring season.

2010 was a great class of rowers, but that this year’s team will have its own unique rowing style.  Taylor Ritzel ’10, last year’s captain and current member of the U.S. National Team, was a “legend” for the team. Ritzel was a three-time All-American and was on the NCAA winning varsity boat three of her four years.

It will be a long journey this season, but Yale will be competitive by the end of it, Porter said.

“This team has something to prove, whether they realize it or not,” Porter said.

[see full articles from Yale Sports and Yale Daily News below]

 

• Navy Women The Navy women's rowing team will open its 2011 spring season on Saturday when it travels to Philadelphia, PA., for the 29th edition of the Murphy Cup Regatta. The event, hosted by Temple University on the Schuylkill River, will begin at 9 a.m.

Navy will join 21 other teams at this year's event, including Patriot League opponents Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh.

The Midshipmen picked up two second-place finishes at last year's Murphy Cup. Navy finished just 3.33 seconds behind Loyola in the varsity four race and then was runner up to Bucknell in the second varsity eight race. Navy's first boat placed third.

The Mids' last title in the first varsity eight race came in 2006.

Coach Mike Hughes on this weekend's Murphy Cup Regatta…

 

"The Murphy Cup is an important race for us. We get the chance to race against some Patriot League teams and we get to see where we stand early in the season. We've won this race a number of times and we would like to win it again."

[see full article from Navy Sports below]

 

 

• Other EARC Rowing this weekend [from Row2k.com Calendar]:

EARC HM:

• Collins Cup: Rutgers vs. Columbia/Princeton, Raritan River, New Brunswick, NJ
• McCausland Cup: George Washington vs. Penn, Potomac River, Washington, DC
• Brown vs. Yale, Seekonk River, Providence, RI

• Yale HWs – [From Yale Sports]

  Steve Gladstone, regarded as one of the premier rowing coaches in the United States, was named the new head coach of Yale's heavyweight crew for the 2010-11 season. Gladstone led the University of California men's crew program to six IRA championships during two coaching stints with the Golden Bears and also served as the director of rowing operations at Brown where he won four Eastern Sprints titles. Most recently he was a director at the California Rowing Club, helping develop post-graduate oarsmen for the U.S. National Team.

  "I could not be more pleased to be coaching the heavyweight men at Yale," Gladstone said. "To be a part of Yale's storied rowing tradition is indeed an honor."

  Gladstone's 11 IRA championships tie him with Charles "Pop" Courtney of Cornell (1901-15) for the most varsity eight titles in the history of collegiate rowing. In all, Gladstone's Cal crews medalled at the IRA regatta 11 times in his 12 seasons since 1997 – five gold and six bronze – an unprecedented achievement in the 113-year history of the championship. Over that same period, he directed Cal to seven of 12 Pac-10 championships.

  "We are thrilled to have this legendary coach join the Yale staff and return to a campus community, where he does his best work," Yale Director of Athletics Tom Beckett said. "His expertise and experience will benefit everyone involved with Yale rowing."

  During his first term at Cal from 1973-80, Gladstone guided the Bears to three undefeated dual-race seasons, an IRA title in 1976 and a Pac-10 championship in 1979.

  As the director of rowing operations at Brown from 1981-94, Gladstone's crew triumphed four times at the Eastern Sprints, five times at the IRA regatta and twice at the National Collegiate Rowing Championships.

  He returned to Cal in 1997, taking over a program that finished as high as third at IRAs just once since his 1980 departure. The Bears saw immediate success, capturing a bronze medal at the national regatta in 1997 and running off a string of four consecutive championships from 1999-2002.

  From 2001-04, Gladstone added the director of athletics role to his duties at Cal, overseeing a department that placed ninth in the Directors' Cup for overall excellence in 2003 and 2004 and won five national team championships.

  Gladstone began his coaching career in 1966 as freshman coach at Princeton for three years. He then took over as varsity lightweight coach at Harvard, leading the Crimson to four straight undefeated seasons, four titles at the Eastern Sprints and victories in the 1971 Thames Challenge Cup and Wyfold Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. During his tenure at Harvard, he served as the U.S. National team coach (1969 and 1973) and was a selector for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team.

