SARA Orange Oar 2017 #2

Volume XIX

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No. 2

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August 2017

SYRACUSE ALUMNI ROWING ASSOCIATION, INC. AUGUST 2017

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INSIDE THE ISSUE

DEAR SU ROWING ALUMS

03 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

SARA EXECUTIVE BOARD

04 EVENING AT TEN EYCK

Joseph Paduda ’80 President

SU BOATS ARE GOING FASTER ON THE WATER!

10 Q&A WITH COACH DAVE REISCHMAN

Paris Daskalakis ’98 Treasurer

14 Q&A WITH COACH JUSTIN MOORE

Gillian Carlucci ’14 Secretary

20 REFLECTIONS

Josh Stratton ’01 Vice President / Digital Director

SU’s Men’s Varsity rowed a gutty, determined, and very smart race to finish second in the petites at the IRA, our highest finish since 2012, and an 8th place national ranking. And, after a very solid regular season, the SU Women’s Varsity finished at the NCAAs with a 13th place finish and the same ranking in the national polls. Coach Moore was named ACC Coach of the Year, a tribute to the women’s steady and significant improvement. Congratulations Coach!

25 LEADERSHIP PATH

DIRECTORS

ADVISORY COUNCIL

William Purdy ’79 Charles Roberts ’61 Martha Mogish Rowe ’81 Paul Dudzick ’67 Donald Plath ’68 Kenneth Hutton ’69 Paul Dierkes ’79 Gerald Henwood ’80 Arthur Sibley ’80 Robert Donabella ’81 Sheila Roock ’85 Colin Goodale ’90 Jason Premo ’98 Adlai Hurt ’04 Erica Mahon Page ’08 Sydney Axson ’10 Ryan Patton ’10 Beth Marks ’83 Ryan Armstrong ’08 Gillian Carlucci ’14 Rebecca Soja ’14 Mark Vyzas ’10 Lena Wang ’99 Joel Harrison ’07 Charles Clark ’83 Hugh Duffy ’80

Paul Irvine ’45 William Hider ’62 Edward Kakas ’64 Thomas Darling ’81 Tracy Brown ’90 James Breuer ’72 Bryan Mahon ’78 Ozzie Street ’80 Jerome Jacobi ’81 Andrew Hobbs ’83 Gordon Hull ’83 Rick Holland ’83 Barry Weiss ’83 Emme Entwistle Aronson ’85 Jeff Pesot ’90 Donald Smith ’90 Kristin Walker Bidwell ’90 Christopher Ludden ’91 Sylvester Rowe ’92 Skye Michiels ’99 Joseph Bufano ’99 Aliza Seeber ’04

28 IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS 32 FUN. FUN. FUN. 36 THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS 40 FROM THE ARCHIVES 42 BACKSPLASH

CREDITS Art Director: Ryan Armstrong ’08 OO Correspondents: Zachary Michael Vlahandreas ’19 Sydney Egan Rodriguez ’19 Haley Jones ’18 Cover Art: Anne Lederhos ’78 If you are interested in joining the Orange Oar Team as a Correspondent, Writer or Photographer, please contact the Orange Oar Editor. Thank you in advance!

Both programs are young, with lots of talented, experienced athletes returning for the fall. And both programs are continuing to recruit, recruit, recruit – both internationally and here in the U.S. This progress is due in no small part to you. SARA has been focusing its efforts on helping make the boats go faster, and your help has made a difference.

Take technology for instance. Both programs are using advanced technology (PEACH system and Empower) to measure all manner of metrics – power output and force curves, effective stroke length, boat check, and many other data points – on the water. This enables coaches and athletes to make those small, incremental technical improvements that can make all the difference in the standings. In the old days when I rowed in the 2nd frosh in a Pocock shell with wood oars, we measured output by puddle size and puddle spacing. Now, athletes can see precisely where and when they are missing the catch, view their power curve to ensure they aren’t letting go of the water too early at the finish, and quantify how much power they are generating and how that changes over 2000 meters.

It’s amazing, and amazingly useful – when employed by coaches who know which of the many data points, curves, graphs and outputs are most important, and how to translate that data into usable words to enable athletes to improve.

When our coaches combine intelligent use of technology with great recruits, we get faster boats.

One last point – we are fortunate indeed to get the financial support we do from Syracuse University. Unlike the vast majority of men’s rowing programs, we don’t have to raise funds for operational expenses – travel, salaries, basic equipment and launch gas.

CONTACT US

That allows SARA to focus on one thing – helping the boats go faster. I look forward to seeing you at the Head races this fall! Bleed Orange!

