MACCCs Schedule

Seniors Christine Magee and Sarah Hawk earned one of their first medals at MACCCs in Spring 2007.

You can find the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Crew Championships (MACCCs) schedule online now.

Susquehanna will compete against the University of Maryland - Baltimore County and College Park, St. John's College, James Madison University, Catholic University, Virginia Tech, St. Mary's College of Maryland, William and Mary, Loyola College, Maritime, Rutgers, American University, Liberty University, Virginia Commonwealth, and more.

Parking is $10 per vehicle and NO pets are allowed in the park. Directions are here.

SU In the Papers!

Today, the SU Crew team was featured in The Daily Item, the local newspaper of Sunbury, PA. Last week a reporter and photographer/videographer came to check out our team. They took some great photos and video of our team, that can be found at the links below.

Rowing Provides a Full Body Workout by Gina Morton

Local Video - Full Body Workout

Please excuse the fact that I sound like a total airhead on the video, but I was really nervous! When I first started coaching, I told Coach Jim that I would do anything but drive the trailer. Coach Jim has kept to his word, but is happy to have an assistant around to do things that he doesn't like. Apparently "other duties as assigned," includes being on camera, because Coach Jim is camera shy. (Jim, don't worry, I'm just razzing you).

The video features glimpses of our boat house, the novice women carrying their boat to the water, and the men's varsity four in action.

Unveiling of the "Coach Tomko"

Saturday was a proud day for Susquehanna University Crew. On April 24th, we christened the "Coach Tomko," after our beloved former crew coach who brought the team to where it stands today. In the works since fall of 2009, it was amazing that we could keep the secret, but asked "Coach" Brian Tomko down to the river to help with our dual meet against the Universityty of Scranton.

Coach Brian Tomko and Coxswain Jill Martin '05 having a pep talk before Head of the Charles 2004.

The "Lite 8:" Alyssa, Kate, Dawn, Sara, Jill, Ashley, Jess, Rachael, and Coach

Coach Jim began by introducing "Coach" to the newer team members and crew families. I suppose that Coach began to become suspicious once Jim mentioned how big of an impact that he had on our team and how he was such a great mentor. I wanted to share a few words about my "Coach" and got to unveil the name on the new Vespoli ES V1, the "Coach Tomko."

How could I put into words the impact that my Coach had not only on my collegiate rowing career, but also on the person that I have become today.

Brian Tomko and the SU Crew Team taught me more about my personal values, teamwork and trust, care and concern, and leadership than I have ever learned anywhere else.

Upon graduation and to this day, it is hard to think of Brian as anything but "Coach."

Just when I had thought I lost my faith in rowing during my junior year, I had an amazing opportunity to join the Varsity Lightweight 8. With the help of Coach, our Lite 8 learned to fly, with him right by our side. Nothing excited Coach more than to see us reach our goals, and it was always clear by the wide grin he wore on his face. That is why we are here today, in this moment to celebrate and thank our coach for giving so much to his team and rowers.

As the SU Crew family, new and old, we are eternally grateful for the hard word, dedication, and perseverance Brian Tomko committed to our team.

As a small gesture, without words, his spirit, commitment, and love of the sport will carry on -- in the dedication of the "Coach Tomko."

I'm a little bit happy to say that we made him turn red and shed a few tears, but I think that is just another testament to how big of a heart he has, and how much he has cared about our team over the years.

President L. Jay Lemons was on hand to further congratulate Brian. It was especially touching that he mentioned that so many current students and alumni have shared with him that crew has touched their lives in innumerable ways, as well as their admiration of Coach Tomko.

President Lemons, Coach Brian Tomko, Rachael Gebely, and Jim Gross

Varsity 8 Ladies in the "Coach Tomko"

I'd ask that if you have any memories about Coach that you would like to share or well wishes, please post them under the "Comments" section.

History Cont.

In the Spring of 2002, SU Crew traveled to Washington, DC for "Capitol Classic," a small regatta geared toward Division III crew teams. Although a rainy, almost miserable day, the crew team saw great success and brought back several medals. Two first place medals were earned by the Lightweight Varsity 4 and the Women's Novice 4 (my boat) in "Synergy." Synergy was the perfect name for a shell. Synergy literally means the interaction of discrete parts which create a total effect greater than the sum of individual efforts. It alludes to the power of synchronicity and teamwork.

