January 2015 Volume 2, Issue 1

PIONEER PADDLER

th Silver at 50 Head of the IN THIS EDITION

Charles Pg. 1: Head of the Charles Silver M Men’s Collegiate 4+ with their HOCR Medals Pg. 1: Homecoming

Pg. 2: Men’s Fall Recap.

Pg. 3: Women’s Fall Recap.

Pg. 4: Head of the Charles, cont.

Pg. 5: Alumni gather at the Head of the Schuylkill

Pg. 6: Spring 2015 Schedule

Pg. 6: Equipment Update

Pg. 7: Fundraising By: Patrick Specht ‘16

Saturday Morning, the 50th Head of the Charles, and perhaps the most exciting race for the team. Weeks of intense training and many thousands of meters of seat racing had put together the quickest lineup by mere fractions of a deck. In the weeks leading up to the race the rowers and I talked about tactics, course markers, and the crews we would be up against. As the coxswain, I had been gleaning information from a handful of maps and course videos to give us the best route down the river. These weeks of preparation distilled down to a quick 16:35 race time on that perfect October afternoon.

As the crews found their way around the warm up area, my attention was drawn to the iconic BU Bridge just past the starting line. The year before it was painted with the message “Make History” and this year’s message was just as impactful; “Defy the Odds”. As I looked at the crews in the warm up area, the blades of Michigan, Wentworth, and Virginia lead the pack towards the deWolfe Boathouse. The tension built approaching the start line, and at just past 4:30pm, the borrowed Resolute hull bearing the Marietta College blades crossed the line and went on the attack. (Continues on page 4) Homecoming: Women Dedicate 2 New 4+’s “No Exceptions,” as an everyday reminder of how they By: Katie Transue ‘16 will reach their goals in the coming years. The Marietta College crew team kicked off their annual After the christening ceremony, three crews were launched Homecoming festivities with the christening of two new to take part in the annual Alumni race to conclude the shells. After a short speech and thank you to the alumni by Homecoming rowing festivities. This year the alumni raced Head Women’s Coach Brad Hemmerly, Junior Captain an 8 boat against the women’s freshman novice/walk-on 8 Isabella Hildebrandt and Senior rower Stephanie Meinert christened the new racing shells. The team and coaching staff chose the names “No Excuses” and (Continues on page 5) 1 of 7 Pioneer Paddler January 2015

Men’s Rowing: Fall 2014 Race Recap… By: Autumn Apgar-Neeld ’18 - The Pioneer Navy started off Every year Marietta crew attends the regatta in memory their season heading to Pittsburgh, PA for the 28th annual of Bill Braxton who won gold in Dad Vails in Marietta’s Head of the Ohio. Due to weather conditions, the regatta 1973 lightweight 8+ crew. was cut short. However, that did not stop Marietta crew from dominating. The regatta started off with the varsity and collegiate novice 4+ races. Marietta’s varsity 4+ lineup of coxswain The team entered two shells for the first race of the day, Patrick Specht, Jon Hinson in stroke, Lida Sheng, the men’s open 4+. With the time of 15:32.07 on a 2.6 mile Michael Bowen and Zach Pope in bow took bronze with course, Marietta’s first boat took gold. The winning team a time of 7:10.86. The novice 4+ won silver with a time of was composed of coxswain Patrick Specht ‘16, Jon Hinson 7:05.80. In the boat sat coxswain Autumn Apgar-Neeld, ‘17 in stroke seat, Cameron Johnson ‘17, Matthew Bush Sam Johnson in stroke, Brendan Murphy, Martin Hall ‘17 and Jack Gleim ‘17 in bow. Marietta’s second boat and Aaron smith in bow. took 12th place. In that boat sat coxswain Autumn Apgar- Neeld ‘18, Jorge Gonzales ’18 in stroke, Patrick Kern ‘18, The next boat to race was the varsity 8, whose time of Matt Peters ‘18 and Gordon O’Brien ‘18 in bow. 6:12.17 placed them 4th in their heat. In the coxswain seat sat Patrick Specht, Jon Hinson in stroke, Jack Gleim, The team also won gold men’s collegiate novice 8+. From Matthew Bush, Cameron Johnson, Shawn Cox, Lida stern to bow that shell sat coxswain Franco Biondolillo Sheng, Michael Bowen and Pat Clary in bow. ‘18, Brendan Murphy ‘18, Martin Hall ‘18, Chris Japchen ‘18, Trey Farley ‘18, Alex Agbay ‘17, Sam Johnson ‘18 and The novice 8 ended the day’s racing, and with a line-up Aaron Smith ‘18. With a winning time of 15:48.88, the of coxswain Autumn Apgar-Neeld, Sam Johnson in crew was 14 seconds ahead of the second place crew, stroke, Brendan Murphy, Trey Farley, Chris Japchen, 16:02.73. Aaron Dillon, Gordon O’Brien, Martin Hall and Aaron Smith in bow. The novice 8+ took bronze with a time of Patrick Specht wrote a great article on the varsity 4’s 6:41.25, 10 seconds behind Ithaca College. experience at the 50th Head of the Charles – check it out!

