AVY CREW NEWSLETTER Spring Recap www.navysports.com July 2011 In this Issue... • Spring Racing Recaps Hwts: Continued Improvement The spring season saw the heavyweight Stagg Trophy (for overall regatta points). • National Team Athletes crew continue their upward momentum In some of the season’s best racing, the • Boathouse Renovation which began with competitive fall racing Adams Cup saw Harvard sweep the re- • 1920 Olympic Eight and a winter indoor training season where gatta but in keeping with the trend of the ergometer records were shattered and ter- spring, all race margins were much closer • Clean Sweep Christening rific gains were made in the weight room. than 2010. Navy’s varsity had a great start • Semper Fi Ride Beginning with the George Washington against Harvard and Penn but with the tra- Invitational, Navy won all of its races by ditional stagger in Philly, it was hard to tell substantial margins and captured the men’s who was in the lead. Once the crews made championship trophy, which in 2010 had the turn under the Strawberry Mansion 2nd at Patriots been a tie with . Bridge, it was clear that Navy had an eight- It was early January. It was very cold. It The following week saw the Goes Tro- seat advantage. Throughout the middle was the start of the 2011 Navy Women’s phy races rowed in questionable weather 1000 meters, Harvard started to creep up Crew Championship Season. Why such conditions in Ithaca, NY. The Navy varsity on the midshipmen but Navy stopped their an early start? According to Head Coach placed third in a very hard-fought contest progress multiple times. With 500 meters Mike Hughes, “We like to start the cham- in which Navy held the lead for the first to go, Harvard finally pulled even and then pionship season as early as possible so 1000 meters, until the turn. The 2nd var- eventually pushed out for a three-second that we can take advantage of team tables, sity, 1st plebe and 2nd plebe boats all won win. noontime strength training, and longer al- their races, beating both Cornell and Syra- Harvard went on to finish the regular lowable training hours.” cuse, while the 3rd varsity placed third in season undefeated and won the Eastern All of January and most of February, the their event. Navy and Syracuse tied for the Heavyweight Story cont’d on Page 3... team was locked on ergs, only five or six times before spring break. Spring break came with a sigh of relief as the team trained in Miami Beach where they stayed U. S. National Team Athletes at a beach-front hotel, rowed on Indian Two midshipmen, one officer and two Creek, and boated out of the Shane Water alumni were training with the U.S. Nation- Sports Center. al Team this summer. The season opened at the end of March 1/C William Race and 1/C Kyle Browne at the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia with were invited to try out for the Under-23 the varsity 8 and the varsity 4 both finish- National Team in California, while En- ing third overall. sign Ed King was invited to the senior The following week the Navy Women’s lightweight selection camp in Oklahoma. Crew traveled to the Raritan to race Rut- Andrew Melander ‘05 and Jimmy Sopko gers and Princeton finishing third in both ‘05 have been training with the U.S. team the varsity 8 and 2nd varsity 8 and second since they left the service and are also in in the varsity 4. the selection process for the 2011 World At the George Washington University Championships. The U23 camp, hosted at the U.S. Olym- Invitational the next weekend, the team 1/C William Race raced in three separate head-to-head races pic Training Center in Chula Vista, se- on the Potomac. The varsity 8 and the 2nd lected the men’s heavyweight eight and four won the initial time trial but placed varsity 8 both won their races against MIT straight four that competed in Amsterdam second in the finals, missing out on an op- and George Washington, but both also in July. After a few weeks of training and portunity to compete overseas. lost to Columbia. The varsity 4, only rac- a lot of seat-racing, Will Race was named Will Race joined rowers from Harvard, ing twice, beat both Columbia and George to the straight four, while Kyle Browne was Washington and Cornell in the heavy- Washington. sent to Penn AC to join a coxed four which weight straight four. Thirteen countries Women’s Story cont’d on Page 3... raced at the U23 trials. At the trials, Kyle’s National Team Story cont’d on Page 7... Navy Crew Newsletter Page 1 Navy Lightweights Season Review