Unfortuneately, on a wet and windy trailer ride how, Synergy's hopes were literally crashed when a wet strap allowed it to fall off the trailer and be run over by two cars. It was the first boat tragedy I ever experienced, although not the last. With the help of University insurance, we were able to replace Synergy with a new lightweight women's 4. Much debate occured over the name, but "Fusion," seemed to be appropriately fitting along with the openweight women's 4, "Unity."

Busfield Results

The results of the Busfield Regatta this past Saturday were just posted. It looks like the Women's Novice 4 and the Women's Varsity 4 race results are not posted correctly --- especially being that we have a third place Men's Novice 4 when we didn't even send one out on the water!

History Lesson of the Day

This week I have been a neglectful blog keeper and coach. As many of you know, my full-time job is working in Housing and Residential Life at Bucknell University. I oversee 10 different residential buildings, supervise the Resident Assistants, counsel students, teach classes, and a lot more. This week is our final week for room selection, so I have been working until 10 or 11pm at night. I was lucky enough to be able to coach on Tuesday morning. Someone asked me, "Why would you ever get up that early to coach?" I simply responded, "Because it is the best part of my day." I love the students that I get to work with at Bucknell and the things that I get to do in my full-time job, but rowing has always held my heart.

One of my goals in the upcoming weeks is to tell you the story of the Susquehanna boats. As a team member from 2001-2005, I often joked that I was the team's oral historian. I love story-telling and think that every team needs to know where it came from in order to know where it is going. While I have some crazy stories, I promise you that I don't exaggerate.

I wanted to start with the story of "Annalia," but quickly realized that Annalia's history is based on the other boats of the Susquehanna fleet, as well as the members of the team.

Fall 2001 Fleet:

• 2x - Double Trouble
  
• Vespoli DL4+ (Bow Loader) - Edna M. Sheary
• Vespoli DM4+ - Charles B. Degenstein
• 2001 Vespoli DM4+ - Unity - delivered fresh in the wrapper that fall
  
• Vespoli DS4+ - Synergy
• Vespoli DL8+ - Shane's B.O.W.
• Poccock 8+ - Joel Cunningham/Athena/the Poccock/Clifford

At Head of the Occoquan that year, we picked up Meridian (1997 Vespoli DM8+), which we purchased used from a high school rowing program. Believe it or not, rowing in Meridian was considered a privilege that spring, and she raced well.

The plus sign (+) stands for plus the coxswain, instead of being a "straight" boat or minus (-) without the coxswain. Sculling boats (two oars per person) have an "x" after the number of rowers.

Vespoli is an American boat company started by rower and coach Mike Vespoli. Vespoli uses a classification system of two to three letters to describe the hull type and recommended size of the crew. "D" stands for the "D-Hull" designed by a naval architect and hydrodynamics expert, and was born from the most comprehensive rowing research that had ever been done at the time. Fours are classified as small (S), medium (M), and large (L), while the eights have an additional extra-large (XL) category.

• S 4+: 135-160lbs S 8+: 125-155lbs.
  
• M 4+: 160-185lbs M 8+: 155-185lbs.
  
• L 4+: 185-220lbs L 8+: 175-205lbs.
• XL 8+: 195-225lbs

Vespoli recently introduced the "E-Hull" which was designed by the naval architect who's boat won America's Cup. They are more similar in nature to Resolute shells now, also designed by an America's Cup winner architect.

As you may have noticed, only two boats remain in the Susquehanna fleet (Unity and Meridian). Edna belongs to the Central Pennsylvania Rowing Association (CPRA). More to come later!

Dad Vails Gets a New Name

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Dad Vails is getting a new name and sponsor. Aberdeen Asset Management, a Scottish investment firm with American Headquarters in Philadelphia will be the new title sponsor of the Dad Vail Regatta. Now known officially as the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, due to a generous investment, the regatta is assured to be in Philadelphia until at least 2013. Aberdeen has previously sponsored the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race.

