Wesleyan Crew Winter Update!!

Greetings to all!!

We hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season.  While the members of both squads have been hard at work in the gym and Rowing Center, our supportive community of parents and alumni have been hard at work in other areas!

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters we have been able to add some great additions to our program!

As you may know by now, both men's and women's programs will be rowing in brand new boats come Spring Break!  These new boats are some of the best equipment available, and we can't wait to get rowing in them!

And speaking of Spring Break, we are in the final planning stages of our annual trip to Deland, Florida.  We will be staying at the beautiful Hontoon Landing Resort and Marina on the St. Johns River, just outside of Daytona Beach.  For years this location has been a perfect place for us to train.

WesCrew will be an exclusive guest over the 10 days at Hontoon.  We have full run of the beautiful resort, and access to our own private dock for launching and landing shells!  It doesn't get any better than this!


Finally, we have also done some work in our Rowing Center.  Recently we acquired a rare 'Total-Row' machine from US Champion and Wesleyan alum Jonathan Moss.  Moss is a member of Wesleyan Crew's prestigious community of National competitors.

Adding to the Total Row machine is a pair of 'Shox Box'  and of course our beloved Gamut Ergometer!

As you can see, we think we are geared for terrific growth and improvement over the next few seasons, and we appreciate your continued support!

-The Coaches

Homecoming/Family Weekend 2009!

Homecoming/Family Weekend 2009

This past weekend, Wesleyan rowing played host to family, friends and alumni at Macomber Boathouse to celebrate our rich history, and the close of a fantastic fall season!

 

It was a beautiful day for such an event, with clear blue skies and glass-like water; and what better way to take advantage of such great water than invite parents to row!

After a session of erg training from each parent's respective offspring, our extra-stable rowing barge was loaded up an taken out for a spin.  We took out five groups  - the barge was a huge success! Parents enjoyed getting a small taste of what their kids
have committed so much to, and it was a great chance for the coaching staff to cater the event, as opposed to the usually parent-catered Wesleyan tent at our races!

We were very happy with the turnout and are glad that everyone seemed to have a great time stepping into their son's and daughter's shoes for a short time.

John Biddiscombe, Wesleyan's athletic director and long time supporter of our program stopped by for a peek at the morning festivities, and had the chance to chat with Kathy Keeler.  Kathy is the only Wesleyan graduate to hold an Olympic Gold medal, stroking the Women's eight to a top finish at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles!

Many thanks to all who were involved in the event!  We think it was a great way to cap off the fall racing season, and we hope you enjoyed yourself!

Currently, both squads are beginning their winter training regiment.  We feel we have established a good base from which to build off over the winter, and are looking forward to getting back out among the competition in the spring!

Thanks again for your continued support!  
We will see you soon!

Wesleyan Alumni at the Head of the Charles!

Here is a quick slideshow and YouTube video of our WesCrew Alumni representation at the Head of the Charles this year!

Slideshow - Alumni 8

Video - Alumni 8 from Reunion Village

-The Coaches

Head of the Fish Weekend Recap

This past weekend of October 24th and 25th the Cardinals wrapped up their fall racing season with two regattas!  The freshman and novice crews headed to Worcester, MA on Saturday to compete in the Quinsigamond Novice Challenge!  On Sunday, Varsity Crews represented Wesleyan at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Novice Results:

Women's Novice 8 - finished 7th out of a field of 17 boats, with a time of 18:11.36

Men's Novice 8 A - finished 3rd out of a field of 17 boats with a time of 15:01.74

Men's Novice 8 B - finished 12 in the same field with a time of 16:15.387

The Men's Novice 8 A poses with their Bronze Medals
**click photo for full size**

Across the board we were very pleased with our representation at this regatta!  Everyone had a great time, and we look forward to doing it again next year!

Varsity Results

Men's first Varsity 8 - finished 6th of 17 with a time of 11:16.53

Men's second Varsity 8 - finished 6th of 9 with a time of 12:18.46

Women's first Varsity 8 - finished 14th of 17 with a time of 14:17.74

Women's second Varsity 8 - finished 11th of 13 with a time of 14:54.74

We had a great season of Head Racing, and we are excited to get into a winter training program!  

We will have a few more days of water time before we begin our transition to indoor training.

Thanks to all the parents who donated so much of their time and energy to helping out the squad during these cold, rainy, and sometimes snowy races!  


Below is a slide-show of parent-provided photos of Sunday's events.  Please note the 'full screen' option to view the photos in all their full screen glory!

This blog will continue to be updated throughout winter training so please continue to check back and be a part of the community!

We will see you all in the spring!

Head of the Charles Recap

On the weekend of October 17th and 18th, Wesleyan University competed in the 45th annual Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, MA!

On Saturday the 17th the men's team was represented by our second Varsity 8 in the 'Club Eight' event, while on Sunday the 18th both the men and women's teams raced their first Varsity eights in the Collegiate Eight event. 

Results:

Men's Club Eight - 40th place with a time of 17:19.021

Men's Collegiate Eight - 15th place with a raw time of 16:31.971

Women's Collegiate Eight - 28th place with a time of 19:56.953

Here are some slideshows of Wesleyan photos 

collected from row2k.com and sportgraphics.com

Women's Varsity Eight

  

Men's Second Varsity Eight

Men's First Varsity Eight

For all who came, thanks for your support!  On the whole it was a very successful weekend, and Wesleyan enjoys being a part of this very special, very historic New England event! 

Stay tuned for a Recap of this weekends events, including the Novice Challenge in Worcester, MA and the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs, NY!

-The Coaches

President Michael Roth recognizes Wesleyan Rowing Squad

Recently, University President Michael Roth recognized the Wesleyan Crew team in his own personal blog. (see link below for the particular post)

Roth on Wesleyan-Athletics and Education

President Roth was on site at the Head of the Connecticut Regatta this past weekend chatting with the coaching staff as the Women's Novice 8 cruised across the finish line in first place!

President Roth's support of athletics, and his views on how academics and athletics are managed are one of the backbones of Wesleyan University, and we couldn't be more appreciative of his continued support of the work being done by so many student-athletes.

This weekend, the Cardinals will be representing Wesleyan at the Head of the Charles Regatta!  Stay tuned for updates following this weekend's events!

-The Coaches

Head of the Housatonic, Head of the Connecticut Weekend ReCap

This weekend the Cardinals represented Wesleyan at two of New England's most prestigious and historic regattas; the Head of the Housatonic in Shelton, CT and the Head of the Connecticut at our 'home court' stretch of the Connecticut river in Middletown, CT!
It was a busy weekend, but across the men's and women's squad we saw a strong representation of support from parent's and alumni at both events. What a great way to kick of our Fall racing season! Thanks to all who helped out!

At the Head of the Housatonic the Men's squad raced two Varsity 8s, a novice 8, and a collegiate 4 while the Women raced two varsity 8s.
To see detailed results of each event in the Head of the Housatonic please go here.

At the Head of the Connecticut the Men's side saw representation from alumni competitors, while the Women's side was represented by a novice 8.
To see detailed results of each of the events at the Head of the Connecticut please go here.

Listed below are the results from all boats raced by Wesleyan this past weekend.

Men's 1st V8 - 15:25.494 - 5th place
Men's 2nd V8 - 16:40.545 - 9th place
Women's 1st V8 - 19:12.959 - 3rd place
Women's 2nd V8 - 21:00.474 - 6th place

Men's Novice 8 - 18:39.651 - 5th place
Men's Collegiate 4 - 21:11.830 - 15th place

Finally, at the Head of the Connecticut,
the Women's novice 8 placed first with a time of 19:02.0733!


In conclusion, it was a great weekend of racing.
While we feel we performed at a high level, we also feel there is much work to be done, and we are excited to get to work on the water this week in preparation for the Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend.

Stay tuned for further updates!

-The Coaches