The Scholastic National Regatta is the ‘invitation only’ regatta held 1 week after the wide open Stotesbury Cup. This year, in Oak Ridge Tennessee, schools who qualify from New York to Florida, the Mid West and eastern Canada gather to compete over 1500 meters for one last time.

To get an invitation is an honor in itself. To show well in front of such a select set of crews is fantastic, to make finals, rare, to medal is supreme. This year, LM Crew sent 3 crews to the Nationals, the Women’s open 4, light 4 and the Men’s light 4 based on performances all year and the selection regatta at the Philadelphia City Championships. The Women’s Varsity Open 4 with coxswain Diana Levin, Stroke Paulina Marcucci, 3 Amanda Robins, 2 Sarah Camitta, and Bow Becky Wahrman, The Women’s Varsity Lightweight 4 with coxswain Gabby Mezochow, Stroke Leah Greenspan, 3 Aly Goldstein, 2 Lisa Weinberg and bow Julia Policastro. The Men’s Varsity Lightweight 4 with coxswain Dan Abrams, Stroke Tom Mickler, 3 James Buchmann, 2 Sam Ostrum, and bow Casey Klein. Julia Vreslovic was the spare.

The trip was long, and for those kids, coaches and parents in the bus, it was loud and raucous. Box dinners were donated by The Corner Bakery for all. Snacks were in abundance, judiciously avoided by coxswains and lightweights, some quite irritable, with hunger and concern about making weight. The night at the Hampton Inn in Roanoke was uneventful, and the final 5 hours into Knoxville, the hotel, and off to rig and row went off without a hitch. The team met together for dinner and to prepare for the next day.

Friday was the first day of racing and LM showed that they came to demonstrate their excellence in the sport. The tent was up, the parents were waiting, the weather was warm with intermittent sun, a light sprinkle around mid day, and a light headwind on the course. The water was great for racing.

The Women’s Varsity Open 4 were the first to compete. They were the last heat in a field of 23 broken into 6 heats. They looked very strong coming down the course, well ahead of the 3rd and 4th place crews Melbourne and South County, a length of open water behind the powerful Merion Mercy. Initially, the regatta rules had the ladies in a ‘win, lose and repechage arrangement. Winners of heats automatically advance to the semifinals. Losers were finished for the regatta. The remaining crews would be mixed into quarterfinal heats to fill out the remaining 12 spots in the semis. However, there were just enough ‘no shows’ for this event so that all crews that didn’t finish last advanced to the semi finals. And so our ladies finished the day, good to go on Saturday.

The Women’s light 4 looked awesome as they understroked, yet cruised past the other 3 crews in their qualifying heat. They only needed to be in the top 3 to make the semifinals. Poughkeepsie was second and gave them the most pressure, with Maryville and Hickory lagging. Their confidence was well earned going into Saturday’s semi with the third fastest time behind favorite Egg Harbor in heat 1 and Cincinnati Day School in heat 2 looking very strong. Ocean City won the 4th heat, a crew they had beaten twice before. They were assigned a very tough looking heat in their semi, with Mount Saint Joseph, Notre Dame (Toledo Ohio this time, who looked very strong in their second place row), Egg Harbor, St. Anthony’s (who also looked very strong) and Hickory.

The Men’s light 4 also looked very comfortable despite their tighter heat to enter the semis. Their first place finish over Upper Merion, Canisius, Granby and Lower Ireton had them pulling away in the final 250 without any obvious sprint. EL Crossley, the Stotesbury winner, and Bonner the Stotesbury silver medalists also won their heats as did Episcopal. Their semi included Bonner, Parkersburg (WV) and Seline (MI) both who showed great poise and speed in their qualifiers, making this a very tough looking semi final indeed.

Of course, all heats and semifinals at the nationals are tough, anything goes events. Crews often use the heats to feel each other out, but not give anything away. Unless the heat proves to be ‘a close one’ for those qualifying spots, crews will often save up, or even place lower in the field just to disguise their true speed when pressed. Weather and other factors make comparing times from one heat to the next somewhat difficult. And so the day ended with all three LM crews advancing.

Parents and athletes were out to dinner together sharing in the fun of a successful day. The hosts of the night, O’Charlies, did a pretty good job keeping up with everyone and their varied demands. The tension of anticipation was also in the room, everyone excited about the upcoming events.

Saturday morning was cool and cloudy with a crossing breeze that favored lane 1 over lane 6 most of the day. Still the water was good throughout, and the sky cleared by 10:00 as it warmed up.

First down the course was the Varsity Open 4. Their semi finals put the first two boats into the finals, the second two into the ‘petite’ finals and the last two would also race again in the ‘third final’. Our ladies took lane 2 into a solid 4th place performance, about a ½ length behind Upper Merion in 3rd, and open water ahead of Prendergast and Kearny but a length out of the finals. Their petite final showed the true grit of this crew. Pushing hard throughout the race, they came roaring past the tent in lane 6, hanging on to the tails of the first place crew from Upper Merion and McLean and fending off charges by Haddonfield, Egg Harbor, and James Madison. Their third place finish put them 9th overall of the 23 starters.

All minds then turned to the Women’s Lightweight 4 semifinal. Unlike the open event, this was 3 to the finals and 4-6 were done for the day, and the year with no petite final to row. And so we watched with great anticipation. The race course has a ‘point’ jutting out at the 750 mark and blocks lanes 4-6 from view early in the race. Mt. Saint Josephs in lane 1 appeared first and looked to be right in it with Notre Dame and Egg Harbor in lanes 2 and 3. The Mount was moving much better than they have had recently (later confirmed by Sheila who reported that the Mount 4 had the best row of the year). As the other 3 lanes came into view, LM was clearly down to these three. LM has a strong second ½ and we all watched and hoped for the big comeback once again. On this day, however, it was not to be. As the ladies came in front of our tent, they were a length down to Mount Saint Joseph in 3rd, with Egg Harbor in first by nearly a length and Notre Dame a ½ length ahead of the Mount. Our ladies cranked it up, and took back ½ a length on the Mount, but that would fall short of third. A fabulous season ended in the Semi Finals in Oak Ridge Tennessee. This is the SRA Nationals, and falling just shy of the finals is no shameful outcome. Yet, nobody can argue that the ladies in maroon don’t have a reason to feel disappointment seeing crews they bested make and even succeed in the finals (Egg Harbor settled for second behind a crew from Cincinatti Day School, Ocean City came in 3rd, Notre Dame 4th, the Mount 5th and Nutley 6th). For every ‘great’ performance is a ‘flat’ one in a competitive season. The Mount was on the upside this day and for LM it will be, ‘see you on the river next year’!

The Men’s Lightweight 4 came down just two heats after the Women. And as Parkersburg came into view in lane 1, and our boys showed up later in lane 4, it was clear that this was also a race of 4 crews for 3 spots. Seline, Bonner, LM and Parkersburg were all tightly bunched. Unlike the ladies, our boys were right there, stroke for stroke with the other crews as they crossed in front of the tent. And with Bonner having beaten them each race all year, and with it being a 4 boat scramble for the finals, these boats were going all out. LM started their big push with 250 to go, and this time Bonner couldn’t answer. Seline tried but failed, and so LM took the heat by 2 seconds to move on to the Finals that were to be held just 3 short hours later. FANTASTIC!

The final was a run at third for LM. Crossley in lane 4 were out during the entire piece. In lane 1 was Bonner chasing them with vigor, not willing to let the Canadians have a walkover but settled for second 2 seconds back. But it was in the middle of the field with three boats, LM, McQuaid Jesuit and Episcopal where the action was. As they crossed in front of the tent, our boys were just moving from 5th to 4th with Episcopal out a seat or two. As they came to within the last 100 meters it was a three boat race, with barely a seat between them. LM Cranked it up and hauled ¾ of a second on Episcopal that moved ¾ of a second on McQuaid by the time these boats crossed the finish line. BRONZE medals for the men in Maroon! The men reported it to be one of their finest rows this year. And so the season comes to a close for these boys, with a proud LM community enjoying their success right along with them. This time, they were able to smile on the winners stand, good show!