After 2010’s National Championship The varsity crew was consistently pick- Sprints title, while the 4th varsity took the runner-up finale, high hopes exuded with- ing up speed during training, leading up to 4V race and the 3rd varsity finished second in the 2011 Lightweight Crew. Unfortu- the Haines Trophy race against Harvard. to Harvard. The 2nd varsity placed fifth nately, the results did not reflect the team’s Navy’s best race of the year came against while the 1st freshman finished eighth. expectations which were to win the Jope Cup team trophy at the and the IRA National Championship. Still the squad made great strides towards achiev- ing its goals this year and showed a dogged pursuit of excellence every day at practice and in each race. Overall Navy finished the 2011 dual sea- son with a .500 record of 13-13. The varsity crew won two of five races, the second var- sity finished 2-3, third varsity 3-2, fourth varsity 3-0, first frosh 1-5 and the second frosh 2-0. All year, in every race, each of the crews were in the fight for every race, the undefeated Crimson up in Boston, At the Spring awards banquet the firsties showing the resolve that has become trade- MA. Even though Harvard took a four- took most of the team awards. Bill Francis mark of Navy Lightweight crews. seat advantage off the start, Navy’s varsity ’11 (Wexford, PA) was the team-elected After losing to defending champion fought hard to hold that margin when the recipient of the 2011 Spirit of the Light- Princeton in the first race of the season, two crews settled to race pace. During the weights Award, awarded to the member of Navy’s varsity lost to eventual IRA Cham- middle 1000 meters, Harvard tried to pull the lightweight crew who contributed the pion Yale by 3.3 seconds at the Eads John- away but the midshipmen countered every most to the team’s spirit, determination, son Trophy. move. Heading into the last 500 meters, the competitive drive and willingness to sacri- Crimson still had their half-length fice. lead but Navy tried one last push to Steve Krajewski ’11 was awarded most try to claw their way back on terms. improved and Chris Medford ’11 received In the end, Navy finished 1.2 sec- the coaches award, while JC Russell ‘13 onds back. It was Harvard’s closest earned the “20 More Award”, awarded to margin in their undefeated season the midshipman who demonstrates the to that point of the year and a sign greatest desire to give 20 more strokes. Ed that Navy had the tools to compete King ‘11 received the 2011 Francy Memo- for medals. rial Award for drive, determination and At the Sprints, Navy just did not perseverance to better themselves and the have the same inspired racing with entire rowing team during winter training. their varsity finishing sixth in the Luke Kerrisk ‘12 (Fairfield, CT) was grand final. elected as the 62nd Navy Varsity Light- For the second straight year the weight Crew captain. Navy 2nd frosh won the Eastern

