5/14/2010 – Off to the Sprints

Folks…

As the 2010 Spring racing season moves into its championship racing phase, it is the end of speculating with polls, ranking and seeds, as well as who bested whom in the early season dual races and trophy competition. No more dead heats or bragging over whose trophy case is more filled with bigger cups. On Sunday, the crews will line up six across Lake Quinsigamond or the Cooper River and after 2,000 meters Sprints gold medals will be given, overall and individual trophies awarded and Ivy League Championships settled. So let’s get it on and settle it all on the water … no excuses.

EARC Sprints – LWs

Who has the edge, Harvard or Princeton? Or did one or both of the Blue Crews — Navy or Yale find more speed, better Flow, a quicker start, superior moves or a spectacular finish over the last two weeks of exams and practice?

Folks…

EARC Sprints – LWs

Even if the Harvard Varsity Lightweights ended a near two-year winning streak by Princeton at the HYPs on May 1st, Harvard’s nominal lead going into the EARC Sprints on May 16th is a less-than-comfortable 7/10s of a second. Still, the Crimson are likely the crew with the momentum going into the racing at Worcester; an undefeated 10-0 regular season, the win over Princeton despite the fact that Harvard had to make a late substitution in that winning crew, and the fact that they came from behind to win will all count towards Harvard’s confidence.
On the flip side, it’s unlikely that Princeton, the defending Sprints and National champions, will go quietly. Beyond the loss to Harvard, Princeton has been overlapped by only one crew this season, a 6-seat victory over Georgetown on April 24th, and has handled the remainder of their schedule competently.

“I think our results in both the 1V and 2V this year show exactly how our racing and preparation have gone for us,” said Princeton first-year mentor Marty Crotty. “On Sunday, these crews will have a chance to cash in on some very good prep work, and our Varsity is excited about having a chance at redemption so soon.”

Look for fireworks when these two crews meet again.

Beyond the two lead crews is a tight scrum of crews that may yet have the speed to break into the Harvard-Princeton tussle. Navy, ranked 3rd and Georgetown at #4 have both shown solid results this season, with Navy owning the tie break between these two based on a one-length win over the Hoyas on April 18th. If there’s a team that has demonstrably gained speed over the course of the season, it is Georgetown; the Hoyas have raced Princeton twice, halving their margin to the Tigers from April 3rd to their second meeting on April 24th.

The next three crews, and likely those three fighting for the remaining Grand Final places at Sprints are Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth, who have been very close–literally. Yale and Dartmouth rowed to a memorable dead heat in their April 24th contest for the Durand Cup, in which even the video taken at the finish could not determine a winner. At the close of regular season, Cornell in turn put themselves just a nose ahead of Dartmouth on May 1st, winning by approximately two seats.

“The field is extremely competitive top to bottom. I can’t imagine any crew running away with it this year,” said Cornell’s head coach Chris Kerber. “Everyone will go wire to wire for both heat and final – both will be street fights and bloody at that.”

In the Varsity Eight, the remaining crews Penn, Columbia, MIT and guest crew St. Joseph’s will also be fighting for Grand Final spots and a shot at the medals.

Steve Perry’s Navy LW 1V (6-2) comes into Sunday’s action ranked third nationally and third among EARC schools. Navy is also ranked fourth in the second varsity, and fourth in the third varsity. Matt Muffelman’s Plebes are seeded second in the first freshmen and first in the second freshmen events among EARC competition.

One year ago, at the Eastern Sprints Championship, the Midshipmen finished fourth in the first varsity, second in the second varsity, fourth in the third varsity, eighth in the first freshmen and second in the second freshmen events. As a product of their finishes, the Mids landed in fifth place for the Jope Cup, which is awarded to the team accumulating the most points in 1V, 2V and 1F events.

Andy Card’s Yale 150 1V (5-3-1) is ranked fifth nationally and among EARC schools. Yale is also ranked second in the second varsity, and second in the third varsity. Colin Farrell’s Freesh are seeded fifth in the first freshmen and second in the second freshmen events among EARC competition.

“The Yale lightweights now turn their attention to the EARC Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. Once again the annual contest between the Worcester and Shrewsbury shores looks to be a typically hot race on all five levels of the lightweight league”, according to Andy Card in his 22nd season with the Yale 150s.

At the 2009 Eastern Sprints Championship, the Elis finished fifth in the first varsity, first in the second varsity, third in the third varsity, third in the first freshmen and fifth in the second freshmen events. The Bulldogs finished third in Jope Cup competition.

The Yale varsity, looking to rebound from it’s HYP performance, is ranked 5th and in a heat with Harvard, Georgetown, Penn, and Columbia. Navy 1V is in the other heat with likely competition coming from Princeton, Cornell and Dartmouth. The Yale 2V, current holders of the Cornell Trophy for 2V eights in 2009, are ranked second, the only blemish on the regular season a loss to #1 ranked Princeton. They will be competing against Harvard, Penn, and Columbia for a spot in the Grand. The Navy 2V will be in the earlier heat, once again matching up with Princeton, Cornell and Dartmouth along with the Georgetown Hoyas. The 3V, ranked second as well, will be in a seven-boat final-only race at 1:40 pm. The Yale 3V has one loss to date, a mid-April defeat at the hands of #1-ranked Cornell. Rounding out the 3V field in seeded order are Harvard, Navy, Penn, Princeton and Georgetown.