  A 1964 Syracuse graduate, Gladstone has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen and has also been a member of the Men's Olympic Rowing Committee. In 1984, he served as ABC's analyst for rowing events at the Los Angeles Olympics. He worked in the same capacity for NBC at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.

•  Yale HWs – [From Yale Sports]

  Joel Scrogin, a 1999 graduate of Brown, Eastern Sprints champion and Oxford alum, joined the Yale staff in the fall of 2010.  Scrogin works with the Yale Class of 2014 as the freshman coach.

• Navy LWs – [From Navy Sports]

Matt Spalluzzi is in his first season as assistant coach of the Navy lightweight rowing team. Spalluzzi comes to the Naval Academy after coaching the Annapolis Rowing Club and Bryn Mawr High School squads for the last three years.

Spalluzzi was a member of the lightweight rowing team at Loyola University where he was a three-time varsity letter winner. Spalluzzi captained the team as a senior and was voted "Most Dedicated" by his teammates his junior and senior seasons.

The Boston native remains active on the water as he currently rows for the Baltimore Rowing Club.

Spalluzzi graduated from Loyola in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

And Blue Crews [Light and Dark] face-off on the Thames in London – The Boat Race — Oxford v. Cambridge

The 157th Boat Race between the Dark Blue of Oxford and the Light Blue of Cambridge will get underway on Saturday 26 March at 1700 local [1300 EDT].   The race from Putney to Chiswick on the Thames River in London covers 4 miles 374 yards.   

• Oxford – Cambridge Blues race starts at 1700 local [1300 EDT]
• Reserves Race – Isis [Oxford] vs. Goldie [Cambridge] starts at 1630 local [1230 EDT]
• With a win in 2010, Cambridge leads the series 80 – 75 with the 1874 declared a "Dead Heat" [although the record shows "Oxford by 6 feet"]
• Closest race was in 2006 with Oxford winning by 1 foot
• Only comparable rowing event is the 4 miler between Yale and Harvard on the Thames in New London

• Cambridge University's crew is favored to beat Oxford University according to UK bookmakers. 90% of bettors believe that the Cambridge crew will win the Boat Race for a second straight year. As much as 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) will be bet on the 157th edition. Cambridge is the 4-9 favorite, meaning a successful $10 bet would bring in $4.44 profit plus the original stake. Oxford has 13-8 odds.

• Other than the Betting odds, there are no real indicators of which crew is faster.  The relative margins in test brushes against common opponents like Molesey are "too close to call".  Consensus seems to be that Cambridge is "faster out of the blocks" but Oxford is "stronger"

• This year Cambridge will be rowing in a Hudson rather than the Empachers that have been standard for both crews in recent years.  Hudson claims that the Cambridge boat will be 40% stiffer, yet lighter than the boat in which the USA set the Olympic 2,000 meter record in 2004.
• For Cambridge 4 of the rowers are British, 2 Australians, 1 Canadian [Geoff Roth at #6 who previously rowed at Cal] and 1 American [Derek Rasmussen at #7 who previously rowed at Cal].  Oxford rowers are all British except Bow Moritz Hafner a Swiss/German national who rowed for the Harvard LWs.
• Critical to strategy and steering, both Coxswains are British, with Cambridge claiming experience and a 18 year old rookie at the Oxford tiller.   
• Crew Statistics —
  • Oxford is younger [22 years, 8 months vs. 23/5]
  • Cambridge rowers are taller [6' 4.3" vs. 6' 2.5"]
  • Cambridge rowers are heavier [204# vs. 200#], or
  • Oxford rowers are lighter [14 st 4 lb vs. 14 st 8 lb]
• Expect 250,000 partying spectators on shore and 6 million on BBC TV worldwide.  Coverage on BBC America in the USA begins at 1230 EDT.
• Everything you might want to know about The Boat Race can be found on-line at www.theboatrace.org
  • Live virtual racing and live Twitter feed
  • Lots of great rowing prints, pictures and ephemera from the Thomas E. Weil Collection at the River and Rowing Museum at Henley    

• Bob Blase – USNA '75: 

At sunrise this morning I was out sculling on my local reservoir.  The
water was like glass, it was quiet and still.  I was alone in my shell,
but not alone.  I was one with my boat and with my surroundings.  I
rowed trying to disturb the water as little as possible, just listening
to the swoosh of the blades and the gurgling of the water under the
hull, looking at the turbulence coming off the stern and trying to
minimize the waves/wake slowing the shell.  I felt a link right back to
the Thames watermen and the legacy of the Blue crews and their coaches.
I was mindful of the Bald Eagle fishing, the geese beginning their
migration, the Heron's gliding by and the fish jumping.  