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 2 Heavyweight Story cont’d... Sprints. For the past two years, Navy’s var- sity has continued to improve and has been able to match Harvard’s speed for at least 1500 meters. Each year the mids are get- ting closer. At the Eastern Sprints, all Navy crews bettered their 2010 finishes, resulting in a sixth-place team finish in the Rowe Cup, up from 12th place in 2010. The varsity’s ninth place earned Navy a direct bid to the IRA, where in 2009 and 2010 Navy re- ceived an at-large bid to the regatta. “Rob Friedrich’s plebe boat was the big story at the Sprints, finishing fourth, miss- practices were exciting and exceptionally was young with only two firsties, coxswain ing a medal by one second,” Coach Cloth- competitive between the varsity, 2nd var- Nate Miller and six-seat Stephen Betzler, in ier remarked. “With only four experienced sity and plebe eights. the boat. rowers in the boat, their development At the IRA Regatta, each Navy boat To add to the varsity’s youth, we expect throughout the year was incredible.” placed higher than in 2010. The combined both plebe boats, who combined for a 15-1 The 2nd varsity was ranked fourth after a result placed Navy 10th in the Ten Eyck regular season record, to come back next great regular season but had a tough East- team points trophy and third in the Chap- year. And with the majority of a strong ern Sprints, finishing ninth in some very man Award for the most improved squad 2nd varsity and 3rd varsity (both 3V coxed close racing. After an undefeated regu- from the previous IRA. fours placed fourth at the IRA) returning lar season, the 2nd plebe boat missed out Now that the dust has settled, it is fair to next year, the future for Navy Crew looks on winning a gold medal by one second, say that very real progress can be seen for very exciting. for the second straight year. Our young the Navy heavyweights. The squad depth is With a 36-8 regular season record for 3rd and 4th varsity crews also raced well much improved and there are more men the entire squad, Navy is clearly closing in against some tough competition. training at higher levels than at any time in on the top crews in the EARC. “Our eyes Historically, some of the best rowing the past 10 years. The fourth place finish at are wide open and we know what needs to of the year is between the Sprints and the the Eastern Sprints by the plebes was the be done, “Coach Clothier said. “We intend IRA. This year was no exception as the best result in 15 years. The varsity line-up to get there in 2012...no matter what!” Two weeks later, Navy competed at the last ever EAWRC Championship. Since the NCAA is only taking automatic bids from traditional leagues, like the Ivy and Patriot League, the Women’s Eastern Sprints will be disbanded after 2011. The varsity 4 continued its winning ways by finishing first in the petit final, placing them seventh overall in the prestigious re- gatta. The 2nd varsity 8 finished fourth in their petit final, placing them 10th overall Women’s Story cont’d... Next the ECAC Metro Championship and the varsity 8 finished third in the 3rd Mother Nature closed down the NWC marked the high point of the season with level final for 15th overall. vs. Georgetown duel. The Potomac River Navy sweeping all three varsity events. The was dangerously flooded and the Severn varsity 8, the 2nd varsity 8, and the varsity was exceptionally windy, so the race was 4 all won their respective championship canceled. races, helping them win the overall points The next week, the team found them- trophy and the Directors Cup. selves at the Patriot League Champion- According to Coach Nicole Stimpson, ship which was held in Worcester on Lake who coaches the varsity 4’s, “It was exciting Quinsigamond. The team finished second to see this crew develop from spring break in overall points with the varsity 4 winning training to the present. They seemed to their championship event, the varsity 8 fin- gain speed every week which really paid off ishing third, and the 2nd varsity 8 finishing in both the Patriot League and the ECAC second. Metro Championships.”

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 3 Boathouse Renovation The Hubbard Hall renovation is 85 percent complete. Locker rooms are done, new ergs have been moved in, and the finishing touches to the ban- quet room have been made. We are still awaiting some furniture and audio/ visual equipment but the only major setback has been the indoor . After starting work on the foundation of the tank, the contractors hit some major problems and needed time to work out a new architectural plan for the room to make sure the tank will work properly. Now that the plans have been solidified and the government has found more funding for the new tank design, the contractors will restart the project. The estimated completion date is in December. Even though the tank is not ready, the rest of the boathouse is fully operational. We have run our Navy Crew high school camps in the new facility and have just started plebe summer intramurals. The new laundry facility will be managed by the athletic department equipment staff, who will launder the teams’ new gear that is a part of the athletic department’s Nike contract. Eight new flat screen TVs have been delivered for placement in our banquet room, classroom and erg areas. This will enable the coaches to review rowing footage with the athletes before and/or after practice. The monitors in the tank room will allow the rowers to see real-time video of them rowing in the tank to help make im- mediate corrections to their technique and timing. Seventy new ergs were bought in the government contract, totaling 100 rowing machines in our three erg areas. The new boat and oar racks have created more space for news shells for all of our squads; however, the new dock configuration might be one of the most dramatic changes. It will help speed up launching, landing and washing boats and with the demanding schedules of the midshipmen, this will be a valuable asset for the program. For the athletes, the most exciting part of the renovation will be the locker rooms. All athletes with have their own 18-inch locker, specifi- cally designed for Navy Crew and our sport of rowing. Three shower rooms in the men’s locker area and two in the women’s area, more than double the amount of shower heads from the old boathouse. With the new equipment in the boiler room, the mids should have plenty of hot water after those cold morning rows. For the alumni, the most significant piece might be the banquet room, where we will display the history of Navy Crew and the more recent trophies and awards. Along with plaques for our Olympic crews, championship boats and Ten Eyck awards, we are generating new plaques for our endowed shells, national team athletes and a valor plaque for our distinguished Navy Crew alumni who have be honored with a silver star or higher for their dedicated service to our country.

