More About Traits in an Eight

I have always thoroughly enjoyed the "Traits in an Eight" and recently stumbled upon a great article in the latest edition of The Independent Rowing News Inc.

Rowing News Repost

Dear Doctor Rowing,
Could you explain to me what the different seats in an eight mean? Our daughter has just started rowing and we are curious to know if it means anything that she was selected as the stroke. Is the seating based wholly on technique or is there a personality type too? Does she have any future in the sport?
Should we be proud?

Set out the good linen and crystal and then get on the horn to Granny. You, my friend, have hit the jackpot. Surely you have been around rowing long enough to know that your daughter is a rare jewel, a pearl among swine.

Much has been written about what makes a great stroke. She must, of course, have a good sense of rhythm, steady and consistent, so that the seven people behind her can follow easily. She must be strong and powerful, for the stroke is the one who sets the pace of the oar through the water. And her blade work must be strong; this is not a seat for someone who has difficulty getting out of the water cleanly.

But great strokes are more than great technical rowers. It is precisely in the personality realm that a stroke most stands out. Can you say prima donna? The stroke should be someone so competitive, so self-assured that she is constantly annoying her teammates with comments like, “Have you ever noticed that I cut my meat more efficiently than anyone else on the team?” or “I wonder why it takes the rest of you so long to shower?” It’s not just that the stroke thinks that she can do all of these things better than anyone else alive. A coach’s job is to find the person on the squad who really is better at everything and put said person in stroke seat. Don’t apologize or be modest. The person who inhabits the stroke seat really is superior.

Now, what about the girl right behind her, in seven? Coaches often go out of their way to praise the “second stroke.” I’ve often heard coaches say that seven is always the best athlete. “She must be equal in intensity and drive to the stroke, but have the additional task of following and passing on the rhythm to the rest of the crew. It’s the most difficult job in rowing.” Seven seats themselves put it another way: “I am the real stroke. The person in front of me just thinks that she is setting the rhythm. If the coach didn’t have an insane prejudice against starboards, I’d be there, where I belong.”

Six? Inhumanly strong. Competitive. Arrogant. She knows that she’s the most powerful person in the boat. Has there ever been a great boat without a great six seat? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because six doesn’t get all the attention of the stroke that she is cut from more modest cloth.

Five is a kind of reflection of the strong and savage six seat, but watered down—a reflection in an old dusty mirror. It’s not that they dislike being in the six seat’s shadow, they just don’t really notice. They are happy to put up the second best erg scores in the boat and be praised as, “a real leader in the engine room.” It doesn’t take much to make a five seat happy. They’re not all that bright.

Four? Happy, contented people. Gregarious. Well-adjusted. They are the ones most likely to have a stable relationship, a boyfriend who comes to all the races and brings everyone food. If you want to spend a pleasant hour talking about something other than crew, (though why would you want to do that?) this person is for you. So what if they have some rough spots in their stroke. They know that they are doing their best.

Much has been written about the three seat’s plight. In my copy of The Badminton Library’s volume on rowing and punting, published in 1898, it says, “It is curious how often the worst man in an eight rows in this position.” This person was the last to earn a seat in the boat. It seemed like the coach was desperate to find someone else to row in her place. But then, undoubtedly, the coach came to a big realization: no matter who the person was, the boat would still need to have a three seat. Finally, the seat racing ended. That awkward, bumbling rower, the one everyone expects to catch a crab, was in the boat. But you know what? It’s a bum rap. These people move the boat. Show me a good eight, and I’ll show you a skilled rower at three.

Two? The philosopher. Unlike the three seat, the two seat actually did catch a crab once in a big race. She has been tormented by it ever since. This is the girl who might stroke one day if her therapy goes well. She’s got the aggressive personality, but doubt lurks beneath everything she does.