Here are some of my favorite rowing sayings that capture a lot about
what's important in rowing and life.

"The next stroke is the race." – Steve Fairbairn

"Eight hearts must beat as one or you don't have a crew." – George
Pocock

"Be one with the boat." – Jon Van Amringe

• For those of you who want to keep your schedules up to date, we have included the 2011 Racing Schedules below
• There is always good stuff on rowing at www.row2k.com
• Check out Navy Sports           [http://www.navysports.com/index-main.html] and                Yale Sports [http://www.yalebulldogs.com/landing/index] for more specific information on the crews as well as methods to follow the Blue Crew racing via Twitter, FaceBook, audio, video and other real time methods
• Make sure that you also go to www.navylites.org for all things Navy LWs.  You can even sign up as a member.

Harvard Begins Quest for National Title

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From Navy Sports:

Lightweight Rowing Opens Spring With Murtaugh Cup

Mids will meet Princeton on Saturday.

	The race for the Murtaugh Cup will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

March 25, 2011

 

ANNAPOLIS, MD. – 
The Navy lightweight rowing team will open its 2011 spring schedule on Saturday, March 26 when it meets Princeton for the Murtaugh Cup.

Competition will begin at 10:45 a.m. with the third varsity race, while the first varsity race will begin at 11:30 a.m.

Looking Ahead
Navy will look to build on the success of last spring, which was highlighted by the first varsity battling its way to second place at the IRA National Championship. The lightweights will look to replace 13 members of last year's team with a rising group of physically strong seniors and juniors.

The Midshipmen return four members of the first varsity, six members of the second varsity and eight members of the plebe crew.

About the Murtaugh Cup
The Murtaugh Cup was established in 2008 and is presented to the winner of the varsity race between Navy and Princeton. The trophy is named after the former Princeton and U.S. lightweight rowing coach, Joe Murtaugh.

Navy won the first Cup in 2008, but the Tigers have claimed wins in the last two races. Princeton leads the overall match series race, 39-10.

Last Year at the Murtaugh Cup
Princeton captured its second straight Cup as it won the first varsity race by a margin of 6.7 seconds. The Tigers also won the second varsity race, but the Midshipmen claimed first place in the third varsity and first freshman contests.

Quoting the Coach
Head coach Steve Perry on the team's off-season training…

 

"We sat down as a team and did some assessment, physically. We used that information to set a standard and after we returned from (winter) break, we saw how close to that standard we were. Most everyone was in better shape.

"Some coaches say you can win in the winter, and I believe in that. The physical strength that you gain in the winter is fantastic." 

Up Next
Navy will return to the water next weekend when it takes on Yale on Saturday, April 2 in Princeton, N.J. The Mids and Bulldogs will compete for the Eads Johnson Trophy, which Navy won in 2010.

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From Yale Sports:

Yale LWs

Lightweights Ready to Begin Spring Season

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale lightweight crew begins its spring racing season on Saturday with a scrimmage against Trinity's heavyweights on Yale's home course on the Housatonic River. The match up, which will consist of several pieces rather than a single 2,000-meter race, follows several months of indoor training and a two-week spring-break training session on the Housatonic. The Y150 will follow Saturday's Trinity scrimmage with six races over the next five weekends against league opponents before beginning its championship season on May 15 at the Eastern Sprints. Captain Andrew Hakanson pointed to a successful winter and a strong schedule as an indicator of potential success this season.

"After a lot of work over the winter, Y150 is excited and optimistic for the upcoming racing season. We have a strong squad this year with high expectations," said Hakanson. "All indications point towards a fast and competitive field where close racing is commonplace. Having fierce opponents is what makes lightweight rowing so fun. I know our team will rise to the occasion each weekend and race it up."