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 4 Navy Crew Distinguished Graduates: The Glendon Era Navy Crew has a rich and storied past on the banks of the Severn River. In an effort to collect historical photos and mark the history of Navy Crew for display in the renovated Hubbard Hall, we have decided to share some of these stories with our alumni and friends. In the last issue of our newsletter, we highlighted three of our distin- guished graduates from 1895-1905: ADM Chester Nimitz, ADM Joseph “Bull” Reeves, and RADM John Halligan Jr.. As rowing grew in America at the end of World War I, so did it at the Naval Academy. The first iconic crew that vaulted the United States into the world’s rowing scene was the 1920 Olympic Crew. After the 1916 Summer Olympics were canceled due to World War I, the 1920 Olympics were awarded to Antwerp, Belgium to honor the people of that city after the suffering they endured during the war. Navy Coach Dick Glendon came to Annapolis in 1904 but it was not until 1919 that Navy started to push their way to the top of collegiate rowing in America. Unlike the schools at the time, who rowed a traditional “English-style” stroke, Glendon was known for teaching an unorthodox stroke which deservedly became known as the new “Amer- ican style”. In the year before the Antwerp Olympics, Navy’s varsity eight rowed to an undefeated season, besting crews from Penn, Harvard, Princeton and Syracuse, and went on to win the American Henley Regatta. During the Olympic year, Navy’s only loss was to Syracuse, a crew they later beat at the Olympic trials. After being named the crew that would represent the United States at the 1920 Olympics, the athletes and shells boarded the U.S.S. Frederick from Newport R.I. for their long trip across the Atlantic. Many Olympic athletes were on board and continued to train on the ship by rowing on gamut ma- chines, running around the deck, and performing any other physical activities that the coaches could conjure. Once in Belgium, the shells were taken by barge through canals to the Olympic rowing venue. Eight countries raced in the eight-oared event but none of them were more fa- vored than the British crew from Leander Boat Club, who boasted two previous Olympic gold medalists. Navy rowed past Belgium in their first race and bested France by five lengths in the semi finals. The British crew handled Switzerland and Norway in their two races before meeting Navy in the Olympic Final. Navy beat the odds and won the Olympic gold medal, beating the Brits by half a length. The 1920 Navy Crew began an American dominance in the eight-oared event, winning every gold medal through the 1956 Olympics. Former Navy rower, Chester Nimitz, continued to follow Glendon’s career and boasted about Navy’s dominant crew among the fleet. Nimitz is reported to have said that Glendon’s coaching and teaching of successful midshipmen, undoubtedly, helped win Navy battles in WWI and WWII.

1920 Olympic Gold Medalists Bow - Virgil V. Jacomini, Pasadena, California No.2 - Edwin D. Graves, Capt.,Washington, DC No.3 - William C. Jordan, Cleveland, Ohio No.4 - Edward P. Moore, Ringgold, Virginia No.5 - Alden R. Sanborn, Jefferson, Wisconsin No.6 - Donald H. Johnston, Albany, New York No.7 - Vincent J. Gallagher, Brooklyn, New York Stroke - Clyde W. King, Grinnell, Iowa Coxswain - Sherman R. Clark, Baltimore, Maryland

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 5 Navy’s 1965 Clean Sweep Christening 1965 IRA Varsity Eight Champion 1965 IRA Junior Varsity Eight Champion 1965 IRA Freshman Eight Champion