Men’s Head Coach: Dave Reischman - dreischm@syr.edu Women’s Head Coach: Justin Moore - jmoore06@syr.edu Orange Oar Editor: Hugh Duffy - duffyfamily7@comcast.net

Joe Paduda ’80 SARA President

WWW.SARAROWING.COM 2

THEORANGE ORANGE OAR THE OAR

AUGUST 2017

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KEN HUTTON

ALL SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY ROWING ALUMNI, FAMILIES, COACHES AND FRIENDS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND SARA’S SIGNATURE ALUMNI EVENT, THE ‘EVENING AT TEN EYCK.’ COME AND RE-LIVE YOUR ROWING MEMORIES AT THE JAMES A. TEN EYCK MEMORIAL BOATHOUSE, AT ONONDAGA LAKE PARK IN LIVERPOOL.

2017

EVENING AT TEN EYCK SARA’s Signature Alumni Gathering

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2017

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There will be 500m racing, reunion rows, reconnecting and networking, all while enjoying good food and drink among those with whom you pulled an oar, steered a shell, or coached a crew for the Orange and Blue of SU. SARA and the SU Athletic Department are again preparing for another memorable weekend in Central New York. For those who want to test their mettle on the water one more time, 500 meter races (really, sprints) will again be held. For those who just want to dip the oar once again, there will be opportunities for recreational rows.

Following the cocktail reception and dinner, we will celebrate the SU Crew Hall of Fame 2017 inductees: GEORGE BLUM (1937, POSTHUMOUS) WILLIAM HIDER (1962) DICK HORSTMAN (1957, POSTHUMOUS) CHRIS LIWSKI (2002) ARTHUR OSMAN (1907, POSTHUMOUS) Please plan on joining the SU team and your rowing colleagues in honoring these deserving contributors to SU’s Rowing tradition, all of whom made the ‘Mark’ at SU and in their years afterwards.

And for those wanting to brush up on SU’s Rowing history, it is recommended that they re-read Mark of the Oarsmen, as well as Mark II – 50 Years of Syracuse University Rowing. Both of these fine history books are available from SARA, and copies will be available for purchase at the event.

REUNION CREWS PLANNING TO PARTICIPATE INCLUDE: 1967 MEN’S CREW 1984 MEN’S CREW 1984 WOMEN’S CREW

Volunteers are always welcome to help set up the facilities prior to and promote this special event before hand.

Perhaps other crews can be inspired in celebrate a milestone anniversary back on the waters of Onondaga!

Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to please contact the Evening at Ten Eyck Chair, Ken Hutton.

A full schedule is in the works, and hotel room blocks are being secured. Details will be forwarded via the SU Listserve.

Ken can be reached via E-mail at khutton13@me.com or via cellphone at (484) 798-8059. OO

The SU Football team is hosting Central Michigan University. Kickoff is at 3:30 PM, so the racing, reunion, and recreational rows will take place in the late morning.

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G’Rowing the SARA Community

LAST 500M ...

EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE SU ROWING COMMUNITY’S DATABASE ARE IN THE LAST 500M UNDER BETH MARKS’ AND JASON PREMO’S LEADERSHIP. IT HAS BEEN A LONG RACE, BUT FRUIT IS STARTING TO BE REALIZED. JASON PREMO HAS BEEN FORWARDING INFORMATION THAT HE GLEANS FROM HIS MEN’S CONTACTS, INCLUDING HIS CLASS CAPTAINS INITIATIVE. CURRENTLY THERE ARE OVER 1,300 RECORDS IN THE DATABASE, INCLUDING OVER 1,100 ATHLETES! While much progress has been made, work remains.

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Jason can be reached at jmpremo@hotmail.com.

Beth can be reached at elizabethmarks@roadrunner.com.

And similarly, if anyone is hoping to reconnect with an old friend or teammate, let Jason or Beth know! OO

To wit, data must be organized into the database format, requiring overwriting obsolete address, phone or E-mail information, and entering metadata. Beth’s overarching goal is to have both Men’s and Women’s data in the same format, making it easy to organize by class year and contact information.

“DOZENS OF ALUMNI HAVE

Beth and Jason are organizing contact information with the following metadata:

FRIENDSHIPS FROM AS

• VARIOUS AWARD WINNERS • CURRENT / FORMER COACHES • GRADUATE ASSISTANTS • OLYMPIANS • SYRACUSE ROWING HALL OF FAME • TEAM CAPTAINS • PARENTS / FAMILIES • FRIENDS / SUPPORTERS

This fall’s Evening at Ten Eyck would be a great time to have your information updated (especially for those attending), with the overall goal of having the database completely updated – and sortable for E-mail blasts – before the 2018 racing season!