The freshman racing looks tight as well. Yale, ranked 5th, will be in a heat with Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown, and Penn. Navy ranked #2 will be in the later heat with expected competition coming from Cornell, MIT, Dartmouth and Columbia. #1 Navy and #2 Yale will face off in the 2F racing a six-boat final-only at 1310. The Eli 2-freesh lost early to Navy, but then have run the table since. Harvard, Cornell, Dartmouth and Georgetown fill out the Grand Final.

Blue Crew racing begins at 0830 on Sunday with the Yale 4V 4+ in a final only against a mixed field of heavyweight, lightweight, and combination crews.

In the Second Varsity Eight, Princeton is the clear favorite with a clean sheet on the season; the Tigers have beaten everyone in the league save for Dartmouth, whom they did not race. In fact, the top three in this event, Princeton, Yale and Harvard finished in exactly this order at HYPs. A challenge will certainly also come from fourth-seeded Navy, who came within 3 seats of beating Princeton to open the season, but subsequently fell to both Yale and Harvard. The Cornell 2V will also look to figure in the medals picture, having raced both Princeton and Harvard close, while Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth and Georgetown round out the 2V rankings.

The Freshman eight presents a similar picture to the Varsity, with a 10-0 Harvard Frosh crew leading the charge. In the freshman event, the racing has been furious this year, with the three crews trailing Harvard in the final polling, Navy, Cornell and Princeton all having been within a length or so of the Crimson. Behind these four crews, Yale and a surprising MIT Frosh crew make up the list of likely Grand Finalists.

Dartmouth, Georgetown, Penn, Columbia and St. Joseph’s will be looking for an upset in the heats to earn spots in the Grand Final.

Beyond the marquee events, there are three other lightweight events being contested at the Sprints on May 16th. In the Lightweight Third Varsity, Cornell, Yale and Harvard lead a field of seven boats. Navy is at the lead of a pack of six Second Freshman Eights, while MIT, Yale and Princeton will contest the Lightweight Fours event with mixtures of second freshman/fourth varsity athletes.

As of today, Weather Underground is forecasting good racing conditions for Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. Sunny and clear with low humidity and temperatures starting out around 52 F at 0800 and warming to 72 by early afternoon. Winds from WNW will start out the early morning at 4 mph building during the day to 9 mph for the late finals of the afternoon. This indicates a quartering starboard tailwind on the course, which favors lanes 1 and 2 in the lee on the western Worcester shore.

EARC Sprints – HWs

Brown Bruins are on top once again this Spring. Can Harry Parker’s #2 Harvard Crimson or John Pescatore’s #3 Yale Bulldogs find the speed to press ahead of the Bruno for gold in Worcester?

The de facto Ivy League Championship takes place this Sunday in Worcester, Mass. Yale crews will line up against Ivy rivals and the rest of the EARC to determine Ivy League titles, EARC titles and who advances to the IRA Regatta.

For all intents and purposes, the Brown heavyweights have picked up right where they left off in 2009; at the top of their game. The Brown V8, 2V8 and 3V8 are all ranked first going into the Eastern Sprints, with the Varsity and 2V going undefeated in their east-coast regular season (the Varsity finished a close second to Cal at the San Diego Crew Classic).
“We have had a lot of close races this spring and we expect it will be a tight field at Sprints,” said Brown head coach Paul Cooke. “I’ve really enjoyed working with the squad here at Brown. We have a terrific group of people who really enjoy racing. They challenge each other each day and I expect they will continue to do so as we prepare for Sprints.”

In the Varsity Eight, it’s definitely not lonely at the top for Brown, as Harvard, Yale and Northeastern were all within striking distance of the Bruno, with Brown winning all of those races by 4 seats or less. Harvard in particular will look to push Brown hard, as the Crimson have had another quietly excellent season, their losses to Brown in the 1V and 2V standing as the only Harvard losses all season at the Varsity, 2V or Frosh levels.

Also running back near the top of the pack after a year in the wilderness are the Yale heavies. In a year of close racing around the league, the Yale V8 has only lost to Brown leading up to Sprints and are a legitimate challenge.

“There have been many close races among the top-seeded teams this season, so it’s without a doubt a deeper field than in most years,” said Yale head coach John Pescatore. “Our crews have raced well this season, but there’s always room for improvement. We’ll certainly be looking for continued improvement this week.”

Always-enigmatic Wisconsin sits at #4 in the EARC Coaches poll, but history shows that Wisconsin can be a serious threat at the Sprints.

“We don’t race as much as our “Becupped” eastern brethren so we are always a bit of a mystery; not just for our competitors but for us, too,” said Wisconsin’s Chris Clark. “This is the closest field I’ve seen at the Varsity heavy level in a long time. Our team, like about 10 others, will consider ourselves very fortunate just to advance to the Grand Final, let alone win anything. I could also see a team that ends up 7-9th coming back and being a IRA Grand Finalist, something you don’t see too often.”

Rounding out the gaggle of potential finalists are Princeton, Syracuse and Northeastern.

“The tight racing this year has created some heats where there doesn’t appear to be an easy go down the course,” said Syracuse head coach Dave Reischman. “In each of the 3 heats there is a possibility of an upset. It is good for our sport to go into Sprints and have nobody preordained!”

A glance at the Sprints HW heats would seem to bear this out; in the V8, there isn’t a “clean” race for anyone across all three heats.