On March 26th, the current coaching staff and Navy Crews welcomed back the members of the 1965 heavyweight team in celebration of their “Clean Sweep” at the 1965 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship regatta. The morning weather was bright and clear, as were the remarks offered by Su- perintendent VADM Michael Miller and Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. Navy Director of Rowing, Rick Clothier, explained how the 1965 rowers have led the way in forming the new Navy Crew Excellence Fund which is used to buy new shells for our three rowing programs. Coach Clothier further described his coxswains view of the 1965 IRA Regatta in the Washington varsity, as the Navy Crew pulled away for the win. Members of the “Clean Sweep” followed with their own recollections of that great day in Navy’s rowing history. Following the christening, the 1965 rowers took out the “Clean Sweep 1965” for a ceremonial row and showed the audi- ence they still “have it” in a remarkably well-rowed piece in front of the docks. It was an incredible weekend for the 1965 alumni, who were able to talk with the current Navy oarsmen and see the progress made on the Hubbard Hall renovation.

Pictures and article below taken from christening program: On a beautiful June day in 1965, the U.S. Naval Academy Crew shocked the rowing world by powering their way to a perfect sweep in the 63rd annual IRA Regatta. Over 15,000 fans lined the shores of Lake Onondaga in Syracuse, NY and witnessed a magnificent upset against the best crews in the country. After their freshmen and junior-varsity eights had driven to 1.5 length victories in the first two events, the Navy varsity won by a full length to complete the sweep of the regatta. It was the Navy plebes who set the upset tone for the day in the two-mile opening race. The plebes overhauled Dartmouth in the last quarter mile to win their event. In the three-mile junior varsity race, Navy’s powerful JV, who had been beaten only by Harvard during the regular season, performed as expected to win over second-place Wis- consin. In the 15-boat varsity three-mile race, Navy had a great start and was able to hold off heavily-favored Cornell and a fast-finishing Washington crew to win its first IRA since 1953. The three IRA trophies won on that day were the Steward’s Cup for the freshmen race, the Kennedy Challenge Trophy for the junior varsity race, and the Varsity Challenge Cup for the varsity event.

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 6 National Team Story Cont’d... in Chula Vista, CA for the World Champi- nover, NH. were in their event at the U23 World onship selection camp. “The lightweight eight camp has been an Championships and by placing second in Right now, he is still in the selection pro- excellent experience thus far.” Sopko con- both their heat and semi-final, the U.S. cess for the eight. If it does tinued, “Mix and four advanced to the grand final for only not work out, he will race in I have made the the second time since 2005. In the final, the a straight pair or coxed pair cut from 22 down U.S. did not get off the line very well and at the World Championship to 12 and are con- even though they managed to claw their trials later this summer. tinuing to try and way back into fourth place, they were even- When asked if he would make each boat tually out-paced to place sixth. This was a keep training for the 2012 we’re in go as fast great experience for a midshipmen who is Olympics, he said, “Right as possible.” coming back for his final year at the acad- now I am just taking rowing If Sopko makes emy. year by year, trying to make the boat, this will Andrew Melander ‘05 each boat go as be his third con- is also training with the fast as possible. secutive year rac- Jimmy Sopko ‘05 U.S. National Team after I am currently ing in the light- spending five years in attending Grad school for my weight eight at the World Championships. the Marine Corps. Me- MBA so I will at least row un- In 2009, Sopko’s boat won the silver medal lander was captain of the til I complete that.” losing to perennial lightweight power Italy. 2005 Navy heavyweight Melander left the Marine Sopko was a member of Navy’s 2004 team and was a member Corps as a captain and his last IRA-winning Lightweight crew and fin- of the 2004 crew that billet was a scout sniper pla- ished his military career as a Lieutenant. won a bronze medal at toon commander. King is also a two-time national team the Eastern Sprints. Af- Two lightweight alumni member, racing in the Under-23 light- ter his military contract are training with the light- weight four in 2009 and 2010. Last year, his was up, he contacted a weight national team this crew placed third at the regatta, earning the friend with the national Andrew Melander ‘05 summer. Jimmy Sopko ‘05, first medal ever in that event for the United team who put him in touch with the direc- who recently left the Navy surface com- States. tor of rowing at the Oklahoma City Na- munity, has been train- King, who was just tional High Performance Center. ing with the national team commissioned in May, “Rowing lingered in the back of my head for the past two years. Ed has been selected for throughout my Marine Corps career,” Me- “Mix” King ‘11 was just the SEAL community lander remarked. “I was surprised they commissioned as an Ensign and is temporarily as- gave me the opportunity because I hadn’t and was able to delay his signed to the Naval touched an oar or erg for five years.” entrance to BUD/S so he Academy until he re- It was a wise decision for the Oklahoma can compete for a spot at ports to BUD/S in De- training center, since Melander quickly be- this year’s world champion- cember. Depending on came one of their best athletes on the erg ships. his performance and and on the water. It did not take long for After both were knocked the SEAL community, him to better his erg scores from college out of selection for the he may be able to train Ensign Ed King ‘11 and after placing third in the pair (2-) at lightweight straight four in for a spot on the 2012 the second National Selection Regatta, he Oklahoma City, they were invited to the Olympic Rowing Team. was invited to the Olympic training center lightweight eight selection camp in Ha- Navy Store: Huge Success In the spring of 2011, Navy Crew launched an on-line store for Navy Crew apparel that was a huge success. We hope to open the store again this fall season for delivery before Christmas. The store was easy to use and had a variety of items on sale: sweatshirts, jackets, hats, t-shirts and workout shirts. We hope to add new items and keep the big sellers. We plan to have the store open 1-2 times a year for athletes, alumni, parents and friends of the Navy Crew program. To receive the store opening announcement, please make sure you are on our mailing list: http://www.navycrewcamp.org/newsletter.htm