Following its race with the Bantams this weekend, Yale will begin its official regular season, competing against Navy for the Johnson Cup, held on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, N.J. Last year, Yale fell to the Midshipmen in the Johnson Cup before defeating them at the Eastern Sprints on the way to a bronze medal. Navy regained the upper hand at IRA's, however, finishing second to Yale's fourth.

After the Johnson Cup, Yale begins a three-week home stand with a race against MIT and Georgetown, competing with MIT for the Joy Cup. Last year, the Bulldogs swept all five races against MIT and Georgetown in challenging conditions on the Charles River.

Next, Yale faces Penn and Columbia. The varsity eight will look to protect the Dodge Cup, which the Bulldogs have held continuously since 2003 and have won 29 of the last 31 years.

On Apr. 23, the Bulldogs will host two races on the Housatonic. In the morning, Yale will race league foe Cornell, which it defeated last season in Ithaca, N.Y., as well as Delaware, a non-league member that went 3-4 against EARC opponents last spring. That afternoon, Yale will face Dartmouth for the Durand Cup. Yale won races in three out of four boat classes against the Big Green last year, but the marquee event, the varsity eight, ended in an unusual dead heat, with both crews crossing the line in 5:31.6.

Yale concludes its regular season with the traditional Harvard-Yale-Princeton regatta, where the Bulldogs will compete for the Goldthwait Cup in the varsity eight and the Vogel Cup for overall team supremacy. Facing the top two finishers from last year's Eastern Sprints, Yale will be searching for its first Goldthwait Cup victory since 2006.

After a week off, all Yale crews will begin the championship season with the Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass., where the Bulldogs will compete for the EARC title. Three Yale crews medalled at Sprints last year, with the second varsity eight taking silver while the varsity eight and the varsity eight and second freshman eight took bronze.

Yale's varsity eight will conclude the season with the IRA National Championship in Camden, N.J. if they qualify at the Eastern Sprints.

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From Yale Sports:

Yale HW Men

Bulldogs Travel to Providence for Season Opener

The Bulldogs claimed three of five races in last year's opener against the Bears, winning the freshman eight, third varsity eight and the four.  This time around Yale will look to make moves on Brown in the second and first varsity eights.  The varsity eight lost by a mere 1.8 seconds last year to a Brown crew that would go on to take third at Eastern Sprints.  A win this weekend would not necessarily be an indicator how the Bulldogs will fare in later championship races, but it would certainly help build critical momentum as they being the dual racing portion of their season.

The order of events is as follows:

2F8/4V8 – 1:15 p.m.

3V8 – 1:35 p.m. 

F8 – 1:55 p.m.

JV8 – 2:15 p.m.

V8 – 2:35 p.m.

Any Yale fans in town for the race should plan on watching from the Narragansett Boat Club, located at 2 River Road, Providence, R.I.  The club is situated in the last 250 meters of the race course.

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From Yale Daily News:

Yale HW Men

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From Yale Sports:

Yale HW Men

Heavyweights Ready to Take On Spring Racing Season

"We've just concluded a very productive winter training phase," said senior captain Derek Johnson.  "Though we've only been back on the water for a couple weeks, the entire squad is eagerly awaiting the transition into the racing season."

The Bulldogs return to Providence after racing Brown at home last year, where Yale won the third varsity eight, the freshman eight and the four.  This was an impressive feat to come from the majority of the Bulldog roster so early in the season, as the Brown 3V that fell to Yale went on to take second place at the Eastern Sprints.  This year, as always, the varsity eight will be the main attraction.  Two years ago, the members of the senior class made their varsity debut on the Seekonk River against Brown and came up empty handed.  On Mar. 26 they will be back at it, looking to exact revenge.  Also returning to Brown are head coach Steve Gladstone and freshman coach Joel Scrogin.  Gladstone served as the head coach of the Bears from 1982 to 1994, leading Brown to four Eastern Sprints championships and five IRA titles before retiring to co-found Resolute Racing Shells.  Scrogin, a 1999 graduate of Brown and Eastern Sprints champion his freshman year, briefly held a position as assistant coach of the Bears beginning in 2004.

Yale will have the first weekend of April off from racing to build more base speed before hosting Dartmouth on Apr. 9 for the Olympic Axe.  This is a title that the Bulldogs have not given up in recent memory.  Last year Yale swept the Big Green and will look to do so again this year.

