Last year, I wrote that the graduating class of 2006 had left an important legacy:   a higher level of intensity, and an improved work ethic.  That legacy was very much in evidence on the men’s team this year.  They worked harder than ever, and the result was tangible: A return to the finals of the New England Championships and a big step forward at the ECAC National Championships.

The regular season was a roller coaster ride for the men’s varsity eight.  Most of our races were decided by a few seconds one way or the other.  We traded wins with URI and Bates, barely lost to RIT and UMass, and earned solid victories over UNH, Colby, RPI, and Tufts.  Only Williams, MIT and Wesleyan were clearly faster than us.  Going into New England’s, it was clear that there were five or six crews fighting for the last three spots in the grand finals and we were one of them.

The Varsity drew a good heat with Trinity, URI, UConn and BC.  We knew that we had to beat URI, a crew that had beaten us by less than a second the week before.  The morning of New England’s, a stiff tailwind blew down the lake, churning up the last five hundred meters.  We executed our race strategy perfectly, pulling through URI at the 800 meter mark and then extending our lead to almost a length by 1200 meters.  It looked as if we would cruise home relatively comfortably and make the grand finals.  Then, with 400 meters to go, disaster struck.  Connor McGrath, the stroke seat, reached up for the stroke that was to begin our sprint to the grand finals and clipped the steering cable with his oar.  The cable snapped, and the boat careened to starboard, almost sliding into the next lane.  URI began to move on us, taking back a half length in a few strokes.  The coxswain, Amanda Gagne, however, never lost her cool.  When she realized what had happened, she grabbed the ends of the steering cable, told the guys what had happened and urged them to stay together and for starboard to pull us back into our lane.  The oarsmen did not panic; they stayed within themselves, and got their rhythm back.  Within ten strokes, we had pushed our lead on URI back to a length and ended up qualifying for the grand finals by a bit over three seconds.  Throughout the season, we had worked remaining focused on executing our race plan no matter the circumstances.  No matter what happened to us, or around us, we had to remain calm and determined.  Our preparation saved our season.

That afternoon, I felt a real sense of accomplishment as I watched them row away from the dock.  We had reached our goal for the year.  We were one of the top six crews in New England.  No matter where they finished, the experience of participating in a championship grand final would be invaluable for the 7 returning athletes in the boat.  The final was a race they will never forget.  At the 800 meter mark, they were ahead of UMass and driving on Williams for third place.  They may even have pulled even with Williams at the thousand, but they could not sustain their boat speed and Williams pulled away in the third five hundred.  UMass made a great move in the last five hundred and rowed through us despite a furious effort on our part to hold them off.  We ended up fifth, but only two seconds behind Williams who finished 3^rd and even less behind UMass.  Bates was two seconds behind us.  Trinity and Wesleyan earned the gold and silver medals. 

The 2V and 3V also made the grand finals which meant that every WPI men’s boat earned a place in the grand finals for the first time in my tenure at the school.  Both crews finished 4^th.  The day before, the novice four, and second novice four had won medals at the New England Fours Championship, so it was a good weekend all around.  It gave me particular satisfaction to know that the whole program had done so well. The 1V and 2V had earned invitations to the ECAC National Championships outside Binghamton, NY.

The ECACs did not start well.  During our week of preparation, I got a distinct feeling that the crews were not focused.  The Grand Finals of New England’s had been our objective and we had achieved that.  I sensed that the hunger was gone.  We were going through the motions of rowing hard, but without real purpose.   This is exactly how we rowed in our heat on Saturday. The water conditions were terrible, and we rowed hard, but were never really focused on the race.  We finished fourth which relegated us to the semis for the third and fourth level finals.  After the race, we talked about what it takes to go beyond New England’s.   We had to prepare ourselves mentally for the next level of competition here at the ECAC National Championships.  We had one more chance to prove that we belonged at this regatta.  The next morning we did just that.  The eight did not have a great start, settling behind USCGA, Colby and UNC.  But they quickly found their rhythm and began to move.  By 800 meters, they had caught UNC.  By 1200m, they were through USCGA.  Colby fought hard, and held us off until our sprint when we finally caught and passed them to win the race.  I thought it was their best race of the year.  It proved to be good timing, since the wind began to blow and the races were postponed and eventually canceled.  It was a good way to end a good year. 

I think we have prepared ourselves up for a bright future.  All of the athletes had invaluable championship experience at New England’s and ECAC’s.  They have learned to work hard, and to race within themselves, and many of them are working hard this summer.  Tri-captains Nick Vitello ’09, Connor McGrath ’09, and Scott Gary ’09 will provide excellent leadership over the next few years, and I think we are going to go very fast!  See you in the fall.

Larry