Sports > November 9, 2005

By Steve Tomick

Old Gold & Black Reporter

After getting their feet wet two weeks ago at the Davidson Fall Invitational, the crew team got their first taste of the big time at the Head of the Chattahoochee Regatta in Chattanooga, Tenn. Nov. 4-6.

The team arrived Friday night and some of the first-time novices were a little overwhelmed.

“I was definitely intimidated by most of the other schools,” freshman Laura Shashy said.

The day began like the weather for the Deacs, overcast and not too exciting.

The men’s varsity four, seniors Matt Trump and Brian Cheeseman, sophomores Joe Hudgens and Rob Daniels and freshman coxswain Megs Brown, finished 13th out of 29 boats.

“We didn’t put a lot of focus into this boat,” Trump said “Brian and I spent a lot of time training the novices and for us to do this well made me proud.”

The women’s novice eight, after overcoming a broken skeg, finished in 18th place out of the 30 boats at the weekend competition. The boat, composed of sophomore Sarina Fiore and freshmen Lizzie Rosen, Kristen Eberman, Kristen Lohr, Shelby Swinburne, Natalia Narejko, Kate Van Orden, Anna Williams and coxswain Anna Shin, completed the course in just under 21 minutes.

“We did a great job keeping the boat set,” Fiore said. “I was very proud of how we did for our first big race. We overcame a couple difficulties and showed a lot of heart and gave it our all and that’s all you can ask for.”

In the final race of the morning, the men’s novice four finished 27th out of 32 boats. The all-freshmen boat, composed of Chad Winegar, Tyler Lee, Greg Crouch, Will White and coxswain Jamie Yezzi, completed the course in just under 22 minutes.

“It was definitely a good experience for the boat,” Yezzi said. “For a boat that has barely practiced together, never raced before, and for a coxswain that has only practiced for two weeks, the fact that we made it through without any major difficulties was a good sign.”

After the rain subsided and the sun began to creep out after noon, the Deacs hit it into gear. It began with the men’s novice eight, composed of sophomores Ryan Coons and Ashley Fields, freshmen Rob Young, Chris Brady, Bill Frailey, PJ Kelsey, Steve Tomick, coxswain Megs Brown and senior Rob Gerring. The boat placed sixth out of 29 boats, even after a brief setback.

With a thousand meters left in the race, the boat was on the verge of passing Georgia on the final turn when Georgia failed to yield and nearly ran into the Deacs.

The team recovered quickly and proceeded to annihilate the Bulldogs in the final 500 meters, completing the course in 17:12.

“It was definitely frustrated to know that if they didn’t (Georgia) run into us that we could have finished a place or two better,” Coons said. “But I am so proud of this boat. We have come such a long way since the beginning of the season and we showed that today.”

The high point of the day came in the next race. The women’s varsity four A boat, composed of sophomores Lindsay Williamson, Erin Cullen, Mariko Stronach, junior Lindsay Perea and freshman coxswain Anna Shin, flew out of the start and didn’t let up, finishing third out of 23 in the race and receiving a bronze medal.

“Despite the handicap of having to start first, we remained solid throughout the race,” Cullen said. “We stuck to our motto of ‘one unit, one mind, one mechanism.’”

The women’s varsity four B boat, composed of sophomores Jocelyn Tarbox, Ainsley Duff, Melisa Briskie and Lindsay Donohue, finished the same race in 21st place.

The day ended on a strong note as well, with the women’s novice four finishing sixth out of 31 boats.

The all-freshmen boat, composed of Megan Grant, Kat Williams, Sarah Jones and Laura Shashy, completed the course in just over 22 minutes.

“We stayed strong throughout the race and never letup,” Grant said. “We haven’t practiced together that much but we rowed really well together.”

Overall, it was a strong showing and good weekend for Deacon rowing.

“The results were definitely what we were hoping for,” Trump said, who raced in his final regatta on Saturday. “We overcame a lot of difficulties over the course of the season such as broken boats and stolen motors and still did extremely well at the biggest southern regatta of the Fall.

“This is a team made up primarily of freshmen and sophomores, many of whom had never rowed before, and the results today are exemplary of their sacrifice both physically and mentally this season.

The fact that they did this well so soon after learning how to row bodes well for the future,” Perea said. “All the boats looked strong and solid out on the water today and it was an amazing finish to our season,”