We are all very proud of these athletes who did so well throughout the year. And we saw the full spectrum of emotion and experience that makes competitive athletics a microcosm of life. Julia Vreslovic, our spare, was a super cheerleader and helper, so much wanting to be of service to her colleagues. You couldn’t ask for anything better. The Men’s crew was so disappointed in their 5th place Stotesbury cup result and came back to have a fabulous row at the Nationals. Their determination, shared by this entire program, not to let past performances (good or bad) stop them from working hard and going out to ‘fight another day’ is part of what sport is all about. The Women’s lightweights, having beaten so many crews all year long, had a ‘flat’ row that just didn’t come together at the same time that the crew from Mount Saint Joseph had their best of the year. Coping with disappointment in a team sport can lead to finger pointing and blaming. These girls and the team around them did neither. Instead they sadly hugged each other, cried a little, and went out to cheer on the rest of their team mates who returned the favor with a warm show of support. The way they handled the loss was a victory in itself. Our Women’s Open 4 had few expectations of winning a medal, and was thrilled just to make the semi final. 9th overall is a superb showing and they were so very proud as well they should be. They could have said, “why bother, we can’t win a medal…” but instead they came to support the team and row for their personal best. They did just that, left it all on the river, and who shouldn’t feel great after that?

And so the racing season comes to a close. The tents were packed, the food, kids, and coaches loaded onto the bus, the parents into their cars (and some to fly) for the long journey home. Another SRA nationals is behind us all, with a mixture of great memories, and some sad moments, shared in together that makes crew the sport that it is.

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Driving to Tennessee w/ 16 athletes, 3 coaches and 1 other fabulous mom was an experience I will never forget, and  always treasure. When I agreed to help chaperone this adventure, I wasn’t too sure what to expect.  Apprehension,  excitement,  nervousness and  fear of the unknown…

We arrived at LM on Wednesday promptly at 3:30 PM for a 4:00 PM departure…things started to get a little worrisome by 4:45 when the bus hadn’t arrived - several calls to Bunny Levyn (sorry) confirming departure time,  eased our worries when we were told that  traffic, no doubt was the cause of this delay.

Finally, when the bus arrived we packed  up w/ all the necessary items a team needs for this type of trip-luggage, food, coolers, tents, tarps,more food, chairs- and around 30 DVD’s.

The trip down was more civilized than expected- well, for the most part,  we listened as one bus driver talked (preached-as he was a preacher) to the other driver about life, marriage etc..Regan can confirm this. The first movie was a bit raunchy, however it surely passed the time and the kept the kids( and coaches) entertained.

We stopped at a rest stop for dinner and headed to Roanoke for the evening..

The next morning we checked out, learned about Virginia’s state animal; a catagator,( JD will confirm this one) had breakfast and headed to Tennessee- the scenery was gorgeous- lush green mountains, cows and horses grazing the fields.

We arrived in Tennessee- unloaded the bus, checked in the hotel and headed over to the racing venue. What a gorgeous sight-different from boat house row but nonetheless beautiful-mountains  in the background- and a nice path to run or bike on. The athletes practiced on the course while we set up “camp”-tents, etc.

We headed back to the hotel, showered , dressed and   dined at Puleos- for a fun end to our first evening.

Lights out by 10 and up again for our first big day of racing.

The athletes did an outstanding job-David already filled you in w/ the details.

Friday was another day of excitement - weather was magnificent all weekend and the athletes did another superb job, perhaps it was due to the pinny’s or luck from coach Sheila’s new hat!

On another note- as we were congregating outside the hotel the general manager approached me and asked if I was in charge- “oh…. yes I am, why?” He said they just wanted to compliment our school and our team for being so  respectful, polite, friendly and one of the most well behaved schools ever to visit the Hampton Inn”…Boy was I ever proud to be a part of this team. He said we were welcome back anytime and referred to us as VIP guests!

Saturday morning was rushed as we had to pack up, check out and head over to the course for our final day of racing, a  bittersweet day, as it was  our last one in Oak Ridge-everyone did their best, rowed their hardest, there were tears and cheers from both parents and athletes.

I myself have never been on a competitive  team- only my children have ,  I must say how proud I  felt  of ALL the athletes, not only for their  behavior and maturity, but for the respect and  camaraderie they showed for their team-mates as well as the opposing winning crews.

What a GREAT bunch of kids ………

I was glad to be a part of this great adventure, to  represent Lower Merion High School and the crew team at Nationals.

Kudos to all the athletes, the parents who came along as spectators and most of all the dedicated coaches!

Thanks for letting me be a part of this memory I will always cherish-

~Bonnie Marcucci

The Stotesbury Cup regatta claims to be the largest gathering of high school athletes in the US. Crews from as far away as Florida and from up in Canada come to compete. So it is with great excitement that the LM Crew joins the many others in this two day rowing regatta each year. Victory is a relative term for so many as so few can come away with a ‘gold medal’. With 30+ crews competing in a single event, beating 10 or 15 crews is a huge success as many tend only to come long distance if they feel they can be really competitive. Getting to semifinals means being in the top 18 and always a reason to celebrate. Making the finals, well, that is a dream few realize. And a medal? What a special moment indeed. So much has to come together; years of training for fitness and skill development, careful attention to equipement, and a fair amount of luck. Lots of unexpected things can change the outcome. An ill colleague, an unfortunate gust of wind (perhaps only on 1/2 of the course), an unexpected slip of a wet oar handle…) And it is not uncommon to see 4 or 5 Stotes qualifiers within .5 seconds of each other around that 18th boat cutoff, or a bow ball seperating a finalist from a crew that goes home, or a gold from a silver medal. (Just look at the 2007 Men’s lightweight 4 results for instance that was decided by 0.18 seconds).

Friday was a wet and dreary day. I spent it working, and ran back and forth into my office to check results on the computer. Lisa called in once in a while too to keep me abreast of things. All in all, I think that this was the best showing for LM Crew at the Stotesbury in my recollection.

40 boats competed in the Men’s Freshman 8. Though 24th isn’t quite the top 1/2, the fact that they were only 4 seconds (barely a boat length) shy of making the 18th spot and another chance in the semi finals speaks to the amount of speed these boys have attained during the spring season. Our Ladies JV 8 also showed their metal in a superb time trial that put them 22nd of 42 and only 3.5 seconds shy of being in the top 18. When you think about how these boats rowed at that first Flick that now seems so long ago (or just yesterday depending) and how fast they are going now, it speaks volumes to the dedication of this entire program in 2008.

The Men’s JV 4 battled down the course beating 10 of 51 competitors. The Men’s Varsity open 4 had a tough go coming in 41st of 47. The Women’s JV 4 might have had to compete in the most subscribed event, beating 27 crews from up and down the east coast, putting them 33rd overall.

What can you say about our Women’s Frosh 8? Each week gave them more speed, starting with that win in the Cooper cup and then that first place heat finish at Dr. White. With 36 Frosh 8’s in the time trial, their 3rd place finish was just incredible! That put them into the semi finals in lane 3 in a heat with Mt. Saint Joes in lane 4 (4th overall in the time trial) and crews from Walt Whitman, Yorktown, Holy Spirit and National Cathedral. Their semi final was raced in the afternoon on Friday. They covered the 1500 meters in 5:09.58, 4 seconds out of second place Walt Whitman and 6 behind the Mount. (On April 20 at the 5th Flick, LM Frosh 8 was 25 seconds slower than the Mount.) Had they been in heat #2, that 5:09 would have put them in the finals! Word had it they really came on in the sprint and if they had just another 100 meters of water to race could have taken that Walt Whitman crew.

Our 3 Tennessee bound crews made their respective semifinals on Friday with their racing to resume early on Saturday morning. The Men’s lightweight 4 were 4th in their trial against 32 crews. The Canadian powerhouses EL Crossley and Governor Simcoe (Stotes and SRA National winners from 2007) were in the top 5 along with Bonner and St. Joes. The Women’s lightweight 4 were 3rd of 38 with Egg Harbor out in front, Governor Simcoe, Nutley, Ocean City and Montclair bunched together in the top 6, and our Women’s Varsity open 4 coming in 14th of 47 entering a tough semifinal heat with Radnor and Woodbridge.

Saturday started in beautiful clear weather with a mild headwind coming up the course. Three semi finals were to be raced, and there was great anticipation as each of our 4’s needed to beat at least 4 in their respective heats, 2 to the finals. The pressure was on.