Rick Clothier’s Navy HW 1V (4-4) enters the weekend ranked 14th nationally and 11th in the EARC. The Midshipmen are also ranked 10th in the second varsity, and eighth in the third varsity. Rob Friedrich’s Plebes are seeded third in the first freshmen and first in the second freshmen events.

At last spring’s Eastern Sprints Championship, the Midshipmen finished 10th in the first varsity, 14th in the second varsity, eighth in the first freshmen and fifth in the second freshmen races. As a result, Navy finished in 11th place for the Rowe Cup, based on points accumulated in 1V, 2V and 1F racing.

“We are very much looking forward to this weekend’s racing,” stated Navy men’s heavyweight crew head coach Rick Clothier. “It is nice to get through final exams and be able to singularly focus on our competition.”

John Pescatore’s Yale HW 1V (5-1) is ranked 5th nationally and 3rd in the EARC. The Bulldogs are also ranked 7th in the second varsity, and second in the third varsity. First year Coach Bill Boyce will lead the Yale Frosh, who are seeded tenth in the first freshmen event.

At last spring’s Eastern Sprints Championship, the Elis finished 15th in the first varsity, 7th in the second varsity, sixth in the first freshmen and fourth in the 3V races. As a result, Yale placed ninth in Rowe Cup overall competition.

Brown and Harvard set the pace in the 2V Eight this season as well, with Brown taking the direct competition between the two crews by just over 4 seats on April 10th. At the top of the 2V field, the seedings read nearly identical to the V8, with Wisconsin, Princeton, Cornell all in the hunt, Syracuse at #6 and Yale and BU tied for 7th. Emblematic of the tight racing across the league this season was the photo-finish between Princeton and Cornell in the 2V race on 24 April, with Princeton declared the winner after video review. These eight crews make up the likely finalists, but as in the V8, upsets are practically programmed into the schedule.

Perhaps the only blemish on Brown’s status as the preeminent EARC heavyweight rowing program is that the Bruno Frosh have run off-form this spring; Brown’s Frosh are ranked 12th headed into Sprints and don’t look to have an impact on the finals or medals pictures at Sprints. Conversely, the Harvard Frosh once again are setting the standard, entering Sprints undefeated, with no opponent coming closer than a length of the Crimson this season thus far. The battle behind Harvard in the Frosh event is fierce however, with one of the deeper and more varied fields in the event in recent years. Cornell, Navy, BU and Princeton have all fielded strong Frosh crews this spring, and those four are looking like the strongest challengers to Harvard going into Sunday’s racing. Penn, Columbia and Syracuse could also challenge.

Other heavyweight events being contested at the Sprints are the 3V8, with Brown, Yale and Wisconsin leading a field of 11 boats. The 4V and 2F events are tiny this year, with four crews apiece: Brown, Harvard, Wisconsin and Navy will contest the 4V Grand in the morning, while Navy, Cornell, Wisconsin and George Washington will race the 2F final in the afternoon.

The top nine varsity eight finishers from EARC Sprints will receive automatic invitations to the IRA Regatta in June that serves as the national championship. There will also be five at-large bids. Selection to the second varsity and freshman eight events is predicated on first being selected to the heavyweight varsity eight event.

EAWRC Sprints

Princeton leads a fast field to the Cooper River and the EARWC Sprints. Can the Yale Bulldogs avenge an earlier loss to the Tigers and take gold in the 1V? The Yale women’s crew varsity eight has won three of the last five Eastern Sprints titles. In two of those years, Yale was beaten during the regular season. The Bulldogs hope for a similar result in 2010. On April 17, Princeton cruised to a nearly seven-second victory over Yale. The Bulldogs look to avenge that loss and stay faster than the rest of a deep field on Sunday on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, NJ.

A candid assessment by one EAWRC coach is probably the best description of the 2010 regular season in the EAWRC: “Princeton is very fast this year and the rest of the field is trying to keep up.” Indeed, the Tigers have paced the field something fierce this season, with a 6-seat win over Brown to open the season being the closest margin against any of their EAWRC opponents this season. Perhaps tellingly, both for Princeton and the rest of the field, the #2 seeded V8 going into Sprints, Yale, finished a full 7 seconds adrift of Princeton at the midway point of the season, and there’s been no sign since that Princeton has reached any kind of plateau.

“I think our training has gone well,” said Princeton head coach Lori Dauphiny. “We continue to learn and adjust throughout the season. In fact, we have learned something new with each race of the season.”

Yale and Brown are the challengers this year, and given the memorable racing between those two squads in recent years, both at Sprints and during the regular season, it’s likely that any serious challenge in the Varsity Eight will come from one of these two crews.

“Princeton is very fast and very good. I do not know if we have what it will take to compete with their speed,” said Yale’s Will Porter. “Brown is also very deep and very good, it will take all we have to keep up with those two, not to mention fighting off the rest of the league. We are looking forward to it.”

Similar sentiments come from Brown’s John Murphy. “I think that there has been good competitive racing in our league all season. These programs are as fast and close in speed as any that I can remember. We have moved ahead steadily this year and we are looking forward to racing at Camden.”