A week later back on the home front, Marietta College hosted Washington University in St. Louis in a number of races on the Muskingum River. Kicking off the Saturday Fall 2014 Results Summary morning was the men’s varsity 8+ in a 6,000-meter head Head of the Ohio race. Marietta men’s varsity team won with the time of Varsity 4+: 1st & 12th of 12 (15:32.07 & 19:29.9 with their second varsity crew in third with a time 19:20.23) of 20:58.4, 20 seconds behind Washington U’s varsity shell Novice 8+: 1st of 8 (15:48.88) in second. 50th Head of the Charles The winning boat was composed of coxswain Patrick Alumni 8+: 49th of 55, 17:33.911 Specht, Jon Hinson in stroke, Jack Gleim, Matthew Bush, nd Cameron Johnson, Shawn Cox, Lida Sheng ‘14, Michael Collegiate 4+: 2 of 44; 16:35.896 Bowen ‘17 and Pat Clary ‘17 in bow. In the second varsity boat was coxswain Autumn Apgar-Neeld, Sam Johnson Home Race vs. Washington University, St. in stroke, Brendan Murphy, Trey Farley, Martin Hall, Louis Aaron Dillon ‘16, Chris Japchen, Zach Pope ‘17 and Aaron Varsity 8+: 1st, 19:28.9 Smith in bow. JV 8+: 1st, 20:58.4 Novice 4+: 2nd, 13:19.5 The varsity teams went on to race four 500-meter sprints, while the second varsity raced three in the 8+ shells. 41st Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta Marietta’s varsity 8+ went out and won all four races rd whereas the second varsity 8+ shell won two out of the Varsity 4+: 3 of 6, 7:10.86 three races. Novice 4+: 2nd of 6, 7:05.8 Varsity 8+: 4th of 5, 6:12.17 The Pioneers concluded the season at the 41st annual Bill Novice 8+: 3rd of 5, 6:41.25 Braxton Memorial Regatta at Mercer Lake in New Jersey.

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Women’s Fall Racing Recap

By: Eileen Walsh ’16. The Marietta College Women’s Final. MC’s first varsity four (Huang, Transue, Meinert, Crew team competed in three different races last fall. Pendergrass, Hildebrandt) finished 10th in a time of With two eights, the women traveled north to the Head 20:07.62, the second varsity four (Platt, Jeswald, Westfield, of the Ohio in Pittsburgh, PA, then hosted a race on Jennings, Moore) finished 16th with a time of 20:53.09 and their very own Muskingum River, and finished the the third varsity four (Fontaine, Schleich, Grayson, Roger, season in Virginia on the beautiful Occoquan River. Wright) finished 33rd with a time of 22:41.5.

