By David Greenspan _________________________________________________________

The Manny Flick series is underway! It is the first of the season (though it retains #2, the first was cancelled due to weather). It was good to see the team out on the water. It was good to see the sun shining after the frigid cloudy morning with the wind blowing 15 knots! We had some really good showings for a first race of the year. There a many who are tempted to draw conclusions about how the year is going to go after such an outing. Please put those thoughts away. Boat speed and competence changes mightily over the next 6 weeks.

The Novice men lead off, each LM boat in one of the two events. Both boats beat crews, with Warshaw leading a 4th place finish over 6 and Steinbrenner a 4th place finish over 5 other competitors. I got to watch this second race from my bicycle for part of the way. Starts in frosh boats are very challenging in the beginning of the season. Both Chaminade and St. Joes (winners of these races) showed that they have had some experienced rowers among them. Our boys sometimes looked liked centipedes rather than racing 8's, but that is typical for March racing. Getting down the course without losing a oarsman to a monster crab or equipment failure is a major accomplishment. It is tempting to compare times from one heat to another. Conditions can vary a great deal, so postpone that one too.

Lining up for the start, you have to be ready men, should be at the catch, oar square, and eyes on the shoulder's in front of you!	Ooops, That is Chaminade's tail, and 6 seat trying to find his way back into the swing.
Heat number 2 if off the line. Rythm is everything!	Its not just the starts that can be challenging. Tail winds make rowing more difficult, as does the chop! Go get em!

The Girls JV 4 also came in 4th of 6, a length behind Germantown. Camitta stroked a long steady race for the ladies while the fams looked on and enjoyed the cover of the tent.

Four events followed in close order. The Men's JV 8 tried to keep up with 4 other crews. Though they started fairly well and were hanging on by the bridge, the larger and stronger 8's they were competing with just steadily pulled away from our boys. Ostrum was game throughout trying to keep some pressure on. One of the unique features of rowing is that the crews that are behind cannot see the crews that are ahead (unlike in running or biking where it is the leader who is blind to what is going on in the race). It is all up to the coxswain, but when there is nothing to see, motivation is really hard to maintain.

So it was really great to see the Women's lightweight 4 come from behind to take 2nd. Kunz had to drive her teamates along after being down by 1/2 a length in 4th place at the St. Joes boat house. Evidently, they got some help from a crab by Montclair in lane 2 (so I was told). No matter, remaining tough and coming from behind is a real testament to the determination of this crew.

The Men's lightweight 4 cruised to a victory in this first Flick race. Krajewski lead the 3 sophmores for their first varsity win. Leading by a deck at the bridge, the men slowly stretched their lead with a 'move' at the St. Joe's boathouse and another at the top of the island. They were walking away in the last 500 meters.

The Women's lightweight 8 pulled to a 5th place finish out of 6 in a race that stretched itself out over the course. There was a length or more between each of the 6 finishers, with Soehngen putting lots of water between herself and the 6th place finisher.

The final two races included the two 'open weight' varsity 4's. Peddie (who was just unstoppable all last year with 4 sophmores last year) won easily over Trope and our girls who settled for second. The ladies' time would have put them in first in heat 2 (and I already warned you against doing such a thing...). They dominated the 3rd and 4th place boats today.

The Men's open 4 lead by Ferber came in a solid 3rd with a time that would have been very competitive in either of the other heats as well. It will be fun to see them race against Harriton later this year.

All in all it was an excellent showing for a first outing. The athletes and coaches should feel really good. I know that I can speak for everyone that it will be a blast to see our lady novices take to the water as well. Now, if the parents can get their act in gear and get the trailer down to the river, we can have hot food next week!