Knecht Cup and Foam Steve

This past weekend, SU Crew traveled to the Cooper River in Pennsauken, NJ for Knecht Cup. Knecht Cup is one of the largest mid-season regattas across the country, attracting crews from Florida, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, and more! We got to see a number of parents and SU Crew supporters, which makes racing even more fun.

One person that was not able to travel with us was Asst. Coach Steve Loaiza. In his spirit, we brought "Foam Steve," to watch the races.

Steve had a busy weekend, fraternizing with his coaching colleague Derek Updegraff. Derek was surprised this weekend by the Bucknell Men's Crew Team, who named their new Resolute 8 after him ("Derek Updegraff Jr. '93). Derek rowed on the team as a student at BU, and later came back to coach the men's and women's teams. This is a tremendous honor that speaks to the impact that he has made on their team!

Steve is also posing with Head Coach Jim Grose and Asst. Coach Rachael Gebely waiting for the Men's Varsity Eight DII/DIII to come down river.

Since the team had to meet the bus at 2:15am on Saturday morning, some of the rowers took the opportunity to catch a nap underneath the crew tent.

The team was hosted overnight by the friends and family of Christine Magee '10. We were welcomed by an amazing dinner of meatball sandwiches, pasta, chicken fingers, chicken Parmesan, pasta salad, salad, and cookies. Sarah Hawk's Mom also contributed delicious brownies. Christine's Mom and friends were kind enough to pack the extra food to-go so that we could enjoy it once again on Sunday. We are so lucky to be supported by such wonderful people. The team was able to stay overnight at two homes in Lansdowne, which was a short trip to the race course.

I'm pretty sure that the rowers avoid eating the mushy sandwiches provided by the cafe at all costs. Since we had so many parents say that they were interested in bringing goodies to our next races, the team has made up a sign up website. The site can always be reached under the "SU Crew News and Events" section of the blog. By no means are you required to sign up ahead of time (or bring anything at all), but the site will give you an indication of what we typically bring and what the team loves to eat.

This weekend we saw teams with full out tent restaurants: complete with coffee, breakfast burritos made on site, grills, and much more. While we don't necessarily need that kind of production, the team has always appreciated support from families. I still remember the Johnsons' bringing fresh Philly pretzels to Knecht and Dad Vails, Mrs. Jensen's Mandarin Orange spinach salad and lasagna at our Occoquan races, and Mrs. Meharg's homemade brownie muffins. I later learned that the brownies were really store bought, but boy were they delicious!

We ended up having a successful weekend, seeing a lot of positive improvements in each of our boats. Since this was our first big race of the season, we also have learned a lot about where we need to go from here. You can find the results here or on our "News" section of the blog.

The Immortal Words of Coach Steve

"Row like you stole the boat and the sheriff is hot on your tail!" Don't let them catch you! - Coach Steve Loaiza

Coach Steve wishes the SU Crew team the best of luck at Knecht Cup this weekend!

CPRA Octuple - Summer 2009 - Carol Graybeal (1), Susquehanna Provost Linda McMillian, Sally Thomas, Jim Baker, Derek Updegraft, SU Professor Rich Orwig, Kim Daubman, SU Assistant Coach Steve Loaiza, and former SU rower/CPRA coxswain Ang Weaver

Good Luck Charms and Rowing Unity

I loved racing. Nothing was more exhilarating than going into battle with my boat. I was always a nervous wreck beforehand, but after our boat pep talk from our coach and our boat showing of solidarity, I was ready to go.

I'm a superstitious rower. I can't count the number of times that I have "knocked on wood" to prevent disaster befalling SU equipment (unfortunately it happens anyway) and I had my good luck charms and rituals in order to ensure a good race.

Dad Vails 2005 - Varsity Lightweight 4 - Bow Alyssa Russo, Rachael Gebely, Allison Bankus, Jess Hibbard, and coxswain Lauren Fasnaught

Superstition exists on some level in every sport as a way to demonstrate the belief and confidence an athlete has. Athletes playing on the college or professional levels are competing at the maximum level against others that possess the same skills. Superstitions provide athletes with confidence in their edge over the skills of their opponents.

