New York State Championship Regatta

This past weekend, Marist Crew raced at the New York State Championships. Once again, our team was excited to race here because the regatta had been cancelled in 2011. We had heard that William Smith was fast this year and after our photo finish at MAACs, we were hungry for another good race. 

Our heat was the second race on Saturday morning, with fourth and sixth seeded St. Lawrence and Ithaca. We had a pretty big bobble in the middle of our power twenty that threw us off for some strokes. At the 500m, we were battling for 3^rd and 4^th with St. Lawrence and RIT but our coxswain, Zoe, was ready to put some fire into us in order to make sure we finished in the top three and qualified for finals. By 750m, we had pulled away from RIT but were still trying to shake St. Lawrence, with Ithaca in first by a decent amount. By 1500 we had about half a boat length on SLU and worked to catch up with Ithaca in our sprint. We placed 2^nd but all agreed that we knew we could race better the next day.

Because of our second place finish, we were placed in lane 4, with William Smith, Ithaca, Hamilton and St. Lawrence respectively in 1,2,3 & 6. We knew that it would be a tight race between the six crews and that we would have to have a strong race to medal.  Our coach made us look at the picture from MAACs in order to get fired up to race before we launched and we were ready to go. Our start, which is normally our weakness, was one of the best we’ve had and we were right with everyone from the beginning instead of having to come from behind. By the 500m, William Smith had a strong lead and we had moved up on St. Lawrence, Ithaca and Hamilton. We had an incredible middle move and were flying for the rest of the race. Personally, I think it was not only the best race we’ve had as a boat, but also one of the best races I’ve had in my rowing career. I was so focused and just hammered on it the entire time and after the race, my boatmates agreed that they felt the same way. 

Silver medal!

The other boats on the men’s and women’s teams also placed very well. The Men’s V8 and V4 placed second and our freshmen men won gold. Another result that is fantastic is that both of our freshmen boats made the final. Our 1F got gold and our 2F got 4^th. Obviously, the 1F winning is fantastic, but the fact that the 2F for 4^th in a tough field shows just how strong the freshmen class is and how much everyone has improved since the beginning of the year. The 2F is currently composed of all walk ons. I think this is a fantastic sign for the future of the Marist program. 

Varsity 8+ with our medals

Next weekend we will split with the men’s team as they head to Worchester, MA for ECACs and we head to Philadelphia for Dad Vails. It’s scary to realize that this is my last college race ever but I am very excited to see what the team can do.

Marist Crew at MAACs

Due to last year’s cancellation, our team was very ready to go after it at this year’s MAAC championships. We had been a strong crew last year and felt that we never got the chance to prove it. This year, with the addition of Drake and Jacksonville to the conference as well as the change in point system to NCAA rules, things were a little different than when we reaced in 2010. Previously, every boat we raced counted towards the overall points total. This year, only the 1V8, 2V8 and V4 finishes were counted towards the points total and no rowers were allowed to double up within those three events. All the other events were still held but they were considered for exhibition only (on the women’s side, the men’s side held to the same point system as always). 

The night before racing, the MAAC hosted a banquet for all the crews involved as well as the tennis teams, who also had their MAACs in Mercer County that weekend. It was awesome to see everyone on our team clean and dressed nicely, but it was also great to hear about the accomplishments of the Marist Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams. Marist Crew hauled in some pretty awesome awards, such as Men’s Coach of the Year for Sean Clarke, Women’s Varsity 8+ of the year, Men’s Varsity 8 of the year, Women’s 2V 8 of the year (for our 1F) and Men’s Varsity 4 of the Year as well as many Crew of the Week awards. On the women’s side, we also had at least 15 people named to the MAAC All-Academic team, the highest number in the conference. It was a great event (and the food was awesome). I just wish they had started the tradition earlier in my rowing career!

The next day, the races that counted for points were scheduled right after each other so we had no idea how the two boats did as we were all on the water at the same time. We locked onto our start on time, but the Jacksonville bow seat had a problem with her seat, so we waited on the stake boats for about ten minutes, swallowing our nerves and staying amped up for the race. With two unknown crews on either side of us, we were very antsy to get off the line.

I can honestly say that our V8 race was one of the most exciting races I’d ever been in. I could tell that everyone in front of me was pulling harder than they had ever pulled. We went down the course within four seats of Drake the entire time. We would take a bad stroke and they would take a couple seats. Then they would take a bad stroke and we would gain the seats back. Going into the last 400m they probably had half a boat length up on us. We hit the best sprint of our lives and took back four seats over those 400 meters, ending the race bowball to bowball. Neither crew had any idea who won. It was a perfect photo finish.