Rounding out the potential finalists in the V8 are strong crews from Dartmouth, Columbia and Cornell. Talk about tight and competitive–the gap between #4 Dartmouth and #6 Cornell was all of 1.3 seconds at the close of the regular season, and with all of .8 seconds separating Columbia and Cornell a weekend earlier, you might well see the seeding order shuffled somewhat when the smoke clears on Sunday afternoon.

“It seems that the EAWRC is stronger as a whole than it’s been in past years, as evidenced by our results vs teams from outside the league,” said Columbia’s Melanie Onufrieff. “For the varsity race in particular, I think the field is really deep and expect to see hot and competitive racing in all three heats.”

A look at times & margins this season would seem to indicate that Sprints is Princeton’s race to lose, but clearly, none of the coaches or crews are taking anything for granted, either way.

All five Yale boats that will compete at the Sprints are seeded in the top three and the Bulldogs are ranked sixth in the nation in the latest CRCA-US Rowing poll. Nevertheless, head coach Will Porter doesn’t believe his team has reached its full potential yet.

“This year has been a struggle to find continuity and flow to our work as a team,” Porter said. “There have been multiple starts and stops in speed but no real steady build. To the team’s credit, they have hung in there and kept working. I wouldn’t count us out.”

The top Ivy League finisher in the varsity eight wins the Ivy title and receives the Sally P. Shoemaker Trophy. The Charles Willing Jr. Trophy is awarded for overall team supremacy. Yale has won the Willing Trophy in two of the last three years.

After losing to Princeton, Yale’s varsity eight rebounded to defeat both Radcliffe and Brown. The Bulldogs are seeded second behind Princeton and race Rutgers, Penn, Columbia, Bucknell and Georgetown in the morning heat with the top two finishers advancing to the grand final.

Yale’s second varsity is seeded third and faces George Washington, Dartmouth, Columbia, Syracuse and Georgetown in its heat.

The Bulldogs have won the varsity four grand final in each of last three years. They are seeded third this time and race against Georgetown, Bucknell, Boston University, Penn and George Washington in the morning heat.

Yale’s third varsity eight will be the first to race. The Bulldogs, seeded third, face Dartmouth, Bucknell and Radcliffe.

Yale’s second varsity four is seeded second and races Boston College, Radcliffe, Cornell, Penn and George Washington.
“Sunday is all about taking the next step in all our crews,” Porter said. “We need fast starts, more dynamic base speed, good moves and a sprint. If we can do all that, we will be OK.”
The Navy women’s team (9-5) enters this Sunday’s races ranked 13th in the first varsity eight, 14th in the second varsity eight, 13th in the third varsity eight, 12th in the varsity four `A’ and ninth in the varsity four `B’ events. Navy is coming off back-to-back second-place finishes in the first varsity eight competitions at the ECAC Mid-Atlantic/New England Region and Patriot League Championships.

Last spring at the Eastern Sprints Championship, the Mids placed 13th in the first varsity eight, 13th in the second varsity eight, sixth in the varsity four `A’ and seventh in the varsity four `B’ contests. By virtue of its finishes, Navy found itself in 12th place for overall points earned toward the Willing Trophy.

“At the Eastern Sprints, we will face some of the fastest crews in the country,” stated Navy women’s crew head coach Mike Hughes. “We will get a chance to measure ourselves against the best. Whoever wins the sprints has a great chance of winning the NCAA Championship, because the field is that fast.”

In the 2V and 3V eights, Brown sits atop the seedings, another sign of the depth of the program in Providence. The Brown 2V is undefeated, but will see a stiff challenge from Princeton, who undoubtedly have gained some stiff resolve from racing their fast Varsity eight in practice all spring. The margin between the Brown and Princeton 2Vs was about six seats early in the season, so it’s likely to once again be these two crews vying for the center spot on the podium in Camden.

Yale, Columbia, Radcliffe and Cornell are the top crews giving chase in the 2V, and by extension, in the team competition and the resulting NCAA bids.

The 3V event, aka “the event formerly known as the Novice Eight,” has been a little harder to handicap this season, perhaps in part to the change in moniker and classification with respect to the makeup of each particular crew. Brown, who has historically seen great success both in the Novice Eight and in gaining a lot of speed out of integrating their novices into the Varsity events as the season progresses to championship time, takes the top slot here, followed by a strong Cornell crew and the 3V from Yale. A surging Bucknell entry, Princeton and Northeastern round out the list of the top six seeds headed into the Sprints.

The remaining open-weight events that are being contested at the EAWRC Sprints on Sunday are the three Varsity Four Events, the “A”, “B” and “C” Varsity Fours, and the 4V Eights. Princeton, Brown and Yale lead the list of 16 crews entered in the Varsity Four “A”, while Brown, Yale and Cornell are at the top of a field of 11 crews racing in the Varsity Four “B.” Boston College, Brown and Pennsylvania are contesting the “C” Four, while Cornell and Navy make up a two-boat 4V final mid-afternoon.

According to Yale Coach Will Porter, “This season has been a strange one on many fronts. First we have battled the injury bug which has weakened our overall team from what we were in the fall and coming out of last year. Three members of last year’s Sprints Championship team are out for the season. In addition, we had a key member of our sophomore class leave the team to explore other options at Yale. The loss of those 4 underclass-women and graduating 9 seniors means we return to this season as a strange mix of young and old. The current 1V has 6 seniors in it while the 2V has 3 freshmen and 4 juniors. There are only 2 athletes left from last year’s 2V that won the NCAA Championship.”

