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!

Finalizing for Hooch

We are now 9 days away from the Head of the Hooch regatta in Chattanooga, TN. This is probably the most prestigious race to win after the Head of the Charles. Most teams that don't go to Boston usually end up going so it is no piece of cake. 

In 2009, the "IRA boat" won the Men's Championship 8+ by a decent amount of time on top of riding a ripping current downstream. In 2010 (my freshman year), I got to stroke the boat to a second consecutive victory only this time by no more than 2-3 seconds. The conditions were definitely nowhere near the previous year but it was extremely cold. One of the reasons I believe we did not perform as well as we should have is because of the previous training, let me explain. Almost every piece, 6k, tech row, etc... was capped out at a 24 stroke rate, which was great for power but did not help with a endurance at a higher rate. A week prior to the race, we started to build rates up to a 32 but that was not enough for it to be comfortable during the Hooch, which is why I believe we averaged around a 29SR. 

After that victory, we went down to Melbourne for one specific reason: see where we stood with FIT. FIT had just broken the course record and won the Men's Collegiate 8+ in Boston so we knew that they were a great standard to base ourselves off. On the 2-miler, we finished 22 seconds behind, but that was expected. 

This year, the Hooch is going to be one of the toughest races in the fall for JU. After watching FIT finish 28th in the Championship event, I compared their time with the Collegiate event and noticed they would have only finished 3rd. Whaaaa?! I may say. But this is nothing compared to what's next. The third place finisher in the Collegiate event was Georgia Tech. Not only am I surprised they did so well but they also finished 6 seconds behind FIT. And right behind them, was the upcoming team Notre Dame with only a 2 second gap between them and Georgia Tech. Of course, both teams will be trying to take the Hooch title away from us this year. 

Now at practice, things have been quite different. The line-ups have changed a few times as the coaches have been trying to find the right set of guys for this race. After great new 6k ergo scores from a lot of people including freshmen and sophomores, time trials, and seat races, the practice line-up has (in my opinion) found its current top boat. Today was the last time trial around the island (8km race) before the Hooch, and the top boat consisted of Andrew SOLOWAY, myself, Mick MAYER, Greg VANOEKEL, Bernardas VINGILIS, Parker LAWLER, Brian COSMILLO, Andre KLEIJN, and Matt OUTLAW. Mick and Andre have really proven their strength on the ergo and the water as well as technical focus. Greg is finally back to practice after a small week off for a lower back problem. And matt has demonstrated that he wanted to stay in his seat after last race. The reason I am happy after today is because everything I asked from them before going out on the water was accomplished. Being sick this morning I asked them to back me up 100% and help me beat our weekly goal (27:30). The race went well and was probably the most technically sound boat I've rowed in since we came back to school, the power was there and when it was time to have balls, everyone laid it down. The final time was 26:18, which made me extremely positive about the guys even if I didn't show it. The current was hard hard to go against and screaming fast in the other direction; on average the boat pulled a 1:38 average split. 

I have good expectations for this entire team. The top boat needs to be faster, the second boat needs to be more confident even though they've gotten faster these last two weeks, and the frosh boat needs to simply kick some ass. 

And Racing Begins...

Ahhhh, it's finally here, that moment we've been waiting for. It's not as bad as winter training waiting but still, it's a pain! lol
We are preparing the Head of the Hooch by laying down some race pieces this Saturday at the First Coast Head Race here in Jacksonville.
We are racing two men's 1x, two men's 2-, three men's 4+, one men's novice 8+, and three men's 8+. I will be racing in one of the 4+ accompanied of Bernardas VINGILIS, Chase ROWE, Brian COSMILLO, and Andrew SOLOWAY. Now for the men's 8+ I will be racing with Brian COSMILLO, Greg VANOEKEL, Bernard VINGILIS, Chase ROWE, Jared LOW, Parker LAWLER, Matt OUTLAW, and Tom RICHARDS.
These are some of the best line ups and I'm not doubtful that these will be great learning pieces to understand what we need to do for the future races.
These last few days have been iffy as I feel like the bow 5 is very immature about a varsity boat. I have to admit that it is hard to switch from a 2V to a 1V but it's definitely doable. I believe that it will all come together in time, there is no rush, but kinda!
Tomorrow should be a lot of fun because there barely is any competition.
Come out and support us please!!!

Finally Back!

After a long drive by myself, and a few hours of moving back in, I got to see everyone again and set up my new room. This year I will be rooming with Preston WEINARD and will be sweet-mates with Matt OUTLAW. I'm very excited for school and rowing to begin so we will start start the day with a little 10k.