It was torture not knowing the result. We felt that we had raced to the best of our ability, we just didn’t know if it had been good enough. The Drake girls came over after we docked and we shook hands, something I thought was very gracious of them, since everyone was in the same limbo of not knowing who came out on top. We stood around, staring at each other, waiting for a result and praying that we had been first. Tom got a phone call and the minute he picked up, we could tell Drake had won the race and therefore won the championship. Although it was devastating to hear that our grade of seniors would never win a MAAC championship, we put up a great fight and had an amazing race.  Drake definitely didn’t have an easy win and if we had to lose in any fashion, I would have picked this one. I hate losing more than anyone, but I think the experience we gained as a boat was incredibly valuable.

In the exhibition events, I raced the pair and the open four. I had about an hour of rest after the eight race to eat some food, rehydrate and get my racing mentality back. Our four lineup was a little different because Tom wanted to make sure Angie, our stroke seat in the *+ and normally our three seat in the four, had completely healed from her rib injury. However, despite not rowing in our line-up ever before, we had a great race. It was in two heats, so even though we won our heat, the real winner would be based on time. We ended up winning the event overall. I raced with Angie in the pair, my favorite race, where we placed third. Unfortunately the conditions had picked up for our race and the tail wind threw up a lot of chop, not exactly fun for the pair. This, plus the fact that it was my third race of the day meant that I was in a lot of pain. Howewver, Angie is fantastic at matching up and keeping me motivated and I think we would have done much worse had she not been able to do that. We placed third and I can honestly say that I am thankful for all of those 3x2k workouts we did in winter training. 

Overall, while the result was not what we hoped for, the racing was strong and our team should be in a fantastic position for next year. 

Marist Crew Brings the Broom!

As our team geared up for the President’s Cup, our annual dual meet against Army, there was one worry in everyone’s mind: would we even be able to race? Last year, the race was cancelled due to high winds. We were hungry for a great race, but with high winds predicted again this year, we just wanted to make sure we could race at all.

Luckily the morning of the Cup was perfect. The water was flat and it was sunny, a rare sight on the Hudson in April. Every year the race alternates venues and for my senior year, it was a home race. Not only is this great because it’s awesome to race on a very familiar course but we also don’t have to load (and then un-load) all of our equipment onto the trailer, a task that is often drawn out and frustrating. 

Rowing up to the start

Despite a rocky first 300 meters, our V8 had a very solid race. Our start was frantic and rushed but once we calmed down, it felt very smooth. Our third 500, usually the weakest part of our race, was actually the best part. We crossed the finish line twelve seconds ahead of the Army V8. After our race, the Women’s 1F and 2F placed 1^st and 2^nd in their race against Army’s freshmen crew. This meant that in order to sweep the events, our V4 had to win. 

Our V4 after the race...whitecaps barely visible in the background

By the time our V4 was ready to race, the conditions completely changed. We had a strong tailwind, racing against the current, conditions that create white caps. Our race was a pretty rough in those conditions, especially because we haven’t practiced in fours since the first day of spring training, but our line-up proved to be successful, as we beat Army’s first 4+ by eleven seconds. We were happy to have gotten the race in, but the Novice 4+s were not so lucky. The conditions had worsened to the point that it would have been unsafe for them to race and their race was cancelled. Marist Crew was successful in retaining the President’s Cup for another year!

Seniors and the President's Cup

After the races, we had a ceremony presenting the Cup and honoring all the seniors. It was really nice to see the administration supporting our team in person and it was a nice event for the parents, who probably often wonder why they spend their free time freezing at the side of a riverbank waiting for a split second glimpse of their child rowing by. As always, the ceremony was a reminder that the year is flying by and it’s almost time for “the G word”.

For results, see row2k.com. For Marist’s coverage, see goredfoxes.com. Marist Crew also swept the MAAC Rowing Awards for this week, where our V8 and V4 won both awards for the women’s side. Go Red Foxes! Happy Easter everyone!

A Wild Weekend of Racing for Marist Crew

After our less than satisfactory result at the Murphy Cup, we put some serious work into practice during the week. We knew that we were faster than our result showed and this weekend was the weekend to prove it. With V8 race on Saturday against Trinity and UConn and a V8 and V4 race on Sunday against SHU, Drake, Canisius, Iona, University of Albany and Fairfield, it was time to show the rowing world some semblance of speed.