The following weekend Columbia and Penn will come to town to race for the Blackwell Cup on Apr. 16.  This was Yale's one away dual regatta last year and with wins in the second and first varsity the Bulldogs came home with the Blackwell Cup, one of rowing's largest trophies.  Columbia had won the race in 2008 and 2009 but failed to achieve a three-peat.  This year's Bulldog varsity eight will look to carry the torch in keeping the Blackwell Cup out of the hands of the Lions and the Quakers.

On Apr. 23 the heavyweights will hit the road and travel to Princeton, N.J., to race against Cornell and Princeton for the Carnegie Cup.  This race was also won last year, making Yale three for three in cup races.  This year the Bulldogs will look to repeat the win, especially in the varsity eight.  The Bulldogs have not raced on Lake Carnegie since the 2009 Princeton Chase, where the varsity eight lost first place to Princeton by just two and a half seconds over three miles.  The Carnegie Cup, however, will not be a head race, but rather an all-out fight over 2,000 meters where history will be no indicator of the outcome of the race.

The heavyweights will then have three weeks in which to evaluate their dual season performances before heading off to race at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester, Mass., on May 15.  The Bulldogs will see each of their six regular season opponents again as well as Harvard in what is effectively the sport's Ivy League Championship.

For the second consecutive year now the annual Yale-Harvard race will be held in between the Eastern Sprints and the IRA.  The Bulldogs will race the Crimson over two, three and four miles in the 146^th Yale-Harvard Regatta on May 28 in New London, Conn.  Last year this schedule change was initially thought to be problematic, as Yale crews have to go from racing a longer distance on the Thames in New London back to racing 2,000 meters at the IRA the weekend after.  In fact the change proved to give the Bulldogs a leg up on the field in Camden as the varsity eight arrived in New Jersey to take second in their heat to Cal, the very team who went on to win the regatta.  Compared to a four mile race the Bulldogs will be poised to once again tackle the 2k format of the IRA to prove that the nation's oldest collegiate sports team is ready to reclaim its place in the winner's circle on the national level.  The IRA National Championships will take place from June 2-4 in Camden, N.J.

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From Yale Daily News:

Yale Women

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From Yale Sports:

Yale Women

No. 6 Bulldogs Kick Off Season Against Penn, Columbia

Teams will be racing for the Connell Cup.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale's varsity eight won the NCAA title for the third time in the last four years last May. Six members of that winning boat have graduated, so it would only seem natural for Yale head coach Will Porter to have different expectations for his squad in 2011. Porter, though, never changes his outlook.

"My expectation is FUN," he says. "We love to race. We love the challenge of covering 2k as fast as we can.  We have trained hard all year to get to this spring ready to throw ourselves at the 2k distance."

Porter's formula of making sure his rowers enjoy the experience has been very successful. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine years and have finished in the top six four straight years. In addition, Yale has won four of the last six Ivy League titles and has captured the Charles Willing Team Trophy for overall supremacy at Eastern Sprints in three of the last four years.

Despite all that success, Porter isn't worried that this year's team will feel pressure to live up to those lofty standards.

"Right now there is a distinct feeling of no pressure," Porter said. "I think that is a result of most of last year's varsity eight graduating, and this year we have a whole new group eager to see what they can do at the 1V level.  Also, all the women who are currently on our team came here BECAUSE we are good and there are very high expectations within our program."

Still, there will be differences from previous years.

"We are small this year," Porter says. "We have a small squad and we are small in stature. We will have a very different approach to our racing. We are no longer a bruising heavyweight crew. We are more of a mid-weight light and quick group."

The Bulldogs, who were ranked sixth in the preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll, open the spring season on Saturday against Penn and Columbia. The first race is scheduled for 9 a.m. on the Housatonic River in Derby, Conn. The teams will be racing for the Connell Cup.

