Emory Crew competed in the Head of the Charles in Boston last weekend, the biggest and most competitive fall race in the world. The team took three boats this year, which is the most in team history. The Varsity Women’s 4+ came into the race this year as defending champions, and once again brought home medals with a fourth place finish, solidifying Emory Crew’s position as a serious contender on the national level. The Varsity Men’s 4+ finished fourteenth in their extremely competitive event, clinching a guaranteed spot in the race for next year and improving on last year’s results.

Emory Crew brought home the College Team Points Trophy at the Chattanooga Head Race in Tennessee on October 8th. There were many highlights of the day, including performances by all squads on Emory Crew. The Men’s Varsity 4+ and the Novice Men’s 8+ both took home gold medals in their respective events. In the Novice Women’s 8+ category, Emory Crew’s two boats finished in second and third place. The Varsity Men’s 8+ also brought home second place medals. The Varsity Women’s 8+, competing against varsity programs from across the South, placed seventh in their division, directly behind varsity boats from Tennessee, Alabama, and Central Florida. They placed ahead of every other club team at the competition.

Emory Crew spent the week of spring break training in Cocoa Beach, FL. The good weather and the hard work of all four squads paid off at the end of the week’s scrimmage in Winter Park, FL. Emory raced against crews from University of Florida, Wesleyan College, Rollins College, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. The Women’s Varsity 4+, JV 8+, and Novice 8+ all brought home gold medals, as did the Men’s Varsity B 4+. Both the Men’s and Women’s Varsity 8+ placed in the top three of their respective events, rounding out the success of Emory Crew’s first race of the spring season.

The Varsity teams traveled to New Orleans this weekend to compete against other Southern club teams, including Vanderbilt, Tulane, LSU, and Texas. The weather on Saturday and Sunday was perfect for racing: sunny and warm, with minimal wind. The races were set up in a duel style, with two boats competing head to head. The Emory Women’s V8+ swept the field, winning all three of their races against Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Texas by open water. The Men also defeated Vanderbilt and Tulane in the V8+, and LSU in the V4+ event. The results of this invitational event are considered in seedings for championship races later in the spring, putting Emory in a good position coming into these important races.

Emory University Crew recently finished one of its most successful seasons yet. After its Women’s team finished first at Head of the Charles in the Women’s Collegiate 4+, they also took two Gold medals in both the Collegiate 8+ and the 4+ at Head of the Hooch. The men performed well at the Charles and won bronze in the Championship 4+ race at the Hooch. The novice teams grew in size and strength with impressive wins at both the Chattanooga Head race and Head of the South.

All teams are looking forward to Winter training followed by a successful Spring racing season.

Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta
This weekend Emory Crew traveled to Oakridge, TN to race in the SIRA Regatta against teams from all over the South. The competition was fierce, and Emory raced against other club programs as well as varsity teams. Emory raced in the Varsity Men’s 8 event, the Junior Varsity Men’s 8 event, and the Varsity Women’s Club/DII/DIII 4+ event. All boats raced in the heats on Saturday morning, in semifinals on Saturday afternoon, and in the finals on Sunday.
The Varsity Men’s 8 placed 4th in their heat behind Florida Tech, Mercyhurst, and Texas, and ahead of Rollins and Auburn. Later that afternoon, they placed 3rd in their semifinal behind University of Florida and University of Delaware, and ahead of Michigain State and Dayton. On Sunday, they raced in the C Final where they placed 5th behind Notre Dame, University of Florida, Ohio State, and University of Delaware, and ahead of Texas.
The Junior Varsity Men’s 8 also placed 4th in the heat behind Notre Dame, Grand Valley, and UNC. That afternoon they placed 3rd in their semifinal behind UVA, University of Colorado, and Ohio State. On Sunday, they raced in the B Final where they placed 5th behind Grand Valley, St. Joseph’s University, UNC, and Georgia Tech, and ahead of University of Colorado.
The Varsity Women’s 4+ placed 2nd in their heat, behind Rollins and ahead of Florida Tech, Murray State, and Wake Forest. That afternoon they placed 1st in the semifinal ahead of Florida Tech, Georgia Tech, Grand Valley, UGA, and Ohio State. On Sunday, they placed 5th in the Grand Final behind Rollins, Nova Southeastern, Florida Tech, and Georgia Tech, and ahead of Wake Forest.