Coventry Lake, CT

Saturday morning our race took place in Coventry Lake, CT. As rowers, we’re used to early mornings, but a 5:30am bus with freezing temperatures made this morning harsher than most. The UConn race has traditionally been the coldest race with the most miserable racing conditions on our schedule and it seemed like this year was going to be no exception. Once we arrived at the course, we were pleased to find that, while it was sleeting, or snowing, or precipitating somehow throughout the morning, the water was fairly flat. My pair partner from last year and I were especially pleased. Our joke from last year’s race was that it was a stern six crew team and a bow pair swim team, as we came off the water with about six inches of water in our hull. This year was better already!

In our race, we had a good start, but Trinity and UConn got off the line faster than we did. Because we were testing our new “super secret senior starboard stroke” (direct Tom Sanford quote) line-up, we took a power 15 instead of a power 20 before we settled, which put us at even more of a disadvantage. However we fought back through the second 500 and by the time we reached the 1000m mark, we were even with Trinity. We had decided before the race to delay our middle move in order to focus on strength through the 3^rd 500 and we took our middle 15 at 800m to go. This allowed us to walk on Trinity, a place we stayed until the end of the race. UConn beat us by 3 seconds, but we were very pleased with our race. To see the results, click here.

Race prep for MAACs!

Sunday morning we were allowed to sleep in until our bus left at 8am for the Sacred Heart Invitational in Shelton, CT. Our team had never been to this race before and for me personally, it was exciting to go to a brand new venue, something that never seems to happen in my rowing career anymore. Sunday was much warmer than Saturday.

Conditions for V8 racing were similar to the previous day’s race: relatively flat water. We had a great warm-up. It was a little nerve wracking to get on the line with schools we knew we would be facing again in the MAAC championship but we were excited to see what we could do. We had a strong start, but not as strong as Drake and Canisius, who came off the line faster than we did. However, we made it back on them very quickly and were in the lead by the 500m mark, a lead that we kept until the end of the race. It was great for our boat mentally to have two strong, solid races in a row. We were lucky with the conditions but the opportunities were there and we took them. Overall, it was a very productive weekend for the V8 and we were awarded with MAAC crew of the week for our performances!

V4: Picture from Head of the Fish....the water was NOT that flat!

Conditions for the V4’s were very different: The wind kicked up to create a decent amount of chop and we were pretty sure our race was going to have to be cancelled. Fortunately, it held off long enough for us to race one four that was the same line up as Head of the Fish and a four composed of two girls from the V8 and two girls from the 2V8, who had also won their 2V race. Despite the tough conditions and less than smooth race, both Marist V4's placed 1-2 in the event. It was very exciting for our team to have both crews handle the conditions better than the other five crews in our event and overall, it was very good weekend of racing for our team. To see the results, click here. 

As per April Fool’s tradition, we pranked our coach by calling him halfway through our trip home and telling him we left a teammate at the race course. He caught on fairly quickly, but there’s nothing as fun as giving someone driving hundreds of thousands of dollars of rowing equipment a heart attack. Sorry, Tom, we had to. Happy April Fool’s Day! Hubba hubba hubba! Go Red Foxes!

Click here for Marist coverage of our weekend. 

On the Road to Boston!

Last weekend I participated in C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints in Boston, MA. This was the second year I have gone, and like most second year events I think it went better than last year. My score won’t tell you that, but well, that’s what this blog is for.

I like going to C.R.A.S.H.-B’s because it gives a more definite purpose to winter training. I love competing and as much as I enjoy competing against my teammates, it gets kind of old to me fairly quickly. C.R.A.S.H.-B’s feeds my need for competition and helps break up the time until we race on the water again. I also believe that the more experience I get competing in different areas against different people will help me to be more mentally prepared to race in any situation on the water. All that being said, I raced pretty terribly in Boston this year.

           

Everything was set for me to do well. I was much smarter with my diet than last year and felt very strong despite my weight loss. I had great pre-regatta workouts, including a 2k only one second off of my P.R. from last year. I had four great nights of sleep before the race. I weighed in with minimal stress (well, less stress than last year, anyway). I had a fantastic pre-race playlist. I warmed up well. I had a good coxswain. I was less stressed about the race than I was the year before. But I just couldn't hack it.