The Head of the Ohio race took place on a windy The season was full of great workouts and long rows. The Saturday on the Ohio River, October 4, 2014. All teams team was not at all satisfied with the results and the faced 30mph head winds and sporadic rain and snow. women look forward to racing even better this spring. Our novice freshmen 4 boat (Alexis Fontaine, Danielle Roger, Lydia Jones, Britany Grayson, Helen Moore) finished in first place with a time of 21:06.75 and the women’s varsity eight (Platt, Hildebrandt, Jeswald, Women’s Rowing: Fall 2014 Race Pendergrass, Meinert, Westfield, Schleich, Transue, Jennings) raced the 5k in 16:12.140 which earned us a Results Summary 5th place finish against some good Division I competition. This was also one of the last raecs before Head of the Ohio the afternoon racing was cancelled due to the Novice 4: 1st of 6, 21:06.75 increasing severity of the weather and water Varsity 8: 5th of 17; 16:12.14 conditions. While the Marietta women were unable to race the Varsity fours in the afternoon they were glad to got to race at least once since many athletes returned Home Race vs. Washington University, home without racing. St. Louis st Just a few weeks later, the Lady Pios raced Washington Varsity 8: 1 , 23:03.8 University at home on the Muskingum River on 2nd Varsity 8: 2nd, 25:23.4 October 25. A new fall race, the “MC/Wash U Muskingum Shootout” is not usually on the schedule Head of the Occoquan for Marietta Rowing. The head race was 6000m, starting at the House of Wines restaurant, ending at the Varsity 8: 16 of 35; 18:53.52 Marietta College boathouse dock. Marietta’s 1v 2nd Varsity 8: 31 of 35; 20:36.53 (Huang, Westfield, Jeswald, Pendergrass, Hildebrandt, Varsity 4s: 10th, 16th, & 33rd of 35. 20:07.62, Transue, Meinert, Moore, Jennings) finished first in 20:53.09, & 22:41.5, respectively. 23:03.7 and Marietta’s 2v (Fontaine, Wright, Schleich, Grayson, Roger, Platt, Jones, Maynard, Dunlap) finished second in 25:23.4. Washington University’s 1v followed close behind with 25:24.6 and their 2v finished fourth in 28:45.0. After the morning head race the teams launched in that afternoon to complete in 500m sprint pieces. The Marietta women won each of the 5 pieces. The race weekend was a success, enjoyable and beneficial to both teams, and it was a great addition to the schedule this year.

For their last race of the fall season, the Marietta College crew team drove east to Virginia for a head race on the Occoquan River on November 1, 2014. In the Women’s 8+ Final, Marietta’s first varsity eight finished sixteenth with a time of 18:53.52 and the second varsity eight finished 31st with a time of 20:36.53. Later in the afternoon, three Marietta fours raced their last race of the season in the Women’s 4+ Bella Hildebrant ’16 christens the “No Excuses”. 3 of 7 Pioneer Paddler January 2015

th made history for the school at a historical point for Silver at the 50 Head of rowing. the Charles cont…. (Continued from cover) Head of the Charles Extra: Marietta quickly put pressure on Penn State shortly after 1st Marietta Alumni Boat the BU Bridge, and gave us the inside line. This aggressive course set the tone for the rest of the race as we came up on crews like RIT and Trinity on the Powerhouse Row. Basing at a 30 stroke rating, the Men of Marietta tore down the course with aggression to match the race.