Michael Jordan always wore his blue UNC shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck. Pitcher Mark Fidrych used to play with the dirt on the mound and talk to himself before every inning. Carl Yastrzemski wore the same pair of socks for seven years. Bruce Gardiner of the Ottawa Sentators ice hockey team used to dip his stick into the toilet before games to teach it respect.

The most memorable good luck charm I had was given to our "Lite 8" by our coxswain Kathy Wulderk.

Knecht Cup 2004 - Lite 8 coxswain Kathy Wulderk

Kathy presented each boat member with "power beads," which were essentially girl's hair ties from Walmart. They were neon hair bands with four colored beads on them. We wore them on our wrists (our outside wrist) for good luck.

Spring 2004 - Rachael Gebely and Alyssa Russo

The elastic is worn out of my two power bead bracelets (one from junior and one from senior year), but I still took one in the boat with me when I raced at Navy Day last fall. We also had orange and maroon hair ribbons. Those were more for team spirit, rather than good luck.

My stroke, Jess Hibbard had this crazy pair of blue tinted Oakley-esque sunglasses. I eventually came to wear an orange tinted pair. I think we wore them regardless of sun, but they were great for making us feel more intense and ready to go into battle. I kind of likened them to horse blinders. I never wore them outside of crew, and they always make me focused and ready to go.

Knecht Cup 2004 - Lite 8 stroke Jess Hibbard

Before every race, our coxswain would start a fist bump from the stern that would travel towards bow, and then switch directions to end back in the stern. It was our way of passing good energy to one another and get in the mood to race.

Often you will see crews wearing matching outfits, homemade individualized t-shirts, nicknames, or selecting a boat name. Be it the "Lite 8," the "FFF's" (Fat Fat Fatties), or the HMSCF - there is no shortage of creative crew names or slogans that embody the spirit of their crews.

Knect Cup 2004 - "We Weigh Enough," Varsity Open 8 - Kimmie Graham, Marisa Chamberlain, Lauren Tanis, Shannon Jolly, and Cate Eytel

Philadelphia Tri-Meet 2010 - Lauren Seamon and "First to the Dock, First to Dinner," Christine Magee

Busfield Regatta 2009 - Joe Klass, Justin Chambers, James Hendershot, Samantha Gromek, and Nick Corridoni

Fall 2009 - Justin Yedibalian, Jon Fellin, and Nick Fritz

Masters of the Susquehanna 2009 - "HMSCF" - Nick Corridoni (captain), Tom Joyce, Chris Chidzik, John Adams, Stephen Hyde, Joe Klass, Tomas Prestamo, Devin Thomas, and Nick Fritz

Whatever the good luck charm or ritual, it can increase both your level of confidence in your preparation and the level of unity you can achieve in your boat. Good luck at Knecht this weekend!

“There’s no right or wrong, but there’s together and not together. And eight guys working together is always going to be faster than eight individuals who are rowing their own race.” – National Team Rower Matt Muffelman

Cream of the Crop Coxswains

Today, I stumbled upon what I believe is one of my new favorite rowing websites. Called "Shivspix" it features rowing art by Shivani. A former coxswain, Shivani combines her love of photography, rowing, and the amazing people she has worked with into a first class website featuring stunning photographs, interviews, and advice.

Here are some great advice columns written by the USRowing national team coxswains:

• Pete Cipollone on What Makes a Great Coxswain
  
• Cipollone Shares How to Avoid Being “Noise”
• Marcus McElhenney’s Tips for When You’re Behind
• Marcus McElhenney Discusses Setting the Right Tone
• Ned DelGuercio Shares Tips on Coxing a 2k

Pete Cipollone - coxswain of the 2004 gold-medal winning U.S. men's 8. Pete also World Championships in the heavyweight men's eight in 1997, 1998, and 1999
Marcus McElhenney - coxswain of the 2008 bronze-medal winning U.S. men's 8
Ned DelGuercio - coxswain of the gold-medal lightweight eight at the 2008 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships