Emory Crew is excited for the upcoming season as we finish up winter training and begin looking to the future. With an army of experienced coaches ready to help and a group of hardworking rowers we are looking forward to our first ‘regatta’ erg sprints as we move toward the championship season. If you will be attending any of our regattas this year, or would like more information about them, please feel free to contact us at eucrew@gmail.com. Below is our spring racing schedule.

Emory Wins!

Spring Race Schedule:

February 9th – Erg Sprints (Atlanta, GA)

March 2nd – Vanderbilt Scrimmage (Lake Lanier, GA)

March 9th-15th – Spring Break (Cocoa Beach, FL)

March 23rd – John Hunter Regatta (Lake Lanier, GA)

April 5th-6th – FIRAs (Sarasota, FL)

April 20th-21st – SIRAs (Oak Ridge, TN)

May 11th-12th – Dad Vails (Philadelphia, PA)

May 25th-26th – ACRAs (Lake Lanier, GA)

Though the water practices may have been put on hold until February, early Saturday morning practices certainly were not. The team was not to be meeting in the WoodPec, however – they were in for a more unorthodox type of “practice”. After a brisk 15 minute drive to Cabbagetown, GA, the team met up with Trees Atlanta to plant shrubs in the neighboring streets. What was once conceived by some to be an “off-day” turned out to be worse: teammates vigorously dug into the rocky and earthy soil to create room for the new trees while others worked with their hands massaging the bulbs on the trees. Trees Atlanta staff was on the scene too, helping along the way as teams of 2-3 rowers planted two trees each in an effort to give back to the local community.

One week after the Annual Head of the Pumpkin, the team traveled to Lake Lanier to meet up with Georgia Tech and UNC. Former varsity women’s head head coach Micah boyd was on had as the new UNC novice men’s coach as teams readied for the scrimmage. The day consisted of a staggered start, head race style, for a 5k race. After the 5k and a brief rest each team raced three 1k sprints, a preview of spring racing. Wrapping up the season teh team was encouraged by the results but reminded of the work that needs to be done for to get ready for spring season.

The Head of the Pumpkin may not be the most prestigious regatta of the season, but there’s no doubt it’s the most fun to watch. Dressed in hilarious halloween costumes, the inter-squad regatta consists of a 6k race across Stone Mountain Lake. The Varsity Teams fielded 8+s while the novices put out four novice eights and two novice fours. Coach Jordan also competed in his single. Staggering start times ensured the sharp turn in the middle of the race was full of excitement and the finish would be tight. By the end the novice women’s first eight won the race, and the novice men and varsity men took second and their respectively.
After a well-deserved team barbeque Coach Jordan and Coach Joy distributed the prizes: coveted gold, silver, and bronze pumpkins. Later the couple christened the varsity women’s new shell, named ‘The Joy’ in honor of Coach Smith. Accompanied by baby Elle, champagne was poured over the boat.

The Head of the Charles boats this year experienced both good and bad on the infamous course. The Varsity Women brought an 8+ to the course, full of freshman and sophomore rowers, headed up by co-captain, president, and senior Gabby Arondel. Despite a lack of experience the team passed two boats and was able to finish in 22nd, up two positions from where they started.

The Varisty Men’s boat this year was full of success, disappointment, and growth. The Men raced two boats this year. The first was Captain Adam Hanif in his single. Only his first year in a single Adam made the team proud finishing 29th out of 64 boats, and wining an automatic bid for next year. The V4+ started their race started out strong on course to place in the top half of the race. Unfortunatly with only a mile left on the course debris blown into the course by a storm the night before caught on the rudder and forced the boat out of bounds. With a loss of steering the boat finished the race far behind their original pace. However the glimpse of success in the first half of the race was enough to inspire the team for the remainder of the semester.

The Chattanooga Head Race was the first race of the year for the novice squads and the second for varsity. With a young squad the Varsity Men’s 4+ placed 9th out of 14th in a highly competitive race. However the Men’s Lightweight 4+ took home gold in a race filled with high winds and rough waters. The Varsity Men’s team also fielded two varsity boats, with the A boat finishing 6th out of 13. The Novice Men raced two eights and two fours at Chattanooga. The Novice 4+s took 8th and 10th out of 13. The Novice Men’s 8+s saw better results, with the A boat finishing in 5th.

The Varsity Women is also comprised of a young team this year but the Varsity Women’s 8+ did well finishing just behind all of the Division I teams and beating out all the other clubs. In the afternoon the boat broke up into two fours, racing in the Collegiate 4+ and the Lightweight 4+. Despite rough waters the Lightweight 4+ placed first, and the Collegiate 4+ placed in the top 10 of a highly competitive race. The novice women brought a total of 24 girls to their first race of the season, fielding two 8+s and two 4+s. The Women’s Novice 4+ placed well despite conditions finishing 4th and 6th.

Fall semester was full of small steps and hard work. It started out with teh team traveling to Clemson University for Tail of the Tiger. The first race of the year the team began with a 2nd place finish by the Men’s V4+, and a 1st place finish by the women’s V8+. The lightweight men followed with a 3rd place finish in their 4+ and the Men’s 2V4+ brought home 2nd. Finally the Women’s V4+ wrapped up the medals with 3rd. However our collegiate rowers weren’t the only ones to bring medals home. Coach Jordan Smith took first in the open 1x, with Coach James Black finishing 3rd. Gabby Arondel ’13 and Coach Emily Maxwell also won 1st in the Women’s Open 2x.

As the fall semester kicks in and a new and promising season begins, we would like to welcome everyone back to campus. This year, Emory Crew has expanded its coaching staff with Coach Jordan stepping up to head coach of both Varsity Men’s and Women’s squads, and the addition of Assistant Varsity Coaches James Black and Jenny McNair, Novice Men’s Coaches Matthew Potter and Cameron Troxel, and Novice Women’s Coaches Therese Lamperty, Emily Maxwell, and Katherine Krueger. We are excited to have this new team of coaches help us reach our goals and have a successful season!

For those of you who are interested in joining Emory Crew, we are always looking to recruit passionate and hardworking individuals who want to be a part of the best sports team here at Emory. By joining this team, you will not only get into the best shape of your life, but will also get to know your closest friends and play an important role in our success on the level of national competition. For more information, please come to these information sessions and practices.

Info Sessions (Room 306 in the Woodpec):
Tuesday Aug 28, 3pm
Thursday Aug 30, 3pm
Saturday Sep 1, 6pm

First Novice Practice:
Wednesday Aug 29, 6pm (for men) 6:30pm (for women). Meet at the ergs (behind basketball courts) on the top floor of the WoodPEC

We hope to see you there, and if you have any questions about recruitment, don’t hesitate to contact Michael Sacks (mbsacks@emory.edu) or Sarah Howard (showar7@emory.edu)!

Following wins at the SIRA regatta, Emory Crew continued to set its sight on gold at the nation’s largest collegiate regatta, the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, PA. Having become accustomed to the pristine and glassy water at Stone Mountain, we expected the choppy Schuykill to be rougher than what we were used to, and the Schuykill certainly met these expectations. Heats started on Friday May 11th, and semifinals and finals took place on Saturday May 12th. The varsity men’s pair and single placed 4th in their heats, and following technical issues with equipment, the lightweight four placed 5th. The men’s heavyweight four placed 2nd in their heat only 2 seconds behind Minnesota, and the men’s novice eight walked through Army in the final 500m of their race to clinch a 2nd place finish. In the semifinals, MN8+ fell short placing 5th, and the MV4+ won their semifinal race, giving them good momentum going into the final. However, despite their dominant performance throughout heats and semis, the four placed an unexpected 6th in the finals.

On the women’s side, both the varsity and novice eights had strong first races, both coming in 3rd in heats. The WN8+ went on to place 6th in their semifinal. The WV8+ went straight to finals from their heat, placing 2nd in the DIII grand final. The V8 was able to debut their new Vespoil 8+, ‘The Joy’ (named after Coach Joy Smith), delivered to the course from the Vespoli factory. Breaking in a new shell is always a challenge, but the squad adjusted to the new speed and stiffness by the final.

We would like to thank Will Bringgold, the it’s Margulies and Kenty families and the University of Florida Crew for their hospitality. This weekend would not have been possible without their generosity.

In the two weeks following Dad Vails, the Emory men’s and women’s squads focused on preparing for the ACRA regatta. With school finished, the team was able to get some quality Spring Break style training. Due to summer commitments the men’s squad reduced their lightweight four to a varsity pair in addition to their single, varsity four, and novice eight. The women’s squad also broke down their boat into a varsity four and a pair.

On May 26th-27th, Emory Crew raced hard on Lake Lanier’s Olympic course, which sported a tailwind and near-record Georgian heat. The men’s single came 2nd in C finals, the men’s pair came 8th in B finals, and the men’s novice eight came in 5th in B finals. Despite being dominant in their heats and semifinal races, the men’s varsity heavyweight four finished 5th in grand finals. On the other hand, the women’s varsity heavyweight four placed 2nd in their grand final, while the pair dominated their division throughout the weekend, winning 1st their grand final to be crowned ACRA champions.

ACRAs also awarded Gabrielle Arondel (Jr.), Grace Veker (So.), Alex Dermody-McKeen (Sr.) with All-American Team Awards, and Gabrielle Arondel (Jr.), Devan Elmore (Jr.), Grace Veker (So.), Alex Dermody-McKeen (Sr.), and Ben Carr (Sr.) with Southern All-Regional Team Awards. Finally Micah Boyd was awarded the ACRA Southern All-Regional Coach Award.

We would like to congratulate our seniors – Will Aubin, Ben Carr, Eric Rusiecki, Alex Dermody-McKeen, David Silverstein, Ali Brooks, Meghan Ewen, Sofie Leenders, Nora Kenty, and Laura Eakes – on their successful Emory careers, academically and as Emory Crew oarsmen / oarswomen, and thank them for the incredible dedication and leadership they have given to this team.

On April 21-22, 2012, our varsity men’s and women’s squads took to the podiums at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships in Oak Ridge, TN. Competition was relentless, with many of the top collegiate crews from the South (both varsity and club) pursuing the gold. The weekend was filled with racing, with heats and semifinals on Saturday and finals on Sunday. While the weather had forecasted scattered thunderstorms throughout the weekend, the racecourse sported fairly good rowing conditions, with nothing more than a slight headwind and, thankfully, no rain.

From the very start, Emory’s Men’s Heavyweight Varsity 4+ (S: Ben Carr, 3: Adam Hanif, 2: Eric Rusiecki, B: Alex Dermody-McKean, C: Harry Goldberg) proved dominant, winning their heat by 10 seconds over George Washington University and their semifinal by 9 seconds over Grand Valley. In both races, Emory posted the fastest times out of all the crews. In the finals, the MV4+ battled University of Florida throughout the race, with UF having a slight lead over Emory through the first 1000m. Nevertheless, Emory’s four proved to be the faster and more mentally tough crew, crossing the finish line in 1st with a time of 6:43.20, 4 seconds ahead of UF.

The Women’s Heavyweight Varsity 8+ (S: Nora Kenty, 7: Ali Brooks, 6: Sofie Leenders, 5: Gabby Arondel, 4: Grace Veker, 3: Laura Eakes, 2: Jen Margulies, B: Meghan Ewen, C: Devan Elmore) performed well against tough competitors in the combined Club and Open category, coming in 3rd in both the heats and semifinals. Moving on to the B final, Emory placed 1st for the club entries and 11th overall, making Emory the winners of the club division of the Heavyweight Varsity 8+.
Junior Gabby Arondel commented, “racing varsity programs was a great experience and definitely pushed our boat to our limits. Although at first a little disappointed with an 11th place finish overall, we’re very happy to be taking home the gold for the club entries.”

Following tradition, shirts from other crews and medals were given to our winning teams as coxswains Harry Goldberg and Devan Elmore were tossed into the cold waters of Melton Lake.

Like the Varsity Women, the Novice Women 8+ raced in a combined open and club event. Despite battling against crews with more rowing experience, they landed in the B final, taking 2nd and the silver medal for the club entries and 7th overall. The men’s lightweight and novice boats and the women’s novice 4+ put out strong performances, and although they didn’t win any medals, they gained valuable racing experience and will return to Emory ready to make technical adjustments to their rowing and gain boat speed. On the other hand, while the months of hard work from the MV4+ and the WV8+ have paid off, these squads will train just as hard in the coming weeks with their eyes now set on gold at the upcoming Dad Vail regatta in Philadelphia, PA, May 11-12.

If any parents/alumni were able to attend the regatta and take pictures that they are willing to share, please email eucrew@gmail.com. We would love to post memories of this eventful weekend on our website for all to see.