Coming up to the Weeks Footbridge the men stayed right on the course and swung the hull through the bridge with less than a foot of clearance off the bridge pier. Just after clearing the bridge, the call from an announcer that Penn State was right behind us sharpened up our focus and we turned up the pressure even further. The race was approaching the infamous “Big Turn” and we continued to pressure the crews just ahead of us. Alumni racing at the 50th Head of the Charles. In to the curve it was obvious that our training was paying off. We had pushed up just a bit on rating and By Autumn Apgar-Neeld ‘18 the splits were dropping. The buoys are passing right under the riggers as we shave precious seconds off our CAMBRIDGE, Mass – Marietta College’s Men’s Collegiate course time. Coming into the turn I could see crews 4+ was not the only crew to make headlines at the 50th ahead of us and knew we needed to move before the annual Head of the Charles this year. Alumni rowers from Eliot Bridge to get the best line. With a call of focus to the Long Blue Line teamed up to be the Pioneer Navy’s the starboard oarsmen, Jack Gleim (Bow Seat) and first alumni boat to ever race in the Charles. Cameron Johnson (3 Seat), brought the hammer down and we walked through West Point in just seven strokes. The 8+ boat line up was made up of alumni rowers from As we cleared the West Point hull Stroke Seat Shawn the late 1990’s to 2011. Coxing the boat was Malcolm Cox and 2 Seat Matthew Bush came in to give the Doldron ’99 who was followed by Chuck Geyer ’07 in throttle another hit, and the Resolute took off past the stroke seat, Chase Graham ‘07, Brent Patrick Keuch ‘06, Cambridge Boathouse. Joe Palmer ’02, Kevin Mudrick ’04, Rick Meekes ’04, Matthew Henderson ’04 and Michael Cute ’11 in bow. The That pass shot us right through the Eliot Bridge and we alumni boat raced a 4,800 meter race with a time of were walking on other crews. We hugged the buoy line 17:33.91. Ranking them 49th out of the 55 crew teams coming out of the bridge and passed another crew entered in the Charles. quickly before opening up the throttle for the final six hundred meters. As we crossed the line we were neck- However, their legacy does not end there. Many of the and-neck with Trinity and fought to the end. The rowers alumni in the boat are currently coaching crew teams were exhausted and the race had flown by. As we across the US at both collegiate and high school level. pulled in to dock the coaches came to meet us with just Coxswain Malcolm Doldron is now at BU where he is the two fingers up on a hand. We could all decipher the head coach for women’s lightweight team. At Old message, but only time would tell the final results. Dominion University, Joe Palmer is the women’s assistant coach and at Colgate University, bow seat, Michael Cute, The hand signal might as well have been made of stone. is the men’s assistant coach. Stroke seat Graham Geyer, The Marietta College Men’s Collegiate 4+ crossed the Brent Patrick Keuch, and Chase Graham now coach at line in 16:35.896, just 20 seconds behind the top finish by high school and junior levels - Geyer at Pine Richland HS, Virginia. Proud, ecstatic, baffled, and amazed by the Keuch at Westerville Rowing, and Graham at Saugatuck piece we had thrown down, we carried our shell with Rowing. our heads held high. From unlucky bow number 13 to second place took blood, sweat, and guts, and these men 4 of 7 Pioneer Paddler January 2015

Homecoming: Women 1976 DVG Frosh 8+ Races Dedicate 2 New 4+’s cont… at Head of the Schuylkill and men’s freshman novice/walk-on 8.

“Rowing comes right back just like riding a bike,” said Brooke Exley ’11. The alumni boat consisted of about a 30- year difference in age. The boat’s lineup consisted of current rowers in the bow Shelbi Westfield ’17 and Shawn Cox ’16, and alumni Kelly Moses ’13, Mike Gleason ’95, Eric Ford ’96, Brooke Exley ’11, Scott LeCount ’94, stroke seat David Shultz, and coxswain Patrick Specht ’16. The boat went undefeated for the day beating both freshman boats in three 500-meter races. The 1976 Frosh 8. Cox: John Micciolo; Stroke: John Campbell; 7: Gordon Brownlee; 6: Andy Gallison; 5: Jim Metcalf; 4: John Strotbeck; 3: Curt Alden; 2: Brooks Reinhard; B: Mike Kadick.

On October 25, 2014 the 1976 Freshman/Novice heavyweight 8+ were back on the same water where they won their Dad Vail Championship. These men came together from around the country to row in the The Alumni crew with a commanding lead… 2014 Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia.