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 7 Navy Crew Fall Racing Schedules Heavyweight Schedule October 1 Poughkeepsie, NY October 8 Navy Day Regatta Philadelphia, PA October 23 Head of the Charles Boston, MA October 30 Princeton Chase Princeton, NJ November 5 Rutgers Invitational (Plebes Only) New Brunswick, NJ Women’s Schedule October 8 Navy Day Regatta Philadelphia, PA October 23 Head of the Charles Boston, MA October 29 Head of the Schuylkill Philadelphia, PA November 5 Head of the Occoquan Fairfax, VA

Lightweight Schedule October 1 Poughkeepsie Regatta Poughkeepsie, NY October 8 Navy Day Regatta Philadelphia, PA October 23 Head of the Charles Boston, MA October 30 Princeton Chase Princeton, NJ November 5 Rutgers Invitational (Plebes Only) New Brunswick, NJ

Navy Crew Alumnus: Semper Fi Ride Across America

This past May during IRA training, Navy Crew had an unexpected visitor at the boathouse. Trying to find Coach Clothier, he met up with Rob Friedrich and intro- duced himself as a 1995 graduate of the Navy heavyweight team. He was wearing biking gear and had his bike helmet in hand. When Coach Friedrich asked if he was out for a ride in the Annapolis area, he was shocked to find out that Major Bill Conner ‘95, had just rode his bicycle all the way from California. Major Conner was on his way to complete a 3,113 mile bicycle ride across the country from Oceanside, CA to Ocean View, DE in the “Semper Fi Ride Across America” to help raise funds for Team Semper FI and the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. After offering him some water and a place to sit down, Coach Friedrich invited Major Conner out in the launch to watch practice. The plebe heavyweight boat was about to go for a short row in the creek to work on racing starts and sprints. Before the practice, Coach Friedrich gathered the plebes together and introduced Major Conner. He explained Conner’s amazing journey and that he was a class- mate of Erik Kristensen, who’s boat the plebes were racing in all spring. Conner talked passionately about Kristensen, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy SEALs, who was killed in action in 2005. Even though the plebe’s were well versed in the Kristensen story, they seemed to have even more focus as they lifted his shell of the racks for that practice. Bill Conner finished his ride to the Atlantic Ocean the following day. Learn more about his trip at www.semperfirideacrossamerica. com