First down the course were the Men’s lightweight 4. They were up against St. Joes, Peddie, St. Albans, Upper Merion and LaSalle. They looked strong coming down the course, long and effective in lane 4, out front as they approached the top of the island. St. Joes was battling with Peddie both about a length back. But that battle stirred those two fours, and within 100 meters our boys were having to fight to make the finals! The last 100 meters it appeared to be anyone’s race. LM cranked it up, and pulled out the win to own lane 2 in the finals by beating St. Joes by 0.49 seconds and Peddie who missed the finals a mere 0.2 seconds further back. WOW. Their first place time was the second fastest but all 6 crews were within a second of each other save EL Crossley that rowed an uncontested 4 seconds faster in the first heat.

The Ladies lightweights were up against 3 crews they had seen before,  Nutley, Concord, and Harriton. And a crew from Notre Dame, Ontario, Canada and Manhasset. As the race unfolded, we looked pretty strong coming down the center of the course. Lane 5 Notre Dame were surprising, taking a lead in the second half and holding on to it despite a furious sprint from our ladies who were pulling away from Harriton and Nutley since their move at the top of the island. Notra Dame finished in first only 1 second ahead of our ladies. That second place finish put them in 3rd overall in time, all 6 4’s in the finals were within 2 seconds of each other save Egg Harbor that was out 2 seconds on the field.

The Women’s Open 4 looked strong throughout their row. They appeared to be well within striking distance of the leaders Radnor and Woodbridge for much of the first 1000 meters. Upper Merion and Churchill were right in it too, with Shipley fading by then. The power of Ridley and Woodbridge were not to be denied this day. Our ladies looked fabulous on their way down the course, settling for 5th just a couple of seconds behind 3rd place UM and a second off of Churchill.

By the afternoon finals, the wind had picked up considerably, the clouds started to roll in, and the chop became notable with white caps forming in the middle 500 of the course with the stronger gusts. The Boys were supposed to row their final at 3:20. We saw them go up, and as the excitement among us fans grew to such a peak that Brenda Abrams acknowledged she “couldn’t even breath” (color remained good!) the announcer informed the stands that the race was delayed due to an equipement problem in the Governor Simcoe boat. And so, our men waited for 40 minutes (as did we) to complete the repair as other races came down.

 The Women’s finals were lined up on the stakeboats. Governor Simcoe (ladies lightweights of course) in lane 1, Notre Dame in 2, Egg Harbor in 3, Ocean City in 4, LM in 5 and and Montclair in 6. The announcer reported they were off the line and at the bridge (200 meters gone) it was ‘anyone’s race’. Then the seperation of Egg Harbor began and they slowly pulled Montclair and Notre Dame with them away from LM, Ocean City and Governor Simcoe. As they came to the 1/2 way mark, Egg Harbor had moved out nearly a length on the field, with Montclair and Notre Dame 3,2 respectively. LM was starting to move up leaving Ocean City behind and Governor Simcoe came along with them. We, LM Fans, love to watch our ladies stretch out and come hard that second 1/2. And they did just that. Only this is the Stotesbury, and crews find stuff deep inside that they may never have had before. Egg Harbor was never in danger of losing this race. Notre Dame was too strong, holding off all comers. Montclair, who had been down to LM time after time, was there in third at the 1000 meter mark, still there at the top of the island, midway through the island, and then they started to falter just a little, but only a little by the end of the island and… were our girls going to make it? In lane 4, barely 1/2 a length back was Ocean City bringing up the rear (and so it looked almost like 4 boats across for that 3rd medal slot, enough to make any spectator scream). Meanwhile, in Lane 1 all the way across the course was Governor Simcoe coming on too. According to Gabby Mesochow, “they were just there, up by a bow ball, then back by a bow ball”. Perhaps the angle on the course (relative to the bank, lane 1 appears to be even when they are ahead by a bit compared to lane 6) made it appear that close, for the two boats looked ‘dead even’ in that last 150 meters as they ran at Montclair one more time, and this time broke them. That slight angle at the finish line gave 3rd to Governor Simcoe and our fabulous crew of Leah Greenspan (stroke), Aly Goldstein (3), Lisa Weinberg (2), and Julia Poliscastro (bow) came in 4th. Winning time for Egg Harbor was 6:00.4 (that head wind and chop adding a minute to the times from the morning). Notre Dame (Ontario) was second in 6:04.15, Governor Simcoe (Ontario) with the Bronze 6:08.49, LM at 6:09.95 (a deck length), at 6:11.24 was Montclair (another deck), and at 6:11.94 (1/2 a deck) was 6th place Ocean City.

After the racing, the ladies came up to the tent area. They were in great spirits, realizing that they rowed another fantastic race, 4th of 39 crews from Canada to Florida (and one from Dallas Tx). They felt good about their piece, accepting with graciousness their place for their performance and reveling in their very tight bond of friendship. Their coach, Sheila, was all smiles.

The parents couldn’t stop taking pictures. 

(to the kids unending annoyance).

Ellen Policastro handed out roses to the ladies and their coach.

For these ladies the Stotesbury for 2008 was over.

Finally, it was time for the men. After the excitement of that women’s race, high expectations were set for another battle of seconds. In lane 1 was Governor Simcoe (Canada), 2 was LM, 3 was EL Crossley (Canada), 4 was Bonner, 5 was St. Joes, and 6 was Kearny (NJ). According to the announcer, EL Crossley took the lead early, and being favored, they appeared to be out for most of the way. Kearny and Governor Bonner went with them early, and the race separated with LM, Governor Simcoe and St. Joes a bit further back. At the 500 meter mark, EL Crossley moved out and Bonner and Kearny were fighting to stay with them. At this point, LM was called in 6th, Governor Simcoe 5th and St. Joes 4th just ahead. With 1000 gone everyone was chasing Crossley, the Kearny crowd was already starting up at the finish line. It sounded like 100 of them all shouting in a slow unison “kaaaarrrrrnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeee” over and over enough to make it impossible to think. The wind had really picked up by the latter 1/2 of the race. White chop was filling the last 500 meters and our boys appeared to hit some of the worst of it as they gamely came after the other crews in their well respected sprint. Crossley was the easy winner in this contest at 5:20.73. It was places 2-4 that were a bit tighter but nothing like the ladies. Bonner was out there a 1/2 a length in front of Simcoe that was charging. That chop seemed to disrupt everyone’s final move, as they staggered then came again but couldn’t catch the oars of green. Bonner’s time 5:24.24 and Simcoe’s bronze 5:25.93. A full length behind them was Kearny that fell back despite the screaming of their fans in 4th at 5:30.68. LM was 5th at 5:36.10 and St. Joes 6th at 5:40.2.  Dan Abrams summarized the row roughly this way. “I hate to blame a bad race on things, but between losing our juice due to the false start and long wait, and the chop that kept the boat set down one side or another, we just didn’t have it today.”

So, the Stotes is now over. Three crews go on to the Nationals in Tennessee. All three have one more chance for a little more glory, though it surely has been hard to surpass the successes of the LM crew program has already had this year.

And for those who are not going to nationals, we will all be together one more time at the Banquet on Tuesday May 27 to celebrate this wonderful year.

Gold Medal Freshman 4 with coach David Florio. 

Happy Mother’s day! Each year, Mother’s day weekend brings with it the “small” college rowing regatta, the Dad Vail, and Sunday’s Dr. White regatta for frosh/novice crews from around the region. It is a great event for the youngest rowers. This is the second year that LM Crew has participated, and with fabulous success speaking to a base for a strong program into the future.

The weather was overcast, and though breezy up on the Strawberry Mansion Bridge where I took most of the pictures for this day, was pretty calm with a light head wind most of the day on the water. It was also cool, mid 60’s, ideal for racing.

Because the season usually only has limited small boat rowing for freshman and novice, (Novice 4’s in the Flicks and Cities, nothing at the Stotesbury or the SRA Nationals) LM doesn’t tend to enter these events until the Dr. White. And so LM goes into small boats for Freshman and Novice with little or no experience in small boat racing. And rowing and coxing small boats is different than 8’s, sometimes ‘much different’.

The day started with a strong showing from a 4 of Freshman ladies in the first heat of the WF4+ event. (cox Marisa Fraimow, S Alex Wikler, 3 Sarah Joseph, 2 Jenna Greensweig, B Maia Wikler). From the bridge, they powered down the course slowly moving out on crews from Radnor, Mount St. Joes, Prendergast and Agnes Irwin, winning the heat and advancing to the finals.

The boys Novice 4 (Cox - Maddy Carrol, S- Itai Doron
3- Alex Golden, 2- Sajen Solberg, B- Noah Kosherick) needed to beat two of the 3 other crews in their heat. Germantown and Camden Catholic proved too strong. But what a dog fight in the middle of the race course with Montclair! Racing stroke for stroke our guys proved the better of the two, slowly at first, and then more steadily pulling away from them for over 3 lengths.