“Although there was a 30-year difference we all knew The 1976 DVG winners were entered in the Men’s exactly what the coxswain was saying and how to follow Alumni 8 with a bow number 573. This was the first all the commands,” said Brooke Exley “11. time the boat had rowed together since they had won their medal in Philadelphia in the Spring of 76. “We were taught a standard in rowing that just doesn’t go Brooks Reinhard said, “Once we got in the boat it away,” said Eric Ford ’96. took 10 minutes and we were back to rowing all 8.” All the alumni agreed that they really enjoyed coming back The night before the race the boat had dinner together to visit the campus and boathouse and reminisce on their where they brought up old stories and memories of time spent rowing for Marietta College. rowing at MC. On race day the men once again had a chance to represent Marietta on the Schuylkill with placing 26th out of 30 with a time of 16:34.11 in the Men’s Alumni 8. The 76 Frosh were very competitive in their freshman days plying the waters of the Muskingum, and were out to prove the Frosh winning boat from 1973 that their boat was faster.

The men came together for the row to honor their coach the late Ralph Lindamood and give back for all the things he gave to them.

Stephanie Meinert ’15 christens the “No Exceptions”. The 76 Frosh at the 2014 Head of the Schuylkill.

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Spring 2015 Race Schedule

Sunday, February 8: 22nd Annual Ohio Valley Indoor Rowing Championships

Saturday, March 7-14: Spring Break Training Trip to Gainesville, GA

Saturday, March 28: 60th MC/Purdue Challenge Cup (Dillon Lake near Zanesville, OH)

Saturday-Sunday, April 11-12: Knecht Cup (West Windsor, NJ)

Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19: SIRA Championships (Oak Ridge, TN)

Saturday, April 25: MARC Championships (Lewisberry, PA)

Friday – Saturday, May 8-9: Dad Vail Regatta (Philadelphia, PA)

Friday – Sunday, May 29 – 31: NCAA Championships* (Sacramento, CA) & IRA Championships** (West Windsor, NJ)

* Women only, must qualify

**Men’s Varsity 4 only

Equipment Update

The coaching staff consistently endeavors to put our athletes in the best possible equipment to maximize our speed, and thus win races. With the most recent purchase of the 2 Hudson 4+’s the women’s team is now in a much stronger position to increase the level of competitiveness within practice. With their current varsity shell being 5 years old, we will be looking to upgrade their fleet with a new 8 in time for Spring 2016 delivery.

The men currently own 3 Resolute 8+’s, 2 King/Quantum 4+’s, and 1 Vespoli 4+, and share seven 2-‘s with the women. In anticipation of the squad growing to 36+ rowers, we will be taking delivery of a new Resolute 8+ in the Spring of 2015. Looking forward, the men will be looking to upgrade their 4+’s and 2-‘s.

If any alumni, or group of alumni, are interested in helping purchase a new boat for the Pioneer Navy, please contact Coach Hemmerly at (740) 376-4671 or Coach Schmehl at (740) 376-4515.

The coach staff and team remain forever grateful for the support that alumni provide!

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FUNDRAISING

While the Pioneer Navy relies upon the generous donations of alumni, we also will be holding a raffle this year at the conclusion of the 21st Ohio Valley Rowing Championships, held on Sunday, February 8, 2015. This year prizes include:

• Stained glass window of the Marietta Rowing Crest (see picture below) generously made and donated by the parents of Ben Fields ’15. • Retired competition oar (with the diagonal blade paint design) • Marietta Rowing headsweat hat • Marietta betting shirt (3) • Marietta Rowing Crest sweat reactive shirt (“ALL IN” is revealed on the back when the wearer sweats enough)

Tickets are $10/each and the proceeds directly support each team in their efforts to acquire new equipment. Our goal is to sell at least 350 tickets to alumni, and thus raise $3,000 for our teams. If you are interested in purchasing a ticket(s), please contact Philip Schmehl at [email protected].

Other gear set to be raffled, clockwise starting from top right: sweat- The stained glassed window set to be raffled off on reactive crest t-shirt; current betting shirt; vintage betting shirt. Sunday, February 8. Donated by Karen Sperry & Lloyd The “Marietta Rowing” headsweat hat sits in the middle. Fields.

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