Sports > October 26, 2005

By Steve Tomick

Old Gold & Black Reporter

After nearly two months of training that included at trip to the West Point training facilities in early September, the crew team had their first opportunity to showcase their talents at the Davidson Fall Classic Oct. 22, hosted by Davidson College.

In the first of the two regattas of the fall season, the crew team put on a good showing, in which the Deacs raced against Davidson and the University of South Carolina.

On a calm, cloudy morning on Lake Norman, the Deacons took first place in their first two races.

In the first race the Men’s Novice Eight, composed of sophomores Andy Albert, Ryan Coons, Ashley Fields, freshmen Rob Young, Bill Frailey, PJ Kelsey, Steve Tomick, freshman coxswain Megs Brown and senior Rob Gerring, dominated the field.

“Megs couldn’t have hit those turns any better,” Coons said.

The boat posted the best time of the day, finishing the course in 19 minutes and defeating the next team’s boat by over a minute and a half.

“The boat looked as together as I have ever seen them,” senior coach Matt Trump said, “especially near the end of the race.”

As soon as the Men’s Novice Eight docked, Coons was rushed to the head of the course to coxswain the Women’s Varsity 4A boat.

The women picked up where the men left off. The boat, composed of sophomores Lindsay Williamson, Erin Cullen, Mariko Stronach and junior Lindsay Perea, finished the course with a time of 21:44 and defeated the next closest boat by over a minute.

The team did not have to worry about unfamiliarity, having practiced together since the previous spring.

“The dynamic of the boat has definitely progressed,” Cullen said. “This is not a boat composed of four individuals, rather one unit. To have come that far since last year, to take three of four girls who have never rowed before, is a testament to the coaching, the training and personal dedication of everyone in this boat.”

The Novice Women’s Eight, composed of freshmen Lizzie Rosen, Laura Shashy, Kristin Lohr, Natalya Narejko, Kate Van Orden, Kristin Eberman, Anna Williams, freshman coxswain Anna Shin and sophomore Sarina Fiore, also took first place, defeating their next closest opponent by close to a minute.

“We have been pouring all of our resources into training the novices and it definitely showed today,” coach Jamie Dean, ‘05, said.

In other results, The Women’s Varsity 4B took fourth place and both the Women’s Novice 4 and Men’s Varsity 4 took second.

Overall, the team and coaching staff was very pleased with their performance.

“It was a great first race,” Trump said. “The novice boats and the varsity women were awesome. To go up against schools with very comparable, if not better, resources than Wake Forest and dominate them really shows that the quality of practice has been outstanding and also that we have better technical program.”

“It’s really easy for a novice to progress quickly because of the great coaching.” Cullen added.

Moreover, the team itself regards its coaching staff and dedication as the indicators of their success thus far.

“Not only is the coaching great, but everyone has been busting their butt in practice and in the erg room to get better and it shows.” Perea said.

Dean realizes that the real competition is yet to come.

“Davidson is a warm-up for the big regattas,” he said. “But this was definitely a strong first showing and is a great confidence builder.”

The Deacons’ next big challenge comes in two weeks at the Head of Chattahoochee in Chattanooga, Tenn., where they will hope to ride this week’s confidence to victory.