VOLUME VII, FALL 2017 LETTER FROM THE MEN‘S HEAD COACH Dear Friends of Rowing – This past summer was as busy as ever at DeWolfe. In addi- Welcome to the 7th edition of our newsletter. Did you tion to welcoming the new Women’s staff, DeWolfe Boat- notice the name change from “Boston University Men’s house underwent important renovations and updates, the Rowing News” to “Boston University Rowing News”? This coaches endured the usual, relentless hustle of recruiting edition marks the transition to an all-squad publication, and travel, many squad members competed internationally, now including both Open and Lightweight Women’s and of course, we enjoyed our first trip back to the Henley Rowing. Rowing has a strong tradition at BU, dating Royal Regatta in over a decade. You can read about each of back to 1937 when the men’s program was formed, to these undertakings in more detail on the pages within. the establishment of the open women and lightweight On the men’s side, this fall we started out with over five programs in 1973 and 2012, respectively. We are a unique eights of athletes. Everyone was welcomed back with a 10K sport in that we all train out of the same facility and all erg test to evaluate fitness levels. Overall the group came the athletes and coaches have interaction on a daily basis. back faster and fitter than last year - a good way to start the I personally enjoy meeting the other team members and season. The Head of the Charles is always a big focus of the following their progress during the season. Collectively, fall. I believe it has more significance for BU as it is our home the three rowing squads represent over twenty percent course and the DeWolfe Boathouse dock is full of alumni, of the student-athletes at Boston University and I hope family and friends, cheering as our crews cross the line. We you will enjoy reading the news and updates about all of also have the treat of the BU band playing as our crews pass them. by. This year the men will race in the Championship eight and four. We will also have two entries in the Club eight and Moving forward we will be more unified in fundraising one entry in the Club four. We feel all our boats can be in initiatives that involve shared equipment for all programs. the hunt for medals this year. Following the Charles we will Individual fundraising goals and needs will stay separate be headed up to Dartmouth on November 5th for a day of to each program. We will also bring together some of scrimmaging in pairs, fours and eights. We will then conclu- our individual alumni functions during the year so that de the fall with the Foot of the Charles on November 11th. they are “BU Rowing Alumni” events. Success in any one program is a success for the entire boathouse. Our goal We will have our annual Head of the Charles Friends Recep- is to ensure competitive success of all the programs and tion at the Boathouse on Saturday October 21st from 7-9PM build the entire alumni base together. at DeWolfe Boathouse. All alumni, family and friends are To that end, we welcome Madeline Davis as the new welcome. Please RSVP at HOC Reception or email Director of Women’s Rowing, who I am very excited to [email protected] or call (617) 353-3008. be working with. Madeline’s experience includes stints at both Ohio State University and Stanford University, I hope that you enjoy this issue of “Boston University Rowing helping programs to multiple National Championships. News”. I hope to see many of you at the Head of Charles on Madeline brings a fresh new vision and energy to the October 21 and 22. Thank you for all of your support. women’s team and it will be exciting to watch her squad compete. You can read more about Madeline in this issue. GO BU! Tom 2 MEET THE WOMEN‘S HEAD COACH Coach Davis recently sat down with former 2-time Light- Q: What inspired you to continue rowing in college? weight All-American Makayla Karr-Warner (BU ‚ COM ‘17) A: It never occurred to me not to row in college. What I really liked about Princeton was that I could combine a high-level MADELINE DAVIS was named the director of women’s academic experience with highly competitive rowing. Being rowing at Boston University, director of athletics Drew able to row at the Princeton Boathouse with all of those Marrochello announced on July 6, 2017. She brings a wealth teams at a very high level and have that kind of education of knowledge to this head coaching position, being served was a dream for me. by very successful rowing and coaching experiences at both the collegiate and international levels. In a recent interview, Q: After graduation, did you know you wanted to be- Davis talked about her rowing career and her vision for the come a rowing coach? BU women’s rowing program. A: I originally thought I wanted to go into marketing. As I was going through that process and having different conversa- Q: How did you start in rowing? tions, I realized I just was just not that interested in it. I took A: I was born and raised in West Chester, Pa., a suburb of a step back to think about what I enjoyed most. I realized Philadelphia. I started rowing in ninth grade. My dad rowed that I really liked school and rowing, so I decided to pursue a in college and continued on as a masters’ rower, so I had wat- career in boarding schools. With some help from the Prince- ched him row through my childhood; I would go to races like ton coaches, I sent my resume and cover letter to just about Head of the Charles and Head of the Schuylkill. Rowing was every boarding school in the U.S. with a rowing program. always something that looked fun and approachable. It was One school answered, which happened to be in Princeton, all sculling to begin with, which worked to my benefit as a just down the road. They needed a head rowing coach, lightweight. I could go out in a single or a double rather than and they had a spot open in the Residential Life office. My being tossed into eight right off the bat. What I really liked collegiate coaching career began the following year as the about rowing in high school was feeling the boat getting fas- Stanford lightweight program had an assistant coaching po- ter, becoming more fit, as well as learning boat feel and run. sition vacancy. With the encouragement of the Head coach, I applied and was fortunate to have been asked to join the staff in Stanford. 3 MEET THE WOMEN‘S HEAD COACH Q: What made you decide to go to Ohio State after boathouse mentality and one-team culture. I have seen three years at Stanford? it work really well elsewhere and be a benefit to the A: I wanted to coach open weight women where there are programs involved. There are a couple ways to achieve more teams and a deeper field at the NCAA Div. 1 level. that, like doing pieces with all three programs. That’s a really objective way to use the other programs to Q: What made you decide to make the move to get faster. Once you’ve battled each other in practi- Boston University? ce, you have respect for each other, so on race day, A: I was ready to take that next step in my coaching career the open women will be cheering for the men and to become a head coach; however, I was not going to do the lightweights because we’ve come through battle it just anywhere. I really wanted to be at a place where the together, and now we’ve gone off to take on the rest philosophy of the department and the school is in line of the rowing world. Working together with the other with what I believe college athletics should truly be about. program coaches is something that is so important In my talks with the BU administrators, it became immedi- to me because I love being in a boathouse with other ately evident that this is a great academic institution and programs. I think when we do it right, and when we all has everything that is needed to be great at rowing. When commit to it, it can be a huge benefit. you look at the location, the boathouse, the river, it’s all here. What sealed the deal for me was the combination Q: Looking back, what advice do you have to your- of the opportunity to bring a program with a history of self as an athlete and as a coach? National Championships back to that level of achievement A: To myself, I would say do more steady state. To the again, within a top-tier educational institution. That is very college athlete, I would say two things. The first is rare opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. to always be seeking to be a little bit better. You can always have bigger, long-term goals, like qualifying for Q: How do you see the team going forward in the NCAAs or making the Varsity eight; however, looking years to come? at what you can do in the moment is so important.