           

The thing that I like about erging is that there are no excuses. I didn’t have a bad race because six seat rushes her slide or the coxswain didn’t take a good line or stroke seat didn’t keep the rate up or the set was off. I had a bad race because I raced badly. I think that’s why it has taken me so long to write this post; because I accepting that I did poorly is not something I do particularly well. It’s even harder when I had to return to a team full of people who watched me taper throughout the week and who were rooting for me.

           

However, I’m not upset I made the trip. I always try to learn from my mistakes. I know I have to be a lot more focused on my own race, rather than let the environment and the speed of the people around me scare me into going out too fast. I have to use my cardiovascular strength to keep the rate high when my legs get tired. I have to be able to turn a bad first thousand into a good piece. At this stage of the game, a PR isn’t going to come unless I want it 110% of the time, whether I'm at on the water, on the water, in the weight room or in my kitchen contemplating eating six cookies for lunch instead of a salad. 

At least my erg face isn't so horrible...but Clarkey kind of looks like Mario in that red hat!

       

I also enjoyed the trip because, being the huge rowing nerd that I am, I just love being around rowing people. Because I’m a nice person (a.k.a. wanted to keep my gas costs down) I drove three freshmen guys to and from the race. While providing a great deal of amusement, they also jogged a lot of freshman year memories that I had forgotten about. Sometimes I feel that dealing with senior captain stuff gets in the way of me appreciating how much I truly love the sport of rowing and it was great to be reminded. I also enjoyed spending time with Marist alumni who make me realize that if I work hard, I can have a future in rowing after I graduate. I also got to spend some quality time with my often pair partner and housemate, Angie, which is always fun (and she had a great race). I think that I can learn something from every “generation” of Marist rower, whether it’s about the sport of rowing or just enjoying myself with new friends.

           

But at least my taper wasn’t for nothing. I destroyed my 5x5' PR the Monday I got back, so I got one good erg piece out of the weekend. It just wasn’t the right one at the right time.  But, as things go in the rowing world, there will always be more 2ks and as many more bad pieces I will likely have, I hope they teach me how to have more good ones.

Special thanks to Catherine, Sopko, Fish and Victoria for letting us crash in their dorm the night before the race and good luck to Harvard Swimming at Ivies this weekend!! Go Crimson!

And for your listening pleasure, here is my very girly pre-2k playlist that I am pretty sure no one else in the entire world would like. Haters, keep hatin'. 

1. Fixin' to Die - G. Love

2. Rolling in the Deep - Adele

3. Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson

4. Dirty Talk - Wynter Gordon

5. I Wanna Dance (With Somebody Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston

6. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

7. Turn Me On - David Guetta & Nikki Minaj

8. Blackout - Breathe Carolina

Independence Day Regatta: Fireworks and Rowing, Now That's Patriotism

July 1-3: Independence Day Regatta

Independence Day Regatta is one of the biggest summer regattas and despite eight years in the sport, I had actually never been before. Although I was signed up for a triathlon that day, I asked to defer my registration fee so that I could attend IDR.

Because the classification rules for the Schuylkill Navy are different from the rules for US Rowing, I had to row in the intermediate instead of novice single. This meant that I had to race my first 2k in the single. My heat was at 5:18pm on Friday so I left for Philly in the morning after de-rigging, packing up and washing my boat. After a little traffic and about five bathroom stops, I made it to Philly around 1pm. This left a good amount of time for rigging, socializing and a quick nap under a tree. 

 One of the things about rowing the single that is still taking some getting used to is how much it is all about you. This seems obvious to anyone who knows about rowing but I don’t think that I realized what it was really like until I started racing by myself. When rowing for a team, there’s always someone to launch you or carry your oars or travel with you or check your equipment or high-five you on the dock. When rowing an unaffiliated single, you need to be able handle everything yourself. As much as I really enjoy rowing the single, that is the one thing that makes it very different. Rowing by myself is very enjoyable, it’s doing everything else alone that threw me for a loop at first.

My race in the heat was not the greatest. Since there were 21 boats in the Intermediate 1x category, three boats in each of the four heats moved on to semis. I was in Lane 1, and had been warned about the turn. However, I still took it badly. I ended up with my starboard oars on the buoy line instead of my port oars, the way I was supposed to and actually ended up off the course before the marshal waved me back on. I definitely lost some time because of that. Fortunately for me, I got lucky with a slower heat and qualified anyway. A lot of that race was a learning experience for me. I was trying to learn how to handle the length of a 2k in a single and couldn’t really think about anything other than crossing the finish line with a place good enough to qualify. I finished third and got to move onto the semis, on Sunday morning.

Dinner on Friday was spaghetti and meatballs at Angellino's

Friday night I stayed with a friend of Sean’s old roommate and Marist crew alumnus, Andrew, who lives in Philly with his fiancée and Penn AC junior team coach, Rebecca.  Andrew’s friend, Steph, used to compete in Ironman races so one of the highlights of my stay with her was getting to see real Ironman medals. The other highlights were her two dogs, Tracker and Betty. I spent most of my stay with her playing with my new furry friends.

Breakfast was a cinnamon raisin bagel on Saturday morning at RyBread 

Since I had all of Saturday to hang out and not race, I got to see a good deal of the city of Philly as well as a lot more racing. I think that most of the people who were rowing for a team rowed in multiple events, something I did not envy on such a hot day. On Saturday night, I stayed with my parents, who had come to see me race.  That night, we saw an amazing display of fireworks from the hotel window. Philly definitely goes all out to celebrate 4^th of July: these fireworks were awesome.

Video of Sean's heat, taken by Andrew from his bike

My friend from high school, Andy, walked onto the Bucknell Men's Crew team and is rowing for NYAC this summer. For more video from Saturday's races, click here.

Chicken and whole wheat penne with pesto at Maggiano's with my parents

On Sunday, I was happy to race in the morning. I think that one of the reasons my race in my heat was so bad was because I was exhausted from traveling and spending a day in the heat. Obviously, a good rower should be ready to race in any conditions, so that’s no excuse for a bad race. Needless to say, on Sunday I was glad to be racing at a time where I felt I was strongest.

My race was at 8:36 a.m., but things were a little behind so I didn’t actually end up lining up until 9ish. Everyone in the warm up area was a little tense, but we all got some laughs when the girl from St. Catherine’s (Canada) asked “Do you think they’re behind, eh?” It seems weird to be friendly with your competitors before racing, but the best rower is going to win anyway, not the nicest (or meanest) person.

On this race course, the start is staggered because of the turn. Because I was in Lane 1, it seemed like I started ahead of everyone, though things were evened once we went through the bridge. Despite this false sense of being ahead, I felt that my start was very strong, as were my first power strokes. A couple of the girls shot off the line but I was able to hang with the main pack for about 600 meters. I made a middle move of 15 strokes at the St. Joe’s boathouse, where I could hear my mum cheering for me. (One of the best things about not having a coxswain is that you can actually hear the spectators!) At that point, all the rowers but one were ahead of me. Through the 3^rd 500, I tried to focus on lengthening out my stroke and relaxing my hands, two things I had worked on in practice.

Photos taken by the paparazzi, aka my mother

Once I hit the island, I knew that I probably didn’t have a chance of qualifying but I was going to sprint anyway. I wanted to show the people in the grandstand that I wasn’t completely defeated. I took the hardest power 25 that I think I’ve ever taken in my life before I heard the buzzer signaling that I had crossed the line…in 5^th place. I hadn’t qualified, but I was very happy with my race. Throughout the weekend, I had successfully doubled my racing experience in the single. I had also learned from my mistakes in the heat and had a better semi because of that. Despite reservations earlier in the weekend about whether giving up my spot in the triathlon was the right thing to do, I am very glad I went to IDR instead. 

Results of the races can be found here. 

Rowing back to the dock

Another thing that I liked about the race was that the organizers sent a survey afterwards. This showed me that they really cared about making it a good race for everyone. Even though it’s been around since 1880, they are still working to improve it and that impressed me. I also met the race organizer, Clete, who was very friendly and genuinely cared about my racing experience. The only thing that I wish had been different was the time between heats, semis, and finals. Having 36 hours between heats and semis, and then less than 2 hours between semis and finals seems uneven to me. But since I didn't actually make finals, I was unaffected.

 

Intermediate Women's 1x Final on Sunday morning....wish I had been in the race, but it was exciting to watch too

Thanks to my parents, for coming to watch me race, to Steph, for giving me a place to stay, to Andrew, for cheering loudly, and to Mulvey and Sean, for their amazing ability to keep my ego in check while still giving me moral support.

Check back next week for updates on my first triathlon of the season!