Bow is the artist, the stylist, the best dressed—the one who can tell you what everyone else in the boat is doing wrong. This person has an uncanny ability to breathe through her nose at all times, without ever gasping for air. And how can it be that she is always so articulate, even after an intense session of speedwork? Could it be that she doesn’t ever really pull? She seems to live a kind of charmed life, asked to balance the boat but never criticized if it dips down to one side.

Have I offended everyone? Good. As a former coxswain, my job was to get everyone so worked up that they would kill themselves trying to show their superiority. A great crew has all of these insecurities hidden just below the surface, ready to explode at any moment. Attention? Go!

By: Andy Anderson

I need a coxswain here...

Clearly if blogging were a race, I'd be losing right now. I sat in bed the other night waiting to fall asleep thinking of idea upon idea for the blog. Now as I sit here typing, I feel like those great ideas have left my brain, much like my brain often leaves me in a race. That is where the coxswain comes in...

The coxswain is the brain while the rower functions as the brawn. Racing can be almost primal, stripping us to our core, diverting our bodies' resources from the brain to the physical structures such as the lungs and heart that we call upon in such periods of intense exertion. I used to think of launching to race as almost "going into battle." There is something about racing in rowing that feels strikingly like what I imagined a war or battle scene to feel like many centuries ago.

Rowing takes courage, strength, fire, and will. I believe you need those things before stepping into a boat, but that they may leave us in the stress of the moment. That is where the coxswain must step in, to remind us as rowers what the fight is for -- to reignite or keep the flame burning that represents our desire to prove ourselves on the racecourse -- no matter what our bodies may be telling us.

I just returned on Saturday from a week with my team in Oak Ridge, TN. As my fourth trip to Melton Park Lake and the friendly community of Oak Ridge, it struck me that I feel so comfortable there that it almost feels like another home. The water is as familiar to me as my own river. I can remember how to navigate unconsciously to the marina. I know the shoals, buoys, docks, bridges, and landmarks. It is such a joy to spend a week in a town accustomed to and welcoming of rowers. It is also such a joy to spend a week with my team. Although a hard, long week, spending that time with the crew reinvigorated me after a challenging winter. To see the excitement and energy pulsing through those students allows me to reclaim mine. I learn so much from them and can hopefully share those lessons in upcoming posts! Keep checking back...

Working Out to Get Over Being Tired or Stressed

The one thing that I really appreciate about exercise is that even if you feel tired and lifeless, a good workout can bring you back to life. Tonight I was working late but still made it a priority to make it to the gym.

I am the type of person who once they put their workout clothes and particularly sneakers on, I never decide not to work out. However, there are times where convincing myself to put on those sneakers can be a challenge.

Anyway, I made it to the gym after a long day at work. It's been the type of week where my brain hurts, my eyes feel like they might pop out of their sockets, and I'm always in need of a nap. I told my colleagues today that "my life is a giant spreadsheet," as I am managing a really large department project brimming with millions of details. In fact, the ways that stress is affecting me this week is just crazy.

I'm so tired that I fall into a really deep sleep. In that deep sleep, I dream. Supposedly this is a good thing because I am going through each section of the REM cycle. However, I am dreaming about work. Talk about not restful. I wake up in the morning trying to separate reality from my dream world and I feel like I never leave work. This was a real problem for me in graduate school in particular. Sometimes if I had been really concentrating on a specific project or was really deep into work, my professors would come to me in dreams. I had really wonderful professors, but they are not the type of people you want to see in your dreams. I would also write papers in my dreams. Waking up was confusing because I didn't know what I had written prior to falling asleep and what I had written in my dream. It was also a pain because a brilliant idea in a dream can be brilliant, or completely fictitious and lacking sense be seem to be brilliant at the time.