The girls novice 4 (cox Erin Segal, S Katie McGrath, 3 Frances Loeb, 2 Kate Callahan, B Audrey Utkus) came shortly after. (Novice are any new rower, freshman or otherwise.) From the bridge it looked like Montclair had a sizable lead early on, with LM trailing with Episcopal, Moorestown a solid second. But as the race unfolded, Montclair’s early and sizable advantage slowly faded, our girls left Episcopal behind and entered the finals coming in second, walking through Moorestown and nearly catching Montclair.

The Women’s Novice 8 (cox Erin Segal, 8 Katie Glick, 7 Julia Straus, 6 Michelle Itkin, 5 Alicia Goff, 4 Sami Snyder, 3 Shira Barlas, 2 Alexa Kuentsler, 1 Shoshana Gordon) came off the line in good form against tough crews from Agnes Irwin and the Mount. They needed to beat one to get to the finals, and so their go with Harriton was where all the action was. Going back and forth in the first 1/2 of the race, it appeared that Harriton was able to settle into their swing a little earlier than our ladies. They gave Harriton a length by the end of the 1500 meters.

The Women’s Freshman 8 (cox Marisa Fraimow, 8 Frances Loeb, 7 Katie McGrath, 6 Sarah Joseph, 5 Jenna Greensweig, 4 Jen Schneider, 3 Jenny Meier, 2 Maia Wikler, 1 Alex Wikler) was out in front of Haddonfield coming through the bridge but nearly a length down to Upper Merion who was a bit behind Merion Mercy at that point. Our ladies didn’t roll over though. As they hit the 1/2 way mark, they clearly took charge of things and moved back decisively to row through both of these crews winning their heat by 1/2 a length over Upper Merion.

With the heats over, the Frosh Men’s 4 took to racing against a field of 5 other crews. From the moment they came through the bridge all the way down the course, our boys (Cox - Erin Segal S- Abel Finta 3- Mike Lowney 2- Kevin Clobes B- Walker Mills) led and slowly extended that lead. Shipley to their right in lane 6 and St. Joes to their left in lane 3 gave them the most chase. The two boats from Bonner and Shipley “b” never were really in it. Our guys did some swerving (steering a 4 is no easy feat if you haven’t done it before) as did most of the crews this day. Despite this, they had plenty of room for celebrating, beating the Shipley crew by 8 seconds and St. Joes by 10. The crew looked fabulous on the medal dock with coach David Florio. A big win for LM Crew, an event that we have won two years in a row now.

I watched the Women’s Freshman 4 finals from the Tent. It looked like we were down to most everyone as the crews came to the St. Joes boathouse. Lane 4 (or was it 5, so hard to tell as the crews in these two lanes switched back and forth in the mddle of the race. What did I say about steering) Radnor appeared to be way out in front. The LM ladies are some tough crew though. Picking off various competitors, by the top of the island they looked to be in third if not second, and were moving solidly after Radnor and in control of second in front of the tent. Shipley, Mount St. Joes, Agnes Irwin and Moorestown were in a line not far behind. We were clearly moving though, and I suspect if the race was another 100 meters longer we might have caught that Radnor crew that took the gold by 2 seconds. Shipley was 3rd a full length back.

The Women’s Novice 4 came a bit later. Whereas they had battled nip and tuck with Montclair and Moorestown in the heat, they were well back on this row, finishing 5th. Harriton won their heat earlier and won the final as well.

The Women’s Frosh 8 also rowed their final in last place. They were a game crew fighting down the course the entire way.

And so, with a second in the Girls Freshman 4 in a hard fought race, and a GOLD in the Boys freshman 4, and with strong heat showings from our Women’s frosh 8 and Novice 4 as well, the freshman season goes back to the 8’s to finish up their season next week at the Stotesbury Cup. Head racing starts on Friday, with the top 18 crews getting into semi finals. It would be great to see a frosh crew in the Semis this year, always a superb accomplishment any year!

David

The city of Philadelphia is the home of some of the most competitive high school rowing in the country. And today, May 4, 2008 was its championship regatta. Schools from around the region, NJ and even some from NY come for this culmination of the Manny Flick series. When any crew makes the finals, they know that they do so against some of the toughest competition anywhere. Many athletes dream of winning medals their entire highschool rowing career. So, when two LM crews win silver, it is a day to remember!

The day started off overcast, with gusty winds coming down and across the river. As the sky cleared into a most beautiful day, the breeze relaxed, the water was pretty smooth, and so by the later races, the conditions were near perfect.

Let me be the first to also say that the seniors made the supreme sacrifice for their teammates. Saturday night was ‘The PROM’. And so the seniors of the program had to make a most difficult choice and we applaud them all for it.

Head races determined the finalists for the Cities in all but the Open Varsity 8’s. And so our kids got in line, and gave it their all coming down river to put in their best times.

I had seen the faces of the Women’s Freshman 8 at the Bachelor’s dock when they landed after their row. The long and sullen looks, so unlike them, suggested an ugly tale. All crews have to cope with disappointments. Crabs, equipement failures, and other calamaties are usually due to a chain of events, a combination of boat set, timing, water/wind conditions, equipement preparation, etc. that all have to come together to make them happen. Each one, ultimately, is a learning experience for the boat, if not the entire crew. Our hearts go out to these fine ladies. Don’t be dispirited, there are still two more regattas to show more of what you have accomplished this year! Coach Broderick has a post about these ladies below.

On the upside, the day belonged to the 2 Varsity Lightweight 4’s. Both did superbly well in their head races and then came back for an even better job in their finals.

The Ladies took to the water first, coming in 3rd of 15 a full 8 seconds behind an awesome Egg Harbor boat. They were also 1 second behind… you guessed it, the Mount. They had a mere 1/2 a second on Montclair. Harriton (what a pleasant surprise) and Ocean City rounded out the top 6. Save Harriton, it looked like Flicks 3,4,5 all over again. LM was in lane 2, with Mt. St. Joes in 4 and Egg Harbor between.

And then came the men barreling down the course looking to prove something after the disaster of the NJ Scholastics. They came in 5th, more than enough to make the finals. Peddie had the fastest time, Episcopal second, Bonner third, ST. Joes 4th and Upper Merion would complete the field. 5th place put our boys in lane 1, out of the way.

The finals were a mere 4 hours later. The team ate, rested, and got psyched. The parents dozed, read, talked, ate, and ate again. We were waiting and debating, and starting to ooze anxiety as race time approached.

The Girls looked well back by the end of the first 500m. Leah, 3 seat, confirmed that they had a ‘crab’ 3 strokes in and were well back in last for a while. As far back as they looked, Egg Harbor was already well out in control. Battling for second appeared to be Montclair and the Mount. Harriton was hanging on their tails. Ocean City appeared further back. Lower Merion started making up ground by the half way mark. By the top of the island with about 400 meters to go, LM had made much but not all of the distance they had lost to the Mount and Montclair. Harriton was back about a length, but no more. By the end of the island, Gabby called them in. Aly in stroke cranked it up a touch, the girls lenthened out, moved stroke after stroke past the Mount St. Joes, with Julia leading the charge from the bow, and Lisa grinding all out just behind her in 2. Harriton hung right on in their wake in lane 1 about 3/4 of a length back. This, proved, to be decisive for them, for as LM sped through the others, so did Harriton. Egg Harbor finished with a comfortable 1/2 length of open in first, LM with almost 3 seconds over… Harriton! Harriton was barely a 1/2 a second over the Mount in 4th and Montclair a mere 1/4 second behind them in 5th. WOW! The finish for third was so close that the Mount was initially waved in by the referees as the bronze medalists.
Our ladies came to the finish line dock all smiles to meet coach Sheila Dyer and get their silver. And well they should have smiles on their faces. A fabulous come from behind row to take command of second in the last 1/4 of the race. What character.

The Men followed. In fact, as the ladies were finishing up their hard won piece, the men were already 1/2 way down the course. Our boys appeared well back, but as I watched and wondered whether lane 1 and that 5th place head race finish was going to define them, they began to move. I couldn’t help myself, “LM is coming!” and so they did. One crew after another dropped back. Bonner was taking control from Peddie, the early leader, but not by much. Peddie in lane 3 stayed right with them, as our boys first put St. Joes and then Episcopal back well into the sights of Stroke Tom Mickler. Dan was shouting them on now, Casey, in bow, was reaching for the stern of the Peddie hull, then for that stroke seat. As he passed it, he gave it over to Sam who sent their stroke back to James as LM walked through Peddie in the last 200 meters. I didn’t get a stroke rating but they were hauling! Bonner held on to win the event by 1/2 a length. Peddie was third by 0.5 seconds. Episcopal was 4. Clearly, that 1/2 length was the closest to this Bonner boat our boys have ever been.

And so another LM crew would be dressed with their silver medals, this time by coach JD Bridges. These boys put on a sprint that was as potent as any I have seen on the river this year, if not any year.

And so the racing at the Cities is over. Next week the Colleges are in town, and so LM Crew is off racing elsewhere on Saturday. The final plan is still up in the air, but it would appear that many are going to go back to the Upper Merion regatta and the Varsity boats are off to scrimmage and tune up. The Frosh have the Dr. White regatta next Sunday. It is a great event to watch our freshman compete once again. And then in two weeks is the largest single highschool sporting event in the country (based on total number of competing athletes). The Stotesbury Cup Regatta.

Yours in rowing,

David

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My view of the race: Best start to date, passing Haddonfield by open water by St. Joe’s boathouse.  Haddonfield beat us at Flick 5, so this was exciting to see.  Rating was at a 30, but it was the most controlled I’ve seen this crew all season.  The ratio was beautiful.  I was so glad the rowing world and parents would get to see how good these girls really are. 

Suddenly, I noticed the rowers swinging and catching all at different times - something had upset the flow.  A crab at the 750.  unfortunately, the crew couldn’t fix the trapped oar, and they rowed the second half of the race as a 7++.  (We don’t teach “jumping ship” anymore, hehe.)  Haddonfield walked us back, finishing with a time of 5:59.  Minus the crab, you can bet we’d best that time!  Racing will be racing.  Lots of lessons learned today.

L. Regan Broderick

With the disaster of the NJ Scholastics now over, the LM Crew turned to the Cooper Cup. The races are held at the same venue, but this time for ‘juniors’ so it is raced over 2000 meters not the conventional 1500 meters of the HS scholastic regattas. Juniors are 18 and under, but can come from any school, often join clubs or row independently, and can compete internationally if good enough.

The weather remained overcast and chilly, but the breeze was a slight headwind most of the day making it nearly perfect for racing.

And what a near ‘perfect’ day it was for LM Crew! Despite having raced the day before, and facing unique competitors over a longer distance, LM’s WN8(a), WJV8, WVL4, and MVL4 came away with gold. The WVO4 was second in their heat 7/20 overall, the Men’s Open 4 combined with the Light 4 and raced an 8, winning their qualifying heat, finishing 5th in the final. The WJV4 was second in their race, 3rd of 12 overall, The MJV4 was 3rd in their race 6/12 overall, The MN8 was third, 5th of 12 overall, and the WN8(b) was 5th in their race, fighting their way through a tough Albany competitor.

The parents of the Varsity crews were ‘tired’ by the end of the day. Like the student athletes, many of us were at the river setting up the tent and getting the breakfast going by 8:15, with a chance to watch the end of some college racing as our varsity crews took to the water. And boy can our parents throw a party!

The day started with a very strong showing by our WVL4 taking the competition by over a length of open water in their heat, seconds ahead of the first heat times as well. Heats racing is always a bit tricky to interpret however. In these races, the top 3 boats were to make the finals, and most everyone plays strategic head games and try to conserve fuel. So, it is never obvious how to compare. Yet, confidence was on the rise with a strong showing. This was quickly followed by our MVL4 that dominated its heat as well. Whereas the women appeared to row away from Poughkeepsie that hung tough and ‘crabbed’ in the last 500, the men looked to have control of the race by the time the first 500 was over.

I have a personal friendship with the coaches of the St. Pauls crew from Baltimore. Their lightweight 4’s were in our heats falling to our faster boats. Judd Anderson was dumbfounded. “What’s been going on at LM these last few years and what are we going to have to do to beat you guys!” He has noted how both the men and the ladies have improved in small boat sweeps over the past 5 years.

The WVO4 had a very good outing as well. Diana Levin steered the course for Becky Wahrman, Sarah Camitta, Amanda Robins and stroke Paulina Marcucci. Though Saugatuck appeared in control throughout the heat (with only 1 crew guaranteed to advance to the final, our ladies very much wanted the 5th or 6th fastest time to enter the finals if they couldn’t win), LM’s 4 cranked it out in a dogfight with Collingswood. I couldn’t make the call until the last 200 meters as they appeared to be even down the entire course! Their second place time was superb, but just a few seconds shy of that 6th fastest time.

Following our ladies came our Men’s 8 with Max Stern cox, James Buckmann stroke, Tom Mickler, Casey Klein, Xander Adams, Evan Ostrow, Sam Ostrum, Julian Golec, and Noah Zuares. Combining the Men’s lightweight and open weight 4 into one crew, the 8 powered its way to a win in their heat to set up their final at the end of the day. The lightweight 4 had now completed their second of what was to become a day of racing over 8,000 meters! Though the race appeared to start tight in the first 1000, our boys rowed away from the field.

The WN(b) boat was in a very strong race. The race plan was called by cox Erin Segal, stroked by Katie Glick, Julia Straus, Michelle Itkin,  Alicia Goff,  Shira Barlas,  Alexa Kuentsler,  Sami Snyder, and bow Shoshana Gordon. All of the Novice and JV events were raced out, no heats or finals. In our ladies race, they took off in lane 2. The wind was blowing down onto the bow of the boats and novice crews were swinging wildly. The starters worked overtime to help these crews get pointed down the course. Uploaded pictures shows the start. Though in it early, our ladies dropped slowly behind. The Albany crew in lane 3 appeared to pull out, leaving our ladies last, but in the final 500, our girls pushed through them for their 5th place finish.

The WN(a) 8 took off the line and never looked back. Cox Marisa Fraimow called the shots to stroke Frances Loeb, 7 Katie McGrath, 6 Sarah Joseph, 5 Jenna Greensweig, 4 Jenny Meier, 3 Jen Schneider, 2 Audrey Utkus, and bow Kate Callahan. I didn’t get to see alot of their race (sorry ladies, please send me something to post here) but they dominated their race by the end, winning by open water! This was a superb victory, and a great tuneup for next week’s City Championships.

After taking the movies of the Men’s N8 start, I pedalled hard to follow their race with past LM Coach Mike Wood who had been monitoring the events from the starting line. The Boys looked good off the line. Eventual winners Moorestown was out by the 500 and controlled the race from then on. Our boys were lead by Abel Finta, cox, Michael Lowney, Kevin Clobes, Walker Mills, Sajen Solberg, Adam Saltzberg, Itai Doron, Alex Golden, and Noah Kosherick. They were in second through 750 meters. By the 1000, St. Pauls boys were making a move that our men just couldn’t quite match. They hung on until 500 to go. Third place was a very satisfying victory, with a solid performance, dominating 4,5,6 in their race.

The Women’s JV 4 consisting of Ruth Dana, Dani Dobkin, Becca Ferber, Carolina Torres and swain Maddy Carroll looked fabulous as they cruised to a second place finish in their race. Upper merion appeared to take control only in the last 500 meters, our ladies battling all the way down the course leaving the remainder of the field well behind.

This was followed by the Men’s JV 4 that also looked strong and well situated in much of their race. Dan Cohen coxed, Howie Robbins, Mike Wade, Adam Saltzberg and Adam Reicherter filled the crew. Upper Merion took over at the 1000, but it wasn’t until the last 500 that Camden Catholic pulled ahead definitively. 4,5,6 were not really in it after the first 500 meters.

The Women’s JV 8 screamed (once they caught their breath) after their dominating win in their event. Julia Vresilovic stroked the wining performance for Lower Merion followed by Ellen Urheim, Morgan Gerwitz, Allegra Massaro, Sasha Levyn, Danna Koren, Lauren Maslanka, Mariclair Vaillant and motivated by the dynamic calls of Rachael Bowen. Moorestown was over 17 seconds back, barely on the radar screen after the first 1000 meters of the race. Not only did our ladies crush the competition in their race, but they had the fastest time of the day in WJV8 competition over all 9 other crews.

Having dominated in their heat, the WVL4 was ‘nervous’ going out to test themselves over another 2000 meters. They knew Poughkeepsie was going to be tough (crab again? unlikely). They had heard that New Canaan had a ‘wicked sprint’. As the Dad of one of the ladies in that boat, I had the jitters myself. It appeared to be a back and forth affair between the first 500 and the 1000 meter mark. At that point, LM moved into control and by the 500 meter to go mark was easily a couple of lengths out on Poughkeepsie. That New Canaan sprint never appeared either. Our ladies, Aly Goldstein, Leah Greenspan, Lisa Weinberg, Julia Policastro and coxswain Gabby Mezochow cruised the last 500 winning their race with open water.

Just behind them was our Men’s VL4 with cox Dan Abrams, Tom Mickler, James Buckmann, Sam Ostrum, and Casey Klein who were now rowing their 3rd 2000 meter race. Having just watched the Women cross the line, I looked up and their they were, controlling their event with 1000 meters already gone. They slowly moved away from the field on their way to the finish line, winning easily by 13 seconds.

The ‘hot seating’ jumped those lightweight boys into that 8 joining Max Stern as coxswain, Xander Adams, Evan Ostrow, Julian Golec, and Noah Zuares. They paddled off as soon as they could to compete in their final. Their 5th place finish was hard fought. Both Moorestown and Saugatuck raced ahead of the remainder of the field by the 1000 meter mark (their ‘heat times were well ahead as well). Our boys were in a dog fight with Wilmington youth and Fairfield prep only to fall to them both in the last 500.

As medals were handed out throughout the day, parents and crews celebrated terrific rowing, hard fought competition, the steady advance and improvement of the crews, and the great comaraderie of all.

Next week, the Philadelphia City Championships, THE qualifying races for the Scholastic Nationals held in Tennessee this year just prior to Memorial day. Go at em LM Crew!

It was a ‘typical’ New Jersey’s kind of day. The weather was overcast, a steady breeze coming down the course from the finish line creating a bit of a chop and rare whitecaps. At least it didn’t rain. The tent was up (OK JB and crew), the food was fabulous (thank you Stacey and team) and the crowd was abundant as ever on the banks of the Cooper river. It is a fabulous venue for racing.

For all of that this year was marred by some major problems with the timing and reporting systems. Races were held, athletes competed, results are, well, just unreliable in many respects. The worst of it was with the Men’s 4’s. Our guys looked great on the course, but the timing was so fouled up that no result was posted for either the lightweight or the open weight men’s categories. Evidently, the race committee decided to rerow the time trials as the ‘final’ and call it a done deal. Our guys didn’t enter as it was late and not worthwhile.

Two crews did make afternoon races this day. The Women’s varsity open 4 placed 9th overall and rowed to a second place spot in the ‘petite’ final. Their are NO times posted at the NJ Scholastic web site. I presume that the inaccuracies are so many and varied, that unless you were an eyewitness to a head to head race, there is no telling!

The Women’s varsity lightweight 4 had a brilliant row against 5 other crews. They came in second, no more than a 1/2 length back of Egg Harbor that powered through and ahead of our ladies in the last 500 meters. According to the girls, they had a good start, battled with Egg Harbor and Ocean City (who had beaten them by a length last week in the final Flick) edging out into the lead during the middle 500 only to see their lead evaporate away in that final 500. They held off Ocean city by about 3/4 of a length.

You might be able to get more results through their web site, but as of this writing, the results have been taken down.

David

As beautiful a day as Saturday was, Sunday’s Flick was a bit of a mess with cooler temperatures, lots of gusty wind, and white water at times. There was even scattered downpours, one just before our WJV4+ went by.
I could only stay for the ladies this day, so if there are those who want to write about the racing, especially the men, please send your content along.

Today was the last Flick of the 2008 racing season. Everyone is in their final tuneups for the NJ Scholastic championships next week and the Philadelphia City championships the week following. These races make up the ‘qualifying’ races for the Scholastic Rowing Association Nationals, and the first of the ‘big three’ medal races. The Stotesbury Cup follows the Cities by two weeks and is the week before the SRA nationals.

So how did the ladies do? First off, the Lightweight 4 took second in their heat, 1 length behind Ocean City. They raced in the second heat, Lane 6 put them across the river from the dogfight between Radnor and OC in lanes 1 and 2. Lane 6 is ’slow’, moreover, it is out of touch generally, and in this case, the ladies had to row in a vacuum with the action way across river. And, true to LM form, they had, again, to come back from well back after the start, row through lane 5 Bellville, which they caught and passed by the 750, and powered on to just nip Radnor by 1 second for second. OC was out there the entire way, beat back Radnor and our girls too. We finished 1 length down as can be seen by the photo on the home page.

The Varsity 4 looked strong the day before (I had the privilege of taking photos from the launch). They powered through the tough water also in lane 6 just missing a 2nd place finish by 1 second to Egg Harbor. Merion Mercy was out throughout the last 1000 meters, but what a dog fight between our ladies, Egg Harbor, and Prendie that was hanging on until the last 500 or so.

I cannot report much when it comes to head races. All we see is boats going by, and it is hard to tell who is doing what with whom. I can say a few things from watching and you can check out the finishing order from the home page. Generally, the weather was a downer, with lots of chop. Head races are notorious for being ‘head game races’ too. There is little immediate feedback from competition, so its all ‘in the head’ so to speak. Frankly, when the boat is slogging away in the chop, its hard to stay motivated if not focused. So…

The JV 4 and the JV 8 both looked like they were fighting pretty hard today. I was especially impressed with the JV 4 that looked like a new boat compared with the week before despite the slog of the chop. The ladies came through a rain squal in 14 of 23, 27 seconds out of first, whereas they were 15 of 21 the privious week and over 36 seconds out of the hunt. The JV 8 had a bit more fire as well, a full 5 seconds faster compared to the winning boat as last week.

The Frosh are now in two 8’s divisions. The Novice 8 had a tough go of it in front of the tent. At least they mastered these waters alot better than one of the leading 8’s that crabbed sideways on the race course! The Frosh 8 had a much stronger finish. By the time they were in front of the tent, they were handling the water with demonstrated competence (though I bet it might not have felt like it).

I did catch the Men’s novice 8 come by as I was pulling out. Their rowing appeared more solid and secure despite the weather this time down. Their 8th place finish must be reassuring after a 14th place last week. More than that, they were 19 seconds out of first this time, a much better performance than the 36 seconds the week before.

Other finishes included the Men’s JV 4 19th and the Men’s V4+(b) that came in 5th this week.

Next week, the NJ scholastics moves us to the Cooper river and is held on Saturday. And for the first time we follow it up with the Cooper cup races the next day.

David

the West River Drive on a bicycle is a great way to see crew races. The roadway is closed to cars, the bramble has been cut back, and with few leaves this time a year, visibility is excellent! So, today I had the chance to watch two races from start to finish, and instead of telling you all about the others, I was going to just write about these two. Others should contribute (of course!). And the results of all the races can be found on the website by going to ‘Regattas and events’ then ‘Manny Flick 4′ then look for ‘results’ on the PSRA page.
Men’s Open Varsity 4 heat #4. LM (b) with Tom Mickler stroking is lined up in Lane 2. It is around noon, cumulus clouds hurtle past, tail wind on the course. In lane 3 is Bonner (7.25 seconds ahead last week), who has been dominating this event the last two flicks. In lane 4 is Haverford who came in 3rd last week by 1.5 seconds ahead of our 4th. 2nd place Haddonfield (2.5 seconds ahead of us last week) did not enter this week. Radnor who came in 5th (by 1.5 seconds) , Camden Catholic (who was 1st in the B heat last week) and Christian Brothers who won the D heat last week round out the field in lanes 5, 1 and 6 respectively. Based on times, this is goin g to be a scorcher with all crews within 10 seconds of each other (2 -3 boat lengths).

The boats float to the line. The line judge calls to each boat to touch it here and hold there to get an alignment. And then, “We have alignment. Are you ready? GO!” and they are off. Ahhh, to have a stroke watch on each boat to see what they are striking! Cox’ns screaming, water boiling at the blade tips, Radnor jumps a bit on everyone, with Bonner and LM close on their heals. Within 20 strokes it breaks into a 4 boat race with Camden Catholic and Christian Brothers in it but trailing. As they hit the bridge, Radnor is just smoking! Their stroke rating appears higher than anyone and they are moving out. LM, Haverford and Bonner settle back a bit and dance for position behind Radnor that is still stroking away as they cruise under the bridge heading toward the first 500 meter mark across from the St. Joe’s boathouse. As all 6 crews get out from under the shadow of the bridge it is Radnor out a full length, with Bonner a seat over LM and Haverford bac k about 1/2 a length. These positions hold for about 100 meters as the crews cross the 500 and head to the 1/2 mile mark just short of 1/2 way.

Bonner starts to move at the 500, and Radnor is clearly losing ground to them. LM has not responded, Haverford is 1/2 length back as Bonner starts after Radnor. At the 1/2 the situation begins to change again. Bonner is now crawling even with Radnor, LM has started moving up and is 3/4 down to Radnor and 3 seats up on Haverford. As they head toward the 500 meter to go mark, Radnor is now in second as Bonner drives through and past them. LM has moved a seat every few strokes and is down 1/2 a length or less. Haverford is now a length behind LM. Everyone now has to go after Bonner and Radnor looks like they will need everything they have to hang on to second. Did they go out too fast? Or is Bonner just too strong. At the top of the island, Bonner is now out nearly a length on everyone, LM is 1-2 seats behind Radnor, Haverford is starting to come on and is 3/4 a length behind Radnor too. It is here that the West River Drive fails me as I have to peddle like a banshee to get past the island.

As the crews come through past the island it is clearly a race won by Bonner, but LM and Radnor are still battling it out stroke for stroke. It is really hard to see who has it even as they cross the finish. Haverford never made it up at least a length back. The spint is flashing with higher stroke ratings and water a fly. As our boys cross the finish, the flag flashes, the horn ‘beep beep’ shouts the near simultaneous finish. Its Bonner winning by 4 seconds over Radnor in second, 0.7 seconds back is LM in third. Haverford is 4th 5 seconds further back. Camden Catholic takes 5th and Christian Brothers is 6th 20 seconds behind the winner. Whew!

I spoke with Tom Mickler for a bit after the race. We talked about length and relaxation in the body as something he thinks they can work on. I had mentioned that Bonner appears really strong this year. “The racing season isn’t over just yet” was Tom’s calmly spoken response.

The start of the Women’s Lightweight Varsity 4 Heat number 3. It is the grudge match, reprise *2. There are three very fast lightweight 4’s on the Schuylkill at this time, and all three have been at each other since the second Flick race. The weather has changed, with a crossing head wind that is dying under the dull gray sky. The race referee calls the crews to the line. In lane 1 is Concord who was 4th last week. Lane 2 is Montclair, lane 3 LM, lane 4 Mount Saint Joseph, and lane 5 is Harriton who was second in Heat B last week. We know about Montclair and the Mount. They want it badly, beaten by LM in the last few strokes of Flick #3. And like the Men’s race, the starter lets them loose!

LM is understroking their competitors, and begins to slip back behind Montclair and the Mount little by little. As they come to the bridge, the Mount cox appears to be screaming as much at Montclair as her own, and so does Montclair yell back. It is a two boat race, with an empty slot that LM had filled at the starting line. Through the bridge and the Mount and Montclair have a length on LM who is more than a length on Concord and Harriton who are out of it for the duration. But the lost ground stops here. One length down and a dog fight going on out front.

It appears that the Mount wants this one a little bit more. At the St. Joes boathouse, they pull out for a seat or two, and LM starts to nose back in between the two of them. First its just a nudge, then there is clear progress, a seat, maybe two as the deck of the LM crew slides up by the stroke of the battling 4’s on either side. Whereas Montclair appears to struggle to hold its ground, the Mount responds to the move and slides back out again to nearly a length. Its now 1/2 of the race done and heading toward the last 500 meters.

And so they remain a bit, with LM apparently understroking its competitors and hanging on there, and then another movement forward. It seems to be happening, LM is moving up again. This time, neither boat can seem to muscle a clear response, but the Mount edges on a bit better than Montclair. But its only 500 meters left, the island is coming up, and LM still has at least a 1/2 length to catch Montclair and 2/3 or so on the Mount. And darn that island, right where I don’t want it to be!

Pedal hard, pedal, pedal, pedal. Then I hear the cheers, “LM, LM, LM” coming from the other side of the river. I get to the end of the island, huffing and I wait. First past is the Mount still holding on. It looks like a deck length now, nothing more. They look frantic but their faces are determined. LM is sandwiched just down behind Montclair. Everything is moving, its barely 150 meters to go, 1/10th of the race remains. The other crews are cranking up the rating, LM remains long. The Mount is holding them off, no question, as they cross the line with a deck lead. With them in lane 4, I am looking through them and cannot see the bow ball of either LM or Montclair, but based on their sterns it appears LM came in second, but it was up to who had blades in the water, that tight! And so on this day the Mount finally overcomes. They wanted it badly, and came through. 1.5 seconds separated them from LM and Montclair that was less than 1/10th of a second furthe r back in third. WOW!

Two races, with two LM crews coming from behind to beat and or nearly catch another crew. Stamina, guts, and great opportunities to learn about pacing, determination, and the desire to work hard for the remaining races this season. For the men, they have a boat, or two, to catch. For the ladies, they have set a tone for LM women who have not been this competitive in this event for a number of years. Fabulous crews with one more Flick, Jerseys, the Cities and on any given day, who knows who will be out in front at the end of 1500 meters?

David

Coach Broderick sending off a Women’s novice 8. It has been a long time since LM Crew could see so many competitive performances two weeks running. On this windy, rainy, Sunday in April the Schuylkill river teamed with onlookers and fabulous rowing. And for those who are in to ‘NASCAR’ and the ‘Flyers’ for crashes and spills, there was a load of that, too, today. Lots of wind, waves and novices make for some exciting events. And then there was the Women’s JV 8 event that had a boat push off from the canoe club dock right into an oncoming race taking out 3 competitors! (So I was told anyway, from down river I couldn’t begin to tell you what caused that pile-up.) OKAY, so you got the flavor of the day? Lets get back to the racing.

This Flick regatta is divided women first, then men (next week it will reverse). So, the Novice women’s eights took to the water first. LM’s  ‘A’ boat had a fabulous row. They took a clear second by 11 seconds with a time of 5:48 coming through Egg Harbor in the second half while surfing the whitecaps in the middle of the race course. They were closely followed by the Novice B 8 that appeared well behind after the first 500. With steady and consistent effort, and some Keystone cops action moving crews across lanes and causing crabs, they won their race and did it going away! Their time of 5:57 was a good 10 seconds ahead of second place Baldwin. WOW! In 5 years with LM Crew I cannot remember two novice frosh boats coming in a first and second in a single day at the Flicks!

I will skip over the great quad action when 5 freshman quads all tried to squeeze into lane 6 by the island. I know that coaches like to say, “stay close so that you can sense the competition” but I think this was a bit over the top.

The WJV4 looked like they were going to take the second win of the day. They were out in front going by the tent. They had just worked through a stubborn Episcopal team in the next lane. The water got rougher after the tip of the island, and evidently so did Episcopal that had more juice left. Our ladies bowed in the last 100 meters to settle for second by 1.2 seconds (1/4 of a boat length maybe) in a time of 5:59.

The Women’s JV 8 was less than 3 seconds out of second in their race in a time of 5:29. It was tough going for them early, and like other LM crews, their second half is better than their first as they slogged it out through the white caps and gusting cold to pull closer to Radnor. There were 6 starting 8’s. It was in this event that our ladies were favored to be out a bit ahead of lanes 1-3, both from the bank AND down the course when the big accident occured.

The Women’s Lightweight 4 had us all fooled. Looking up river, they appeared to be a good length down to Mt. St. Joes and Montclair who were battling each other down the course. This was confirmed by eyewitnesses (cox Gabby Mezochow). The water was a major factor for our girls according to both Leah Greenspan (3 seat) and Julia Policastro (bow). Keeping long and steady, by the time the ladies were at the top of the island with 1/3 of the race to finish, they had pulled within a 1/2 a length and then 1-2 seats with Mt. St. Joes out in first by the tent. Lots of splashing made the finish uncertain, the flag went down, up, down, as the three boats crossed the line nearly in unison. We all thought second behind the Mount. Personally, I didn’t care with a comeback like that and three crews all so close. WOW. Aly Goldstein (stroke) Danna Koren (2 seat) and the other 3 girls pulled it out! Their winning time of 5:42 was 1/2 a second ahead of the Mount and 3/4 of a second ahead of Montclair. What spectator can want a better race so early in the season? What rower can ask for a better training experience?