Connell Cup Schedule of Events
9 a.m.                Third Varsity Eight
9:20 a.m.          Varsity Four
9:40 a.m.          Second Varsity
10 a.m.             Varsity Eight
10:20 a.m.       Varsity Four B & C

YALE BOATINGS

1st Varsity

C: Sarah Brownlee (Sr., Tampa, FL.); 8: Catherine McDermott (Jr., Cazenovia, N.Y.);7: Dara Dickson (Jr., Lafayette, Calif.); 6: Caroline Nash (Sr., Darien, Conn.); 5:Natalie King (So., Weston, Conn.); 4: Armine Afeyan (Jr., Lexington, Mass.); 3: Kathleen O'Keefe (Jr., Washington, D.C.); 2: Stephanie Madner (Sr., Kew Australia); 1: Maddie Lips (Fr., Parker, Colo.)

2nd Varsity

C: Kristen Brownlee (Fr., Tampa, FL.);8: Eliza Hastings (So., Berwyn, Pa.);7: Amber Anderson (Fr., Richmond, United Kingdom);6: Elizabeth McDermott (Jr., Cazenovia, N.Y.);5: Claire Tolson (Fr., San Mateo, Calif.);4: Kathryn D'Andrea (So., Darien, Conn.);3: Jen Stockwood (Fr., Winchester, Mass.);2: Nikki Grigg (Jr., Washington, D.C.);1: Emily Tormey (So., Seattle, Wash.)

Varsity Four

C: Margaret Ayers (So., Portland, Maine);4: Alexandra Fields (Sr., Rock Island, Ill.);3: Brittany Bowman (Jr., West Grove, Pa.);2: Lauren Ross (Sr., Princeton, N.J.);1: Reynolds Ostrover (Greenwich, Conn.)

3rd Varsity Eight

C: Elisa Visher (Fr., Malibu, Calif.);8: Mary Barrosse-Antle (Sr., Hockessin, Del.);7: Lily Blair (Sr., Seattle, Wash.);6: Elizabeth Kalina (Sr., Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.);5: Georgia Separovich (Jr., New South Wales, Australia);4: Abby Loucks (Fr., Dover, N.H.);3: Madeleine Faucher (So., Boise, Id.);2: Melissa Weigel (So., Annapolis, Md.);1: Katherine Dyke (Jr., Gastonia, N.C.)

2nd Varsity Four

C: Elisa Visher (Fr., Malibu, Calif.); 4: Elizabeth Kalina (Sr., Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.);3: Georgia Separovich (Jr., New South Wales, Australia);2: Sabrina Malak(Fr., Mullica Hill, N.J.); 1: Jane Kozey (Fr., Ansonia, Conn.)

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From Yale Sports:

Yale Women

Bulldogs Ranked Sixth In CRCA Preseason Poll

Yale Kicks Off Season On Mar. 26 Against Penn & Cornell

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's crew has earned a berth in the NCAA Team Championships in each of the last nine years. If the preseason prognosticators prove correct, the Bulldogs will make a 10th straight appearance in 2011. Yale is ranked sixth in the preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs had 369 points and received one first-place vote.

"It is great to be ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll. Of course it is just an estimate of how good people think we will be," said Yale head coach Will Porter. "We will either be better or worse, time will tell. Right now we are just trying to figure out how to go fast."

The Bulldogs open the season on Mar. 26 against Penn and Cornell on the Housatonic River.

Yale's varsity eight is the defending NCAA champion and has won three of the last four titles. Six members of last year's winning boat have graduated so there will be a new look this spring. The Bulldogs finished sixth as a team at last year's NCAA Championships.

Virginia earned 18 first-place votes to top the preseason Division I team rankings. Princeton received five first-place votes to rank second, while the University of California took the No. 3 spot in the poll and earned one first-place vote. Stanford and Brown rounded out the top five.

Preseason USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll

Team (1st-Place Votes), Total Votes

1. University of Virginia (18), 477
2. Princeton University (5), 450
3. University of California (1), 440
4. Stanford University, 404
5. Brown University, 396
6. Yale University (1), 369
7. University of Washington, 316
8. Michigan State University, 314
9. University of Southern California, 296
10. University of Wisconsin, 289
11. University of Michigan, 260
12. Washington State University, 202
13. Ohio State University, 193
14. University of California at Los Angeles, 183
15. Clemson University, 150
16. University of Tennessee, 125
17. Dartmouth College, 91
18. Cornell University, 75
19. Harvard University, 43
20. University of Texas, 27

Not Ranked But Receiving Votes: University of Iowa 24, Oregon State University 22, University of Pennsylvania 21, Northeastern University 19, Columbia University 18, Duke University 13, University of Notre Dame 11, University of Minnesota 7, University of Louisville 4, Indiana University 4, Bucknell University 2, Boston University 2, University of San Diego 1, University of Buffalo 1 and United States Naval Academy 1.

