In one of the hotter July's in recent memories, a relatively young flock of RNYers drilled, trained, and raced their way through one of the program's most successful summer seasons ever.
Opening up at the highly competitive Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia, crews battled against development camps and summer traveling crews galore. The J16 4+ lost a heart breaker (less than a length) to miss the final, while the J18 4+ pulled off a massive come-from-behind move to advance to the final.
The following week, RNY made its first trip ever to Baltimore and Washington, DC, which included a viewing of the monuments, the Capitol Building, a George Washington University visit, and a fabulous stay at the home of our gracious hosts, Ken and Andrea Kraus. The racing was full of excitment, including a Junior 8s race against a crew from Australia, an Open 8s race that featured a battle between our juniors and RNY powerhouse staff and alums, and our first ever venture into competitive sculling (Margot Warshaw and Mariel Vanderlinden debuted in the single scull).
Finally, we closed out the season with a return to Philadelphia, hoping to see an improvement from the first visit-- we did just that. The J16 4+ dropped 12 seconds from its time just two weeks prior to advance to the final, where it took gold by open water. The Varsity 8 took bronze in the 2k and won the dash, while the 2V (in the same event) finished close behind in both, taking a bronze in the dash. Even our third varsity eight showed some speed and featured some rowers that will certainly be key players moving forward.
In all, where we hoped for moral victories and race experience with this young group, we got more than that. This should make for an interesting 2010-2011 season. We're all revved up.
It's a funny time at Row New York. Saying good-bye and good luck to our seniors who are moments away from being freshmen in college. Vanessa and Felicia came by the office to pick up supplies for their dorm rooms (that's them waving good-bye in the top picture) and it felt like yesterday that they were trying out on the ergs. I found myself rattling off advice about not falling behind in the first semester and making sure they got some sleep and taking advantage of their meal plans and working hard, but before we knew it, they were off. They seemed both grown up and too young to be going out into the world. I guess that's what's good about college...it's not quite the real world. Also included in this entry is my last twin picture of Kate and Karry. Karry leaves for Bryn Mawr on Wednesday and Kate is going to be going to CUNY and coaching for Row NY. Go coach Kate!
Yes, all of these things actually occurred simultaneously at Row New York yesterday. Melissa somehow pulled it off. So, we got to say goodbye and good luck to our seniors, welcome our juniors into their senior year, picnic with some of our graduates, and throw a surprise wedding shower for our old academic director (Austin Phillips) and Brian Kupke who are getting married on Saturday!
In one of the hotter July's in recent memories, a relatively young flock of RNYers drilled, trained, and raced their way through one of the program's most successful summer seasons ever.
One of the highlights of my summer was getting to spend some time with our high school graduates who are home for the summer and working as assistant coaches for Row New York. They drove vans, coached hundreds of campers, helped middle schoolers into their first eights, and assisted with the adaptive program. They were also an inspiration to the current high school girls (and me too!)