The Women’s open 4 battled with Camden Catholic all the way down the course to take second in their race in a time of 5:51, beating their rivals by 2 seconds. It was nip and tuck all the way.

And then it was the Men’s turn. The Novice 8 started the afternoon on the bank of the river. No kidding! As we watched from down stream, the wind was causing havoc lining up the crews and the current was washing lane 1 (us) onto the bank and lane 2 into lane 1. Well, off they went, with our crew taking an extra couple of strokes as they got back onto the race course. And down the course they came. Some great strokes were followed by wave crashing splashes. Our boys came in 5th in a time of 5:42 with lots of speed to gain over the season.

Our Men’s JV 4 came in 4th in their race in a time of 5:26. The Men’s (a) open 4 came in 3rd in their race in a time of 5:20 and the (b) open 4 came in 4th in a time of 4:57. Clearly this crew was cruising and in a very fast heat. Hopefully, we will be able to post more on these races once information comes in from the coaches, parents and competitors.

 Another Fabulous day despite the lousy weather. Please send along pictures and news for the website. AND we will all hope for better racing and watching weather next Sunday, same time, same place!

David Greenspan

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The JV4 had a tough row in the sloppy conditions, rowing together but falling behind leading Christian Brothers and LaSalle and Oakcrest, who battled each other to within a tenth of a second. They finished fourth with a mid-pack time overall. The Varsity “A” boat walked through Christian Brothers during the final 500 meters to take third in their heat, and felt they had really improved on their race from last week. They look to continue to pick up speed and move into the upper level of varsity boats. The Varsity “B” boat rowed a rough race against the top boats in their event, falling behind eventual winners Bonner but also slipping to Haverford who they beat last week and Haddonfield. Their fourth-place finish in their heat also gave them the fourth-fastest time overall, however. They felt they could do much better and look forward to getting their shot next Sunday.

JD Bridges

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Novice A
cox Maddy Carroll, stroke Frances Loeb, 7 Katie McGrath, 6 Michelle Itkin, 5
Jenny Meier, 4 Alex Wikler, 3 Alicia Goff, 2, Kate Callahan, bow Alexa
Kuentsler

Novice B
cox Marisa Fraimow, stroke Maia Wikler, 7 Audrey Utkus, 6 Sarah Joseph, 5
Jenna Greensweig, 4 Sami Snyder, 3 Jen Schneider, 2 Katie Glick, bow
Shoshana Gordon

I don’t think you can even put in words how excited these girls were all
weekend!

Coach Broderick

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Hey Regan its jen!
   It is hard to put how our race went into words, but I would have to say
it was an amazing accomplishment, and it took a while to understand what
happened becuase we were in such shock! It was one of the best feelings I
ever had though! I think I pretty much speak for the team when I say that!

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I pulled the oar in, as close to my body as possible. I was regretting not
taking my mom’s advice on what to wear on race day. Cold rain pelted my
bare arms; the large wet drops seeped through the flimsy material of my
white tank top. Soaking wet black sweatpants covered my legs; I had given
up on wearing my other source of warmth, a forest green hoodie. My
sweatshirt gained at least 3 pounds of weight from the rain, and would
probably cause just as much discomfort as wearing only a tank top. I
watched our boat’s coxswain, Marisa, as she guided the bow pair, trying to
align our boat in the correct lane.
   It still hadn’t kicked in yet that I was about to embark on my first race
in the season of crew.  I was trying to muster up some sort of energy or
adrenaline that so many people described to me and promised I would feel.
Yet my stomach wasn’t doing any flips, my palms weren’t sweating, I was
just sitting in my 8 seat, wet, and listening to Marisa cox the rest of the
team.
     As the rest of the racing boats began to line up, Sarah suggested the
most valuable advice, “Guys we should all sit ready just in case.”? As the last
word of her sentence slipped out of her mouth, one of the officials
shouted, “ROW!”
     “Half! Half! Quarter! FULL! FULL! HIGH TEN! POWER TEN!” Marisa’s strong
and powerful voice guided our strokes as we raced and pushed our way past
opposing boats. Our cox-box was broken and Marisa powered our boat with her
booming voice. I went up the slide, and sped through the drive with all the
power I could derive from my legs, feathering the oar at the finish. All
the girls’ oars slapped the water at the exact time. We drove as one and
caught as one. All 8 started to feel like a dominating single.
           ”WE WANT THEIR BOW BALL! GET THEIR BOW BALL!”? Marisa shouted
motivational goals we had discussed at the boat meeting before the race. The adrenaline hit me with full force, I pulled the oar through the water with vigor, the
shadow of the bridge loomed above our boat. We were nearing the end of the
race, “POWER 10! LET’S WIN THIS RACE!” Marisa encouraged us.  We powered
through the 10 strokes, passing the Baldwin boat, winning the race by 11
seconds.

Maia Wikler

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Our first race was full of excitement, being nervous, anxious, and had no
idea what to expect. With it being as cold as ice and raining out it was
all worth it when it was an extremely close race as we came in second place
in our heat and 3rd in the entire event. The entire team did better than
anyone had ever expected. We could not have done this without our hard
work, dedication and commitment and an outstanding coach, Regan. We will
never forget our first amazing, thrilling, and incredible race.

Michelle itkin

The Schuylkill River was cold, with a light crossing wind coming down river from lane 6 into the faces of the spectators. The sun was bright this March 30, 2008 helping to offset the 48 degree high. A great day for racing and, with the proper layers, watching the LM JV and Varsity crews.

LM Novice didn’t row today, waiting for more water time before venturing out into the competition. So, the first race of the day was the ladies JV 4. Their 6:30 time down the course put them in 5th behind winning Prendergast. They looked strong in the second half, moving away from Episcopal and gaining on Collingswood in the last 300 meters. Their performance was followed, closely, by the boys JV 4 who came in 3rd in a time of 5:34, less than a second behind an Upper Merion boat and no more than 6 seconds (a little more than a boat length) behind the winning Upper Merion crew. The two Radnor crews were well back.  The Women’s JV 8 finished up the JV events with a solid second place showing in a time of 5:41. Though the winning St. Augustine boat was out front for much of the race, our ladies hammered back from being in 4th after the first 300 meters of the 1500 meter race, pulling into a solid second and began walking away from third place Lawrenceville in the last 500. They were out front of that crew by over 6 seconds by the finish.

The Women’s lightweight 4 took the first win of the day for LM! Stroked by Aly Goldstein, with Leah Greenspan in 3, Danna Koren in 2, Julia Policastro in bow, and Gaby Mezachow calling the race plan “no higher than 34 strokes per minute”.  Coming through the bridge in 4th, they lengthened out their stroke, and with it the run in the boat, and worked through the other crews to take the lead with 500 meters to go. It was nip and tuck from there to the finish with Montclaire who settled for second a mere 1.6 seconds back (1-2 seats distances) behind the LM winning time of 5:44. There didn’t appear to be any panic in our lightweights as they wrapped up the first win!

Not to be out done, the Ladies Open 4 motored to a win in their race as well! Amanda Robins ground out a come from behind victory from the stroke seat, using a low and long stroking to devastate the competition in the middle of the race course. She couldn’t have done it without Sarah Comitta in 3, Rebecca Wahrman in 2, Paulina Marcucci in bow and Diana Levin calling the moves. Their 5:55 winning time put them 2.2 seconds ahead of Camden.

The boys 4’s finished the day. The open weight ‘A’ 4 with Dan Abrams coxing settled for 5th behind St. Marks who was out 12 seconds. Evan, Xander, Stephen and Julian did their best on this day. Yet, they looked strong in the last 500, and clearly have more speed than their 5:30 1500 meter time suggested.

Meanwhile, the LM day ended with the open weight  ’B’ 4 came hammering home, pulling away from the field in front of the cheering LM crowd. James Buckman stroked the 4 today, with Tom Mickler, Sam Ostrum, Casey Klein, driving the legs, and Max Stern steering the course. They, also, had a slow start and had to make their move in the body of the race. Their 5:08 time was 5 seconds faster than Haverford that gave them the best run during the second half.

 The Parents organization came through as well. Sometimes that first Flick shows up all the ‘bugs’ in the organization. Today, the tents went up and came down without much of a hitch, the old trailer made it (with the new one coming shortly). And, of course, was there food, food, and lots of it too. Everyone had a grand time, thrilled with the rowing, the weather, and the anticipation of seeing the novices next week and more fabulous Schuylkill river racing.

See you all then!