“Despite the personnel challenges this team has fared quite well so far. The 1V is 10-2 with losses to Princeton and UVA , the 2V is 10-2 with losses to Princeton and Brown, the V4 is 9-3 with losses to UVA, Princeton and Brown, the V4b is 9-3 with losses to Cornell, MSU and Brown, and the 3V is 10-2 with losses to Cornell and Brown. The hot crews this year are Princeton in the 1V and Brown in everything else. Radcliffe has been off the pace this year but they always seem to rally for Sprints. Columbia and Cornell are on the rise and Dartmouth has a fast 1V.”

“The spring has been especially ornery this year bringing rain, floods and wind and we have yet to get that 1 good week of flat water. I know I must say this every year, but this one seems just a bit worse. We have a saying that “when we get good water we row well no matter what”. I would say that has been the case this year with the exception of the Princeton- UVA race when we just were not ready to go that fast. Now it does not matter if we are ready, now we must go fast!”

Well said, Will Porter … For the Cooper River in Camden on Sunday, Weather Underground, is forecasting good racing conditions — temperatures ranging from 56 to 72 on the day with clear sunny skies, no chance of rain and reasonable humidity levels. 0800 should see winds at 4 mph from the NNW, backing and building slightly to 6 mph out of the West by the scheduled end of racing. I do not know the compass direction of the race course, but the low winds should set-up great racing conditions regardless.

So women of Yale and Navy, find the Flow, and move the boats down the course ahead of the competition!

Following the Sprints Competition —

You find lots of stuff at www.row2k.com, where there will be full coverage of EARC and EAWRC, results, commentary, photo galleries and videos.

EARC Schedule of heats and finals is available at http://www.row2k.com/earc/features.cfm?ID=263
EAWRC Schedule of heats and finals is available at
http://www.row2k.com/eawrc/2010/EAWRC_Regatta_SCHEDULE.pdf
You can also listen to the racing live online or over a free phone call:
To listen to EAWRC Championships over the phone, dial (605) 715-4900 and enter passcode 698020 (followed by the # key) at the prompt.
To listen to EARC Championships over the phone, dial (605) 715-4900 and enter passcode 934257 (followed by the # key) at the prompt.
Or you can listen on line at:
http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=ecacrowing&o=cal_stamp&sd=today
EAWRC Sprints Rowing Championships have morning heats starting at 0800 on Sunday 16 May. EARC Sprints Rowing Championships have morning heats and lower boat finals beginning at 0820. Afternoon finals begin for the men at 1310 and the women at 1300. Good Luck if you try to multi-task — java, phone and internet.

Other Rowing Stuff –

While you are following the Blue Crews on Sunday or otherwise when time permits, make sure to check out www.navylites.org. Gary Lundeen, Navy LW ’75 [starboard side] and Steve Hall, Navy LW ’75 [starboard side] have made a lot of updates and improvements to the site dedicated to the family and fraternity of alumni oarsmen and friends of navy lightweight crew.

Lots of updates to NavyLites History –
http://navylites.org/history – timeline, coaches, captains, Spirit of the Lightweights winners, US Team rowers, year by year history 1954 to 2010, all the LW trophies in detail, season results from 1953 to 2010.

A video complete with music and commentary on the NavyLites Alumni page http://navylites.org/alumni — the guys are now calling themselves the Toasts of the Severn. In the Alumni section you can also sign up as a member and get your own ID, password and e-mail address [******@navylites.org] that will forward directly to your computer.

And a real fan favorite — Rowing Verse (in the key of Way E’nuff) — Verse from Gary Lundeen USNA ’75 and doggerel by Tom “Big Gulp” Weil, Yale LW ’70. This section is soliciting additional entries.

You will also find irregular comments from the Navy coaches, Navy Crew newsletters, updated schedule and results of 2010 and when Steve finds the time to keep up, archive and current editions of the Blue Blog.
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If you think that your prognostication skills are extraordinary, better even than Punxsutawney Phil of Gobbler’s Knob fame or the best of the Vegas bookmakers, you can go http://www.row2k.com/ and enter your predictions for the EARC and EAWRC in Sprints row2k pick’ems. I still don’t think that this has the cache’ of the London bookies setting the odds for Oxford-Cambridge.
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In addition to all of this great racing on the East Coast, the 2010 Pacific Coast and PAC-10 Rowing Championships will be held this weekend on Lake Natoma in CA. Washington and Cal-Berkeley HW 1V are ranked #1 and #2 in national rankings in the USRowing Collegiate Poll. Stanford at #12 and Oregon State at #18 are the only other west coast crews ranked in the top 20 nationally. The top-ranked crew among LW 1Vs nationally is #15 University of California. The most recent Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/USRowing Poll ranks Cal-Berkeley #1 among Women’s NCAA Division I teams. Stanford is #5, Washington #7, USC #8, Washington State #11 and UCLA #12.
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More detail is included below in articles from Navy and Yale Sports, a recent blast e-mail from the Yale Crew Association and just for you Luke, the latest article from The Harvard Crimson on the 10-0 Cantab LWs, with those quotes from the rowers and coxswains that you love so much. Due credit to row2k for help with the core of the cut and paste.

So let’s get ready for some great racing and cheer the Blue Crews over the line ahead of all others!

GO BLUE … Be one with the Boat!

Cheers!