Though no medals were won, Emory Crew raced hard and came away prepared to train harder than ever for the infamous Dad Vail Regatta on May 7th and 8th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Spring Break and JU Scrimmage
Emory Crew traveled to Cocoa Beach, Florida over spring break for a week of hard training leading into the start of the sprint racing season. The team practiced twice a day on the water in Cocoa and then headed up to Jacksonville on Friday for their first regatta of the season, against Jacksonville University and Stetson University. The races started with the Men’s Varsity Eight, in which Emory took 2nd and 5th place. Following was the Women’s Varsity Eight, where the ladies finished third. In the Men’s Novice Four race, Emory placed third, and in the Women’s Novice Four race, they took second. In the Varsity Four races, the Emory men took 1st, and the Emory women took second.

John Hunter Regatta
On Saturday, March 27th, Emory Crew traveled to Gainesville, Georgia to compete in the John Hunter Regatta against teams from all over the country. Even in the face of stiff competition, Emory performed very impressively and earned medals in 3 events. The Men’s Varsity 8 earned a silver medal, coming in second to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in finals, and the Men’s Novice 4 earned a bronze medal. Unfortunately the Men’s Second Varsity 8 placed third in their heat and did not advance to finals. The Women’s Varsity 8 and the Women’s Varsity 4 both advanced to finals where they took 4th and 5th, respectively. The last Emory boat to medal was the Women’s Second Varsity Eight, which won a silver medal.

Lanier Sprints
On Sunday, March 28th, Emory Crew returned to Gainesville, Georgia to compete in the Lanier Sprints Regatta. Overall, the team did very well and every boat finished within the top 3 spots. The Men’s Varsity 8 and the Men’s Junior Varsity 8 both took first place in their races, and the Men took first and second in the Varsity 4 race. The Women’s Varsity 8 won first place, and the Women’s Varsity 4 and Novice 4 both finished in third place.

Clemson Sprints
For the last race of the regular season before the champion events, Emory Crew traveled to Lake Hartwell in Clemson, SC, this weekend to compete in the Clemson Sprints Regatta against teams from all over the Southeast. The team performed extremely well, and won multiple medals. The men’s team took 1st and 3rd in the Varsity 8, 1st and 6th in the Varsity 4, and 3rd in the Lightweight 4. The women’s team only raced one boat, the Varsity 4, which placed 2nd. This regatta brought the regular racing season to a triumphant end and carried the team closer to victory at the upcoming championship races.

As Emory Crew bids farewell to another successful Fall racing season and begins another competitive Spring season, we also welcome an important milestone in the history of our team: our 20th year of rowing.

We have launched a large scale fundraising effort to further the status of Emory Crew as an elite club at Emory University and as an aggressive rowing program regionally and nationally. The large scale goal of the program is to establish an endowment with the university. This endowment would create a permanent future for rowing at Emory University with a dependable flow of funds year to year. Although the initial monetary benefits of the endowment would be slight, it is important that we make the commitment to initiate this financial base. Over time, this will be the the financial foundation of Emory Crew. We have a substantial portion of the necessary initial deposit for a university endowment, and that leaves us with a total goal of $50,000.

If you are interested in being contacted about contributing to the future of Emory Crew, please send an email to eucrew@gmail.com with your name, phone number, and availability for contact.

The Crewsletter covering the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 seasons has been posted to the website. Click here to read.

With classes starting the 27th, Emory students are returning to campus. We would like to welcome the incoming class of 2013 and encourage you to visit us at our several recruitment/information sessions.

• Saturday, August 22nd from 10:30 PM to 1:00 AM, we will have a table in the WoodPEC gym for the Club Sports Late Night Orientation Event for freshmen.

• Wednesday, August 26th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, we will be at the Student Activities Fair on McDonough Field for all students.

• Wednesday, September 2nd during Wonderful Wednesday, we will be participating in our Fall Erg-a-thon in Asbury Circle.

• We will be in room 306 in the WoodPEC holding our 3 information meetings with question and answer sessions on the following dates
-Thursday, September 3rd starting at 8:30 PM
-Friday, September 4th starting at 6:00 PM
-Monday, September 7th starting at 6:00 PM

• There will be a Back-To-School Recruitment BBQ on Labor Day Weekend, details to follow

Continue to check the Schedule/Results page for regular updates for all things Emory Crew