Finals Part Two

I think I didn't give enough credit to the smaller boats from this weekend so here we go.

-V4+: Myself, Matt OUTLAW, Chase ROWE, Andy DAVIS, and Ben HAYES

We have been rowing this same line up more than once, and even if practice hasn't been quality to my eyes, on race day it came all together. Racing the four is always a little tougher because it is after the 8, but with a strong race plan and call by Ben, and vicious but relaxed mindset by the rowers, we fought Loyola for the first 750m until Marist took up the challenge. The entire race was stroke for stroke, they attacked and we responded. When 500m to go was in my line of vision, as a boat we committed and increased the gap.





-JV4+: Preston WEINARD, Jared LOW, Chris OTTIE, Jesse BRANTMAN, and Tom RICHARDS

I wasn't able to see much, but when they crossed the 500m to go line, they had such a gaping advantage I wasn't worried at all. The length from stroke to bow was solid, and the power was definitely there with the assistance of a relaxed recovery. Open water finish was their headline.

-Frosh4+: Jeremy SOBIECH, Jacob STRAUSS, Tim EASTERLING, Matt THOMAS, and David "Djabar" WAUGH

I'm always amazed by this little group of guys because they all have somewhat of a different background but they make that disappear when they perform together. A few weeks ago, their skeg broke and weren't able to win FIRA's,  but redemption was what they were looking for this weekend. And holy crap they showed their speed; right off the line they led and kept a strong rhythm to win by so much open water t seems stupid to race. From what I heard, Waugh kept them on the race plan to gain more and more speed. Good job boys!

-V2-: Troy TROUPE and Jesse BRANTMAN

What a cool final race to watch on the men's side. With a will to finish the season right, both of them fought through the whole race for second place and were just nipped on the sprint. They made sure they brought home as many points as possible as they could, and they did. Good job on the third place!

Recognition

No matter how humble anyone might be, at some point we all enjoy a little spotlight action. In this case, it happens to be Bernadas VINGILIS and I's turn. Bernard has been the fastest on the ergo since we started in September. With a few ups and downs, he manages to stay ahead without too much competition. We were both mentioned today on the JU Athletics website in a JU Rowing article giving an update on the team's current status. Like the article says, we, as rowers, don't like to single people out so here are others that are right behind us: Jeremy SOBIECH, Chase ROWE, Shane KENNEDY, and Sean CARNEY.
And a special recognition for Andy DAVIS who has been working really hard to come back from a back injury.

It Had To Happen!

Usually when things in life are going well including pulling sweet splits, having nice line ups, etc etc...karma comes running up the alley and kicks you in the shin.
Something had to happen! And this time it happened to poor Andy DAVIS. After a tough workout on Saturda, which started with a 30min test ergo at rate 20, we went on the water to finish up with 3x10min pieces at higher rates; after a bad first piece, our line up (of people who aren't usually in the boat) pulled it together and was able to do better. Of course by the end of the second piece, Andy's leg had fallen asleep and his lower back wasn't doing so great either. So what's next? Hell, let's do the last piece by 6s. For the first few minutes, it wasn't too bad and we actually were holding the other 8s, but when it came time to up the rates, we fell back; I could only bring it up to a 26 and that was for the last 2 minutes. After that, which I classify that piece as one of the toughest I've had to do, we went in. Oh, but we aren't done here... To dock our boats, we have to arrive at an angle and pull in our oars; as I looked back, the first oar came sliding in and then Andy's also started to until his back seized up, and hit the post, which in the end shifted the shell into the dock and broke the bow off. To end this delightful story, we carried him out of the boat since he could not move.
With hours spent back and forth from the hospital to his house, he finally found out that he had two bulged disks and a tear. This is not good news for him nor the team. He will be doing his best to recover, but you never know what will happen with time.

With that, our first race First Coast Head Race is coming up this weekend.

Go Dolphins!