Best Regards,

Coach and TB406

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From Navy Sports:

Navy Crew Gears Up for Eastern Sprints Championship
Men’s teams head to Worcester, Mass., women’s team travels to Cherry Hill, NJ

Navy men’s heavyweight crew

May 14, 2010

ANNAPOLIS, MD – All three of Navy’s crew teams will be taking to the water this Sunday to partake in the Eastern Sprints Championship. The men’s heavyweight and men’s lightweight teams will be rowing on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass., while the women’s team will compete on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.
The men’s heavyweight team (4-4) enters the weekend ranked 14th nationally and 11th in the EARC in the first varsity event. The Midshipmen are also ranked 10th in the second varsity, eighth in the third varsity, third in the first freshmen and first in the second freshmen events among EARC competition.

At last spring’s Eastern Sprints Championship, the Midshipmen finished 10th in the first varsity, 14th in the second varsity, eighth in the first freshmen and fifth in the second freshmen races. As a result, Navy finished in 11th place for the Rowe Cup, which is presented to the team with the most points.

The men’s lightweight team (6-2) comes into Sunday’s action ranked third nationally and among EARC schools in the first varsity race. Navy is also ranked fourth in the second varsity, fourth in the third varsity, second in the first freshmen and first in the second freshmen events among EARC competition.

One year ago at the Eastern Sprints Championship, the Midshipmen finished fourth in the first varsity, second in the second varsity, fourth in the third varsity, eighth in the first freshmen and second in the second freshmen events. As a product of their finishes, the Mids landed in fifth place for the Jope Cup, which is awarded to the team with the most points.

The women’s team (9-5) enters this Sunday’s races ranked 13th in the first varsity eight, 14th in the second varsity eight, 13th in the third varsity eight, 12th in the varsity four `A’ and ninth in the varsity four `B’ events. Navy is coming off back-to-back second-place finishes in the first varsity eight competitions at the ECAC Mid-Atlantic/New England Region and Patriot League Championships.

Following this Sunday’s action, Navy’s men’s heavyweight and lightweight teams will head to Camden, N.J., to participate in the IRA National Championship on June 3-5.

Men’s Heavyweight Schedule
8:40 a.m. – Third Varsity (Heats)
9:00 a.m. – Fourth Varsity (Grand Final)
10:00 a.m. – First Freshmen (Heats)
11:00 a.m. – Second Varsity (Heats)
11:24 a.m. – First Varsity (Heats)
1:25 p.m. – Second Freshmen (Grand Final)
1:55 p.m. – Third Varsity (Grand Final)
2:37-3:07 p.m. – First Freshmen (Finals)
3:49-4:19 p.m. – Second Varsity (Finals)
4:31-5:01 p.m. – First Varsity (Finals)

Men’s Lightweight Schedule
9:24 a.m. – First Freshmen (Heats)
10:12 a.m. – Second Varsity (Heats)
12:00 p.m. – First Varsity (Heats)
1:10 p.m. – Second Freshmen (Grand Final)
1:40 p.m. – Third Varsity (Grand Final)
2:10-2:25 p.m. – First Freshmen (Finals)
3:22-3:37 p.m. – Second Varsity (Finals)
5:16-5:36 p.m. – First Varsity (Finals)

Women’s Schedule
8:00 a.m. – Third Varsity Eight (Heats)
8:40 a.m. – First Varsity Eight (Heats)
9:20 a.m. – Second Varsity Eight (Heats)
9:45 a.m. – Varsity Four `A’ (Heats)
10:15 a.m. – Varsity Four `B’ (Heats)
2:00 p.m. – Fourth Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
2:15-2:25 p.m. – Varsity Four `B’ (Finals)
2:40-3:00 p.m. – Third Varsity Eight (Finals)
3:25-3:45 p.m. – Varsity Four `A’ (Finals)
4:00-4:20 p.m. – Second Varsity Eight (Finals)
4:35-4:55 p.m. – First Varsity Eight (Finals)

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From Yale team-run web site:

Sprints time is here again
(May 12) The Yale lightweights now turn their attention to the EARC Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. Once again the annual contest between the Worcester and Shrewsbury shores looks to be a typically hot race on all five levels of the lightweight league.
The Yale varsity, looking to rebound from it’s HYP performance, is ranked 5th and in a heat with Harvard, Georgetown, Penn, and Columbia. The Yale JV, current holders of the Cornell Trophy for JV eights in 2009, are ranked second, the only blemish on the regular season a loss to #1 ranked Princeton. They will be competing against Harvard, Penn, and Columbia for a spot in the Grand. The 3V, ranked second as well, will be in a seven-boat final-only race at 1:40 pm. The 3V has one loss to date, a mid-April defeat at the hands of #1-ranked Cornell.
The freshman racing looks tight as well. Yale, ranked 5th, will be in a heat with Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown, and Penn. The #2-ranked 2F is racing a six-boat final-only race at 1:10 pm. The 2-freesh lost early to Navy, but then have run the table since.
Racing begins at 8:30 am on Sunday with the 4V 4+ in a final only against a mixed field of heavyweight, lightweight, and combination crews. Follow all the action on row2k.com, and listen to the live broadcast of the races here. ============================================================================

From Yale Sports:

May 14, 2010
Heavyweight Crews Head to Eastern Sprints

NEW HAVEN, Conn.- The de facto Ivy League Championship takes place this Sunday in Worcester, Mass. Yale crews will line up against Ivy rivals and the rest of the EARC to determine Ivy League titles, EARC titles and who advances to the IRA Regatta. Rankings going into the event put the varsity eight (5-1) in third, the second varsity (3-3) in seventh, the third varsity (5-0) in second and the freshmen (2-4) in tenth. Rankings based on the season’s performances against opposing crews (voted on by EARC coaches) create a seeding for the event that determines preliminary heats.

This year the No. 3 varsity will race in the third preliminary heat at 11:36 am in lane one. It will face No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 9 Columbia, No. 10 BU, No. 15 Georgetown and No. 16 Holy Cross. The top two finishers advance to the grand final.

The No. 7 second varsity will race at 10:36 a.m. in the first heat against No. 1 Brown, No. 6 Syracuse, No. 12 Northeastern and No. 13 Pennsylvania. The top two from each heat qualify for the grand final.

The No. 2 third varsity will race at 8:50 a.m. against No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 6 Princeton, No. 7 BU, No. 10 Dartmouth and No. 11 Holy Cross. Here, the top three move on to the grand final.
The No. 10 freshman eight races at 10:00 a.m. against No. 3 Navy, No. 4 BU, No. 9 Georgetown, No. 15 Holy Cross and No. 16 Rutgers. The top two in each of the three heats advance to the grand final.

The finals will take place in the afternoon as follows:

1:55 p.m. 3V Grand Final

2:37 p.m. Freshman Third Level Final

2:52 p.m. Freshman Petite Final

3:07 p.m. Freshman Grand Final

3:49 p.m. Second Varsity Third Level Final

4:04 p.m. Second Varsity Petite Final

4:19 p.m. Second Varsity Grand Final

4:31 p.m. Varsity Third Level Final
4:46 p.m. Varsity Petite Final

5:01 p.m. Varsity Grand Final

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From Yale Sports:

May 13, 2010

No. 6 Yale Gearing Up For Eastern Sprints

Bulldogs Seek Second Straight Ivy League Title And Fourth In Six Years

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women’s crew varsity eight has won three of the last five Eastern Sprints titles. In two of those years, Yale was beaten during the regular season. The Bulldogs hope for a similar result in 2010. On Apr. 17, Princeton cruised to a nearly seven-second victory over Yale. The Bulldogs look to avenge that loss and stay faster than the rest of a deep field on Sunday on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. The morning heats begin at 8 a.m. and the last event, the varsity eight grand final, is scheduled for 4:55 p.m.

After losing to Princeton, Yale’s varsity eight rebounded to defeat both Radcliffe and Brown. The Bulldogs are seeded second behind Princeton and race Rutgers, Penn, Columbia, Bucknell and Georgetown in the morning heat at 8:50 a.m. The top two finishers advance to the grand final.

Yale’s probable lineup is Dara Dickson, Stephanie Madner, Catherine Hart, Caroline Nash, Maren McCrea, Alice Henly, Tess Gerrand, Taylor Ritzel and coxswain Mia Kanak.

Yale’s second varsity is seeded third and faces George Washington, Dartmouth, Columbia, Syracuse and Georgetown in its heat at 9:30 a.m.

The probable lineup is Catherine McDermott, Mary Jo Toothman, Kathryn D’Andrea, Natalie King, Armine Afeyan, Kathleen O’Keefe, Allix Wilde, Eliza Hastings and coxswain Sarah Brownlee.

In the boat are Amanda Grady, Alexandra Fields, Elizabeth McDermott, Mary Pat Wixted and coxswain Erica Segall.

Yale’s third varsity eight of Brittany Bowman, Ryan McCarthy, Melissa Weigel, Lauren Ross, Emily Tormey, Lily Blair, Mary Barrosse-Antle, Katherine Dyke and coxswain Margaret Ayers will be the first to race. The Bulldogs, seeded third, face Dartmouth, Bucknell and Radcliffe at 8:20 a.m.

Yale’s second varsity four is seeded second and races Boston College, Radcliffe, Cornell, Penn and George Washington at 10:25 a.m.

The probable lineup is Laura Gottesdiener, Julia Jolliffe, Nikki Grigg, Georgia Separovich and coxswain Yassmin Parsaei.

“Sunday is all about taking the next step in all our crews,” Porter said. “We need fast starts, more dynamic base speed, good moves and a sprint. If we can do all that, we will be ok.”
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From Yale Crew Association:

To all YWC Family, Friends and Fans,

We have closed out the regular season and we are preparing for the Sprints. With one day left in the exam period we are almost down to just concentrating on rowing for 5 days before the storm in Camden. This season has been a strange one on many fronts. First we have battled the injury bug which has weakened our overall team from what we were in the fall and coming out of last year. Three members of last year’s Sprints Championship team are out for the season, Alex Thompson, Roxanne Carini, and Katherine Adams. In addition, we had a key member of our sophomore class leave the team to explore other options at Yale. The loss of those 4 underclass-women and graduating 9 seniors means we return to this season as a strange mix of young and old. The current 1V has 6 seniors in it while the 2V has 3 freshmen and 4 juniors. There are only 2 athletes left from last year’s 2V that won the NCAA Championship.