The nice thing about an intense workout is that I get to leave work behind. I drove to the gym and was waiting for my Body Pump class to begin. The equipment changes every class so I asked my instructor, Maria, what we needed -- a bench or a BOSU. These are both things that I normally really enjoy. She asked me what I wanted, and I said that I didn't know. I think I have been in charge of a lot of decisions lately and my brain couldn't process another one, and I was just TIRED. She asked if I was okay and I said I was tired. Fast forward 15 minutes and we are doing a series of side steps, hops, jogs, and jump ropes. I didn't feel like the tired, exhausted person that I had come to class as. I had a little more pep in my step and really tried to get my knees high and pushed harder. It felt really good to have the strength and energy to attack the class in a way I hadn't thought that I would be able to. I even upped my weights on a few exercises.

This same concept was one that I especially appreciated in college. The ten-fifteen minute drive from SU's campus to the boathouse made me feel like I was world's away from the stress of my academics. Coach always used to say to not take your problems with you on the water. I can't say that I entirely followed the rule, as I sometimes used my frustrations or stress to pull harder or push farther in a piece, but that kind of thing is productive. Whether you are erging in a basement somewhere or rowing on a beautiful stretch of river, there is an opportunity to be transported from your everyday cares and worries. Exercise can be so transformative and transcendental.

Story Time: Part I

I've promised a lot of stories on this blog that I actually haven't delivered. I always think a fair bit about things I'd like to write about on this blog, but for various reasons they are never written or posted. This blog has a few ground rules that I have have set for myself, but the main rule that I am not willing compromise on is:

• If [I] don't have something nice to say, [I] don't say it at all

This mostly pertains to things in the present (i.e. no trash talking other teams or people), but as I think about the stories I want to share about the SU team's history, inevitably there is always something less than flattering about someone (some team, some something...) who's feelings I wouldn't want to hurt, since after all it is just my faded memory that the story is drawing from.

So the next few posts from me are stories that tell some part of the history of the SU Crew team, but from my own limited perspective. In almost any crew story I can think of there are always tears involved. Take from them what you will... One such story that I promised was along the lines of "The Lite 8 Journey to Head of the Charles."

It was a very long road, which saw it's humble beginnings in Spring 2003 with an ambitious sophomore having broken 8 minutes, but a seed that was laid later that fall with a junior making a bet with her coach.

It wasn't a bet in the traditional sense -- there are no Vegas style odds on unsolidified boat line-ups. I don't remember it being particularly well publicized, nor reminders given. Aside from a conversation or two, it quietly slipped past the team's radar and life (rowing) went on as usual.

If you haven't guessed, I was the ambitious sophomore turned junior, love sick in her affection for crew. A year and a half of increased exercise and difficulty of workouts led me to return to SU in the spring of '04 a few pounds away from the 136 max of Erg Armageddon. Our team worked with tireless pursuit to compete at Bucknell's Erg Armageddon, the largest/closest indoor rowing machine competition in the area. The competition (always a week or two prior to Spring Break) gave us something to focus our energies on during that long, endless period of time stuck in the "Green Room."

I approached Coach about rowing lightweight for Erg Armageddon. He got that look that people get when they talk about wrestling, diving, gymnastics, or other weight driven sports. It is a hard look/feeling/sentiment to describe, but at it's core says, "this kind of thing can really mess people up, I don't want to deal with that." So, I let it go, but in a few days, he said, "Okay, but if you're going to do this, it has to be right." This included a very lengthy discussion on what to eat or not to eat. Water - good. Pretzels and other snacks - bad. Vegetables - good. Soda - bad. I'm putting it in this binary form to simplify the conversation, but it basically led to me making some big, but pretty easy to adapt to lifestyle changes in my eating. A girl who had once said, "I could never be lightweight because I like food too much," and "I could never be vegetarian because I would miss meat too much," had to totally eat her words (excuse the pun).

So I exercised, ate really colorful salads, still managed to have a cookie (maybe two) for dessert and hit 134 by the time Erg Armageddon rolled around at the end of February. At the time, I thought my foray into lightweightdom had ended, went on our yearly Spring Break training trip and was rowing openweight again. For reasons more complicated than I could ever understand or explain, our openweight varsity eight disbanded. I foggily remember a conversation with Coach next to the trailer after Spring Break, where he told me I could seat race for a spot in the varsity four or that I could have a seat in the lightweight eight. I was hesitant to consider moving to lightweight full time. Sure, I had made my goal but it almost seemed unreal. Even though there were four tiny pounds between me and the Knecht Cup or Dad Vail weigh in, it seemed so huge in my mind. So I thought about it.

It was the best. decision. ever.

I started practicing with the lightweight eight and I don't remember much about the early formation of that boat. I do however remember the harrowing Occoquan Sprints. The weather prediction for that day was 20-30 MPH winds, with up to 50 MPH gusts. They decided to move from the sprint race course to the more protected head race course. The race organizer also wanted to move the events up, therefore it was only possible for us to enter one event, the lightweight 8 or the lightweight 4.

Our coach wanted us to decide which event to enter. I was set to race both events, knowing full well that we had better odds to medal in the four. Standing on the bus that day, medal dreams aside, we chose the 8.

It was the best. decision. ever.

That day turned us into the "Lite 8." We weren't merely a collection of nine women who weighed under 133 pounds, we bonded over making making a tough decision and surviving to tell the tale. This may sound a little bit exaggerated, and in some ways it is, but I don't know if I have ever been as fearful of flipping/dying/losing equipment as I ever was that day. There was pile up of boats in the finish area of the sprint course, waiting to turn and make our way onto the head race course. We were out there forever at a standstill. The wind was picking up and blowing our backwards, which of course the oars are designed to steady the boat the other way. The starboard oarlocks were nearly under water, and there was no way to set set the boat without rowing to right ourselves. It was terrifying. Granted, we weren't in any life threatening danger, but it was still scary as heck.

We raced, we made it, and then another terrifying experience. On the return dock, Kathy Wulderk (our coxswain) called for "up and over heads" when one of those wind gusts came through. There were eight lightweight women holding on to this boat (Meridian) for dear life, as our feet started to pick up from the dock. Looking back, I'm not sure how we didn't go Mary Poppins style into the Occoquan Reservoir with our boat. Luckily Coach (Brian Tomko) and Coach Jim were there to grab onto the boat and we narrowly avoided disaster.

The Lite 8 went on to do pretty well at Knecht Cup, we even got to race the infamous Wisconsin Badgers (the Wisco Lights). After racing Coach told us that we had made the US Rowing national ranking poll. He didn't want to tell us at first, in case we got big heads or it messed with our ability to concentrate on the race at hand. All I can remember is a lot of shrieking on the side of the Cooper. At the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Crew Championships (on a less harrowing day) at the Occoquan, the Lite 8 earned first place. We also earned 16th in the US Rowing national ranking poll. Unfortunately that year finals fell over Dad Vail week and we weren't able to prove ourselves on that national stage. This is the one thing - of anything - that I would if I could change about my college career. It was just out of our hands.

I owe a lot to those ladies. Kathy Wulderk, Erica Garland, Alyssa Russo, Erin Toenehboehn, Allison Bankus, Dawn Raskewski, Kate Jensen, and Jess Hibbard. They taught me more about teamwork than almost anyone I can think of in my entire life.

It was probably summer, I was doing research with the psychology department and went to the gym every weekday at 4pm sharp. My coach just happened to be in the cardio loft while I was

on the elliptical machine. He said, "You may not remember, but we had a deal at the beginning of the year if any of our boats placed in the top 3 at Knecht Cup, made finals at Vails, or got first place at MACCCs, they could go to Head of the Charles..."

This. was. it. My boat, the Lite 8, was entered into the lottery for a place in Head of the Charles that fall. I had no idea it would be my boat. Our boat. And it happened. I was beyond ecstatic.

