College Nationals Recap

Last week Ande and I competed at the first US Rowing College Nationals.  This was special to me as it capped four years of rowing for Tennessee Crew.  This was the first team I have competed for continuously for 4 years, something I promised myself I would do when I quit football 5 years ago, back at Notre Dame High School.  On the larger scale this race was exciting because I think it's a shift in the right direction for college rowing.  The American Collegiate Rowing Association's championship was also this weekend, and has been around a few years.  ACRA's also has all boats from singles to 8+s but they exclude varsity programs.  NCAA's and IRA exclude clubs; my thought = why be like that?  The US is the only country with a national rowing structure this segregated and confusing.  I hope US Rowing keeps their shit together and this race draws more schools in the future.


For Tennessee Crew, the weekend was good.  Mark, Ande, and I loaded our boats on Mark's suburban and drove up on Thursday.  We where the only Southeast team there and the rowers in club programs could be counted on your fingers, most where from smaller varsity teams.  I rowed the single as an act of futility; the top four scullers made their position clear in heats and I had the pair to focus on.  Sunday morning had me filled with nervous energy.  As the club president racing had became about a lot more than just doing my best.  Unfortunately, it's also become about how our results will look at the next club sports meeting; about encouraging teammates to get excited about being more competitive, and admittedly, it's also involved hoping that my lacking fitness will hide behind good technique.  We train, but I'm no faster now than I was in high school; a sad tribute to the effects of managerial responsibility.  Hopefully some of the time I spent off the erg and at a computer or in meetings will grant people down the road more time to train and continue to grow the program.

Race results; the double was 70 minutes before the pair and our goal was to double medal.  The race plan in the 2x = race to the 1000 and make a decision.  The decision was pretty well made 300 meters in with Oklahoma asserting themselves as the strongest crew on the water.  We swung it out and pulled in second with William and Mary in third.  That was the entire field; hopefully next year more men's programs will put out sculling boats in the Spring.  Undefeated up to now in the pair, that was what we had came to race, and we wanted this.  Unlike the double, a lot of good DIII programs had guys there in the pair; a full field of 7.  An ok start kept us with the field, but a sloppy middle 1000 gave the guys from Trinity and Wesleyan (both rowing as Craftsbury) room to breath and even had Loyola in open water over us.  We pulled it together, walking by Loyola and finishing 8 seconds out of first.  A great race to end my 4 years at Tennessee with.

The "podium" from the men's pair.  No, we are not on a hill.  

For more pictures check out the row2k gallery; especially the first three pictures of the top 2 men's singles at the finish.  Great Race;  http://www.row2k.com/gallery/gallery.cfm?action=gallery&dir=2010Spring/0523USRColl&label=USRowing%20Collegiate%20Championships%20finals,%20May%2023%202010&hi=yes