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From Navy Sports:

Women's Rowing Opens 2011 Spring Season on Saturday

Navy will compete in the Murphy Cup Regatta.

	Saturday's Murphy Cup will begin at 9 a.m.

March 25, 2011

 

Coach Mike Hughes Podcast

ANNAPOLIS, MD. – The Navy women's rowing team will open its 2011 spring season on Saturday when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., for the 29th edition of the Murphy Cup Regatta. The event, hosted by Temple University on the Schuylkill River, will begin at 9 a.m.

About the Murphy Cup Regatta
Navy will join 21 other teams at this year's event, including Patriot League opponents Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh.

The Midshipmen picked up two second-place finishes at last year's Murphy Cup. Navy finished just 3.33 seconds behind Loyola in the varsity four race and then was runner up to Bucknell in the second varsity eight race. Navy's first boat placed third.

The Mids' last title in the first varsity eight race came in 2006.

Quoting the Coach

Mike Hughes on this weekend's Murphy Cup Regatta…

 

"The Murphy Cup is an important race for us. We get the chance to race against some Patriot League teams and we get to see where we stand early in the season. We've won this race a number of times and we would like to win it again."

Recapping the Fall
Navy competed in four events this past fall and had its best finish in its last race – the Head of the Occoquan Regatta – where the first varsity boat placed third out of 25 crews.

The Mids opened the fall season with the Navy Day Regatta where they placed third out of 12 boats.

Navy's varsity four boat had its best showing of the fall at the most prestigious event – the Head of the Charles. The varsity four boat placed ninth overall and sixth-best out of all collegiate teams in the race, as it was its best finish ever at the event.

In it's last appearance on the Schuylkill River, Navy placed three boats in the top 10 at the Schuylkill Regatta on Oct. 30. 

She's the Captain
Senior Michelle Romero was selected by her teammates as captain of this year's team. Romero, who is in her fourth season on the rowing team, rowed in the first varsity boat as a junior and with the second varsity boat as a sophomore.

Last season, the Los Angeles, Calif., native garnered All-Patriot League First-Team honors.

Up Next
Navy will head to New Brunswick, N.J., next weekend where it will meet Princeton and Rutgers on Saturday, April 2.

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From The Harvard Crimson

Harvard Begins Quest for National Title

After posting a perfect 10-0 regular season record in 2009-2010, Harvard men’s lightweight crew, shown here in earlier action, looks to contend for a national championship title once again this season. The Crimson begins the spring campaign at home this weekend against Delaware after a strong showing at Head and the Foot of the Charles.

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2011 Yale Heavyweight Crew Schedule

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2011 Yale Lightweight Crew Schedule

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2011 Yale Women's Crew Schedule

• 26 Mar    Connell Cup            Penn/Columbia        at Derby
• 2 April     Cayuga Cup            Syracuse/Cornell     at Derby
• 9 April     Class of '85 Cup      BU/Dartmouth        Boston/Charles 
• 16 April   Eisenburg Cup        Princeton/Ohio State  at Derby
• 23 April   Case Cup                Radcliffe [Harvard]   Cambridge
• 30 April   Nat/Anne Case Cup  Brown                    at Derby
• 15 May    EAWRC Sprints                                    at Camden, NJ
• 27-29 May  NCAA Championships at Gold River,CA [Sacramento]

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2011 Navy Lightweight Crew Schedule

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2011 Navy Heavyweight Crew Schedule

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2011 Navy Women's Crew Schedule

• 2 April                        Princeton/Rutgers     at New Brunswick,NJ
• 9-10 April   George Washington Invitational     at Washington,DC
• 16 April                               Georgetown        at Washington,DC
• 24 April    Patriot League Championships          at Worcester,MA
• 1 May       ECAC Metro Championships           at West Windsor, NJ
• 15 May     EAWRC Sprints                                at Camden, NJ

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