Row-ga

Last Friday, SU Crew took a break from the ergs for yoga, or as Co-Captain Katie Messler calls it, rowga. I've written before about some of the benefits of yoga for rowers and have posted a few links, so I have some more things for you.

Someone brought their P90X Yoga X DVD to practice. I have never actually done P90X, but I have heard that it is a really effective exercise regime. My brother lost a lot of weight at the end of his college career doing P90X with his buddies and my best friend (former SU Coxswain) Jill Sands-Martin '05 started to get into it recently. Sometimes as a coach it can be a bummer to miss a good work out while instructing the team, so occasionally I like to join in and rowga offers the perfect opportunity.

Even on the online videos or infomercial, the spokesperson points out that most people think of yoga instructors as being silly or kooky. P90X prides itself on being intense cross training, and keeps their reputation by teaching the yoga in a really powerful way. Most people at the gym do a couple of sustained planks to work their core, Yoga X has you moving from planks to push ups to downward facing dog to warrior poses in smooth, quick transitions. Your body is never fully at rest, challenging you to breathe through pain, feel your body, and lengthen your muscles.

We couldn't have been very far into the video when I started dripping sweat. The poses are engaging the muscles in such a way that it is challenging without feeling like it hurt so much that you have to give up. I was impressed by how far the team's flexibility has come since we began doing yoga nearly a year ago. There was rarely giggling (except maybe for the "make your body into a triangle and reach your arms underneath your legs and clasp the hands together" ridiculousness) and the focus of the team has certainly improved. I saw many determined, motivated faces in the room that thought very carefully about each position and called upon their body to do things that they maybe had not thought possible.

I really appreciated the chair squats, because as a rower I think the more you can continuously challenge your quads, the better. I would challenge SU's rowers to sit down deeper into the squats, and keep the backs straight. That way if you are ever challenged to a wall sit contest by your coach (e.g. Spring Break '05) to delay getting out on rough water, you know you can be the champion of your team. Even though I hold my share of erg records, Robin Atkins '05 beat me on that one.

I still fervently believe that leg presses are pivotal to a good crew lifting regime, unlike a few guys I know that emphatically believe that it is a "exercise of the nineties." Squats too. I mean really, did Xeno Muller have biceps twice the size of his neck, NO.

Overall, I was really impressed by the level of challenge that the DVD offered and the calm cool-headedness of the instructor.

Key moves from Yoga X if you don't have the DVD:

Runners Pose

Crescent Pose

Warrior 1

Warrior 2

Warrior 3

Plank

Downward Facing Dog

Triangle Pose

Twisting Triangle Pose

Standing Splits

Half Moon to Twisting Half Moon

Tree

Royal Dancer

Standing Leg Extensions

Crane

Frog

Plough into Shoulder Stand

Touch the Sky

Happy Baby

You can very easily Google these terms to make up your own routine!

Group Fitness

You might ask, why are there no posts recently? I've been doing other sorts of writing rather than blogging, which is to help create an SU Crew newsletter. While this may not sound like very exciting news, I am certainly excited to see it debut. We have articles from our coaches, captains, team members, and alumni as well as a ton of photos of our fall season.

As soon as it is ready for print, you will find it right here!


Over the break, I have been working on my own fitness and can't help but wonder what the members of our crew are up to. I find that I am best motivated when I am working out with others or when I know that I need to meet certain expectations.

In November, I started taking "Body Pump" classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with rowers from the Central Pennsylvania Rowing Association. It is a weight-based group fitness program designed to improve strength and endurance in major muscle groups. Since we are unable to row during the icy winter months, I was looking for another group fitness class that would keep me motivated and be fun.

Our trainer Maria has been pushing us a little harder each class, working with medium and heavy free weights, bars, resistance bands, step benches, exercise balls, slo mo balls, and BOSU trainers. There is always a new exercise to learn!

It has also been interesting being a part of a group fitness class with only rowers. Having completed a similar program 2 years ago, I noticed that the coordination required for the class can help rowers become more intuitive on the water. This seems to apply to rate changes and commands from coaches or coxswains. Participating in a fitness routine in the off season can do wonders for balance, control, and endurance later on.

Since this class is only twice a week, I wanted to explore my other options. I came across a Zumba class. It is a fusion of Latin and international music that focus on a few simple dance like moves in each song. I am no dancer - I didn't make it through my first year of dance class as a kindergartner.

I felt a little out of place at my first class, as it seemed like so many of the participants already knew each other. They made a big deal out of my being new, but were reassuring. As soon as the class started, it had a different style than I had been used to. In graduate school I frequented 90 minute Step & Sculpt classes and 60 minute BOSU classes that were very choreographed. The difference between the classes is that there is very little verbal cuing in Zumba. There are hand signals, but you need to really pay attention to your instructor or others in the class to get the moves.

Without previous aerobic class experience, I think that I would have been totally out of my league. Having two months experience under my belt, I am feeling so much more comfortable with the steps. I really look forward to the class because it is high energy, always changing, and I feel like I get a great workout.

So my question for you is:
What have you been up to and what is on your playlist?

Twins. Part Two.

This spring I posted an entry called "Coach Twins." This entry is also about rowing twins, more specifically the Winklevoss twins.


Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of Greenwich, Connecticut placed sixth in the men's pairs event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They are also featured in the new film, The Social Network, based on the rise of Facebook. It is thought that Mark Zuckerberg used code he created for the Winklevoss' ConnectU to later launch thefacebook.com. The Winklevoss' later confidentially settled for $65 million but continued pursuing their rowing dreams.


Dan Boyne of Row2K has a new feature column that will explore what went into filming the rowing portion of The Social Network: Rowing and the Art of the Social Network—Part I - (row2k features).

Blisters.

First a few caveats regarding blisters:

1. Never wear gloves (unless you want to get laughed at).
2. Don't bandage your hands with white medical tape like you are an Egyptian mummy. This will only promote more (possibly even more painful) blisters in the millimeters between tape.
3. Never pour shampoo, soap, or other cleaning product directly on your blisters. Wash carefully or suffer the consequences.

Here is some handy information from SU Crew Team Captain Katie Messler:

I heard a few novices asking what to do about hot spots, blisters and open sores on your poor hands. Here's a quick fix for those pesky ailments:

1. Lose the lotion! The softer the skin, the more frequent the blisters. Stop applying lotion to your hands to build callouses.

2. Soak 'em!- fill a bucket with warm water, add 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt (Found near the Advil in Walmart), stir until the salt dissolves and let your hands soak for 20 minutes. This will dry out your blisters and sores, and keep it clean.

3. Wash your hands! More washing means less bacteria, which means happier hands. Use spray disinfectant or hand sanitizer to keep your hands clean and to dry out the blisters when you're not near a sink. It will sting for a second, but will help overall. This will also help toughen your hands.

4. Use protection! Use nu skin (liquid bandage) or athletic tape to ward off blisters during long rows. Don't use too much tape because this will constrict your hand movement and it will be harder to get those beloved early roll-ups. Gloves won't help, so don't bother.

Number 5 comes from SU Rower Rob Pennaherarra:

5. Popping blisters -- When new blisters form on our hands we always get the urge to tear them right off! Now, although it may be a fun and entertaining thing to do during class to keep you awake, it is not a good thing to do; it can allow for infection in your hands. The proper way to take care of blisters is to poke a hole through the center of the blister, drain it, and then wash it. This will make sure that the skin hardens and helps you to form callouses but will also make sure that your blister is nice and clean!

As a new rower (or even a returning rower), here are my personal tips for a rowing first aid kit:

• Needles
• Wooden Matches
• Neosporin
• Fabric Band-aids
  
• Small Pair of Scissors
• Nail clippers
  
• Epsom Salts

A blister is fluid that accumulates between two layers of skin. For simplicity's sake, blisters boil down to three categories. The first is the type of blister that fills with a clear serum or plasma. The second is a blister filled with blood and the third is a blister filled with pus. Blisters are created from friction -- in rowing it is the oar handle rubbing against the palms and fingers of a rower. In the case of a pus filled blister, I suggest finding the nearest medical professional, as sometimes antibiotics are needed to treat those types of blisters.

Blisters can be painful, especially if they tear. Take care in examining your hands each day. For large blisters, I suggest draining the liquid by gently pushing a needle (use the match to disinfect the needle first) into the blister at the edge, perpendicular to the movement of the skin. Make the smallest hole possible and use a cotton ball or paper towel to absorb the liquid. Leave the excess skin, as in time this can build up to form a callus. In the case of a ragged blister, sometimes you need to use a small pair of scissors or nailclippers to prevent further tearing of the skin. Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap or hydrogen peroxide. This will hurt, but it is important that the wound is free from bacteria. Apply a small amount of Neosporin and cover with a bandaid.

Most rowers have their own preferences when it comes to blister care and bandaids. I prefer the fabric bandaids, as they seem to hold up better during a rowing practice. I also like the elastic medical tape (it is beige colored, with rouching and used in many athletic training offices). The elastic tape isn't as gummy as white medical tape, holds up better in practice, and creates less friction. I've never found a good use for pre-wrap, except maybe to tie back a pony tail.

Whatever your choices, just use a little tape and as few band-aids as possible.

Extreme Cross Country Rowing

I often describe the difference between fall head racing and spring sprint racing to the difference between fall cross country and spring track. Red Bull has managed to improve upon this metaphor by actually combining the sports. Below is a video of what can only be described as "extreme cross country rowing." The event begins with a men's eight competition on the water in Switzerland, transitioning to land where the rowers carry their boat and oars through a challenging trail run, get back on the water and row back to the other dock, and then run their boat to the finish line. Check it out!

Crew Couples

One of the interesting things about SU Crew is how closely the men's and women's teams work together. At many schools the teams may be separate, or could be in totally different classification systems (club versus varsity). There are some schools where the lightweights travel to completely different races than their heavyweight counterparts (such is the case with the Wisconsin Badgers and the Radcliffe [Harvard] women). But at SU, we practice, travel, and spend time together regardless of gender. This means: Rowing relationships. They happen.

As a team member from 2001-2005, I saw my fair share of rowing relationships or "crew couples." I was not left out of the trend either, as I was in a rowing relationship for close to three years. I thought that I would write a quick update on couples of the past.

Pete Haberkost '04 (starboard) and Erin Toeneboehn '04 (starboard) met on the crew team and dated through out college. Coach Jim managed to snap this cute picture of the two of them rowing a mixed double during their senior year.


In 2006, Pete and Erin got married. Jess Hibbard '05 served as the maid of honor and had previously been stroke seat of Erin's Lite 8. Pete and Erin currently live in Woodbridge, Virginia where they are teachers. Pete also coaches with the Prince William Rowing Club. They are expecting their first little crew baby this fall/winter.

Pat Johnson '03 and Laura Lindberg '04 also met on the SU Crew team. They were both lightweights on the team. They married in 2009 and live and work near Philadelphia. Laura is a registered nurse and Pat works as a recruiting consultant for Comcast Cable. They are expecting their first baby this fall.

Ashley McConnaughhay '08 and Andrew Addison '08 also met on the team. Ashley rowed in high school and coached during her college summers on the Hudson River in New York. Ashley and Andrew were married during this past summer and currently reside in Reading, PA. Ashley works for a bank and Andrew works for the Army and is also a volunteer firefighter.

I found this funny blog posting called "All's Fair in Love and Rowing" which posits that rowing relationships are actually "crewcest."