Despite the personnel challenges this team has fared quite well so far. The 1V is 10-2 with losses to Princeton and UVA , the 2V is 10-2 with losses to Princeton and Brown, the V4 is 9-3 with losses to UVA, Princeton and Brown, the V4b is 9-3 with losses to Cornell, MSU and Brown, and the 3V is 10-2 with losses to Cornell and Brown. We enter the Sprints seeded 2nd in the 1V and the V4b, 3rd in the 2V, V4, 3V. The hot crews this year are Princeton in the 1V and Brown in everything else. Radcliffe has been off the pace this year but they always seem to rally for Sprints. Columbia and Cornell are on the rise and Dartmouth has a fast 1V.

I am excited to see how we race at the Sprints as this group has not stopped working and I am curious to see if we can find a bit of late season speed. I know we have not maxed out our speed yet. The spring has been especially ornery this year bringing rain, floods and wind and we have yet to get that 1 good week of flat water. I know I must say this every year, but this one seems just a bit worse. We have a saying that “when we get good water we row well no matter what”. I would say that has been the case this year with the exception of the Princeton- UVA race when we just were not ready to go that fast. Now it does not matter if we are ready, now we must go fast!

I look forward to the racing and seeing you there.

Y-A-L-E GO YALE GO!

Will

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From The Harvard Crimson:

Harvard Lightweights Finish Dual Season Unbeaten

By Jessica L. Flakne, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, May 05, 2010

After defeating both Princeton and Yale at the HYP Regatta last weekend, the Crimson lightweights, shown here in earlier action, finished the dual racing season with its first unbeaten record since 1997.

Rowing great Jim Dietz once said, “Rowing is a sport for dreamers. As long as you put in the work, you can own the dream.”

Last season, the Harvard men’s lightweight varsity eight fell just short of its goal to become league and national champions, placing second at Eastern Sprints and then third at IRAs. Having won the 2009 Jope Cup for overall team points and graduating only three members of its varsity crew, the oarsmen knew there was reason to keep the dream alive.

“Two years ago, it was very clear that it was a rebuilding year,” said captain and three-year varsity eight veteran Martin Eiermann. “We didn’t do very well, but we learned a lot. And last year we had a great season, but there was always a slightly bitter aftertaste. But, when we came back this year, it was pretty clear that since we had won the Jope Cup in the Ivy League and come in second at Sprints, there was only one way to go.”

That way was to the top of collegiate lightweight competition. The No. 1 Crimson men’s lightweight varsity eight (10-0) outraced every crew it lined up against this dual racing season, earning the first unbeaten record for Harvard since 1997.

The team began the onslaught of victory April 3rd on the Charles River, defeating the University of Delaware. After that, Cornell, Penn, Georgetown, Saint Joseph’s, Dartmouth, MIT, and Navy all found themselves rowing in the Crimson’s wake.

This past weekend at the annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton Regatta, the varsity capped off its perfect 10-0 season with victories against then-No. 1 Tigers and No. 4 Bulldogs.

The HYP Regatta is a highly anticipated race for each of the participating crews. But, having fallen to both Princeton and Yale at IRAs last year, the Crimson entered this year’s regatta with revenge on its mind.

Off the starting line, the Tigers and Bulldogs took an early advantage on Harvard. After Yale fell off the pace, the Crimson was left to duke it out with Princeton. The Tigers maintained an advantage until the final 500 meters when Harvard’s relentless cadence drew them even and then pushed them ahead in the sprint, winning with a time of 5:40.7 to Princeton’s 5:41.4.

“The problem has never been so much motivating people to go hard but to keep their calm and have no one get flustered,” Eiermann said. “This crew has been particularly good at that. And we did a fantastic job [on Saturday] to deal with Princeton and deal with Yale when they jumped up a couple seats. Instead, we just did what we do best: row our base pace, win the race, and bring it home.”

The varsity eight line-up for this past weekend consisted of senior Dexter Louie at coxswain, sophomore Tim Moore at stroke, sophomore Austin Meyer at seven seat, junior Will Newell at six seat, Eiermann at five seat, junior Billy Hennrikus at four seat, sophomore Tom Nesel at three seat, junior Jared Dourdeville at two seat, and sophomore James Stewart at bow.

Junior Andrew Trott, who raced in the varsity line-up for every race previous to this past weekend, was unable to compete in the HYP Regatta. Nesel filled his spot and helped the varsity to win the Goldthwait Cup.

Although the Crimson’s perfect dual season record makes it appear like they are rising far above the pack, what is perhaps more impressive is that the entire league has gained more speed, and Harvard has still managed to push their bow ball out in front.

“In past seasons, we had races in which other boats were just completely out of it,” Newell said. “There used to be just a handful of fast crews in the league, but this year it is just so much closer. But this is exactly what lightweight racing should be. It should be racing where you’re contesting it for seven-tenths of a second, and where no one is giving up for the whole 2,000 meters. We’re just really happy that we could have a race against Princeton that showed how good both crews are. Of course, we’re happy to have come out on top, but we’re excited about the level of competition in general.”

With a week and a half to go until the Eastern Sprints, there is certainly time for the Crimson to find more speed. A perfect dual season record brings Harvard one step closer to realizing its dream, but for these oarsmen, it will be their finish at Sprints and IRAs that matter most.

“Now we have pretty big targets on our backs,” Moore said. “I think everyone is going to be as hungry as ever to hunt us down. But we just have to continue building on what we’ve been doing, going back to the fundamentals, making every stroke and every practice powerful and strong.”

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