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If anyone has any updates or is willing to offer a helping hand, please contact Jason or Beth.

AUGUST 2017

ALREADY TAPPED THIS DATABASE TO REKINDLE

FAR BACK AS 60+ YEARS AGO! OUR OVERARCHING GOAL TO G’ROW THE SARA COMMUNITY IS BEING ACHIEVED.” – JASON

... CHERISHING THE MEMORIES! 7

’CUSEFUNDER 2000-HOUR CAMPAIGNS

World Championships, Sarasota, Florida September 24 – October 1, 2017

EXPRESSING GENEROSITY;

SU ALUMNI GATHERING IN THE PLANNING STAGES

GRATITUDE THIS SPRING, INSPIRED BY SARA’S PAST 2000-HOUR SPRING FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS FOR THE SARA ENDOWMENT, COACH REISCHMAN AND COACH MOORE ENCOURAGED SARA AND THE ORANGE CLUB TO PARTNER IN COORDINATING SIMILAR CAMPAIGNS TO BENEFIT THE MEN’S CREW HEAD COACH’S FUND AND THE WOMEN’S ROWING HEAD COACHES FUND, RESPECTIVELY. As a result, many alumni contributed through SU’s ’CuseFunder platform during the spring 2000-hour campaigns held between April and June, thus helping make the boats go faster this fall, next spring, and beyond! Invigorated by alumni generosity, the programs may rely on these resources to purchase equipment or training technology and services, support and expand recruiting, or to address other funding priorities.

Men’s Crew exceeded its original goal and received $70,067 in gifts (140% of its goal) from 199 donations for an average donation of $352. This total equates to the annual impact of a $1,800,000 endowment. That represents a significant immediate impact on the program!

SARA should remain proud of the impacts its combined advocacy and generosity have on rowing at Syracuse University. The passion, devotion, and generosity embodied by alumni, parents, and friends of our programs is truly special. For example, many SARA leaders and class captains served as alumnichampions this spring – asking their alumni-peers to join them in supporting their respective program through a philanthropic investment in the crews.

A special thank you is owed to April Mazza in the Orange Club. April lobbied the University on behalf of our beloved programs for our non-traditional inclusion in the ’CuseFunder platform, which provided live tracking of gifts, dollars, and progress to program specific goals. The Orange Club also produced high-quality videos for each program’s ’CuseFunder page. And while the results of the Orange Team Challenge will not be released as of press date, the 2000-hour campaigns positioned men’s crew and women’s rowing to be competitive in the 2016 – 17 Orange Team Challenge. OO

US Rowing will be having a reunion at the 2017 World Championships for all competitors who have participated in one or more of the Pan Am Games, World Championships or Olympics. I think it would be great if as many SU alumni who have been participants in the international events could attend. What a wonderful opportunity for all of us to meet each other and ‘fly the flag’ for SU! I’m sure you are all as proud of our accomplishments as I am and I would like to meet you all. Together we would help demonstrate to the world the impressive strength of SU’s Rowing program.

In conjunction with the US Rowing Reunion, I would like to help organize an SU event. I will get more details and forward to you as they become available. In the meantime, please let me know if you are at all interested so I can plan accordingly. I know a specific date will determine your plans but let me know your thoughts. Then based upon consensus, we will determine a time and place for SU folks to gather and celebrate.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Charlie Mills, 1959 Pan Am Games Cmills4687@aol.com 703-439-7087

Women’s Rowing received $8,103 in gifts from 32 donations for an average gift of $253. This tally equates to the annual impact of a $213,000 endowment, which is also impactful!

Thank you for your participation and advocacy throughout the 2000-hour campaigns!

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THE ORANGE OAR

AUGUST 2017

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OO: Greetings Dave! Please talk about the class years of the crews.

DR: I will say that one of the things that has changed with the advent of freshman being allowed to race in the varsity is that class identities are not as strong in our sport as they used to be. Because of the way our housing works at Syracuse various classes tend to mostly live together but on our squad it is more of a ‘one team’ approach. Having said that, the seniors definitely had a strong sense of leaving the program in a better place than when they were freshman. I would definitely agree with that. They did a nice job of leading a renewed emphasis on our value system as a program. That task now falls on our Junior class. Again, not a big class but key in terms of team leadership. I usually group our sophomores and freshman together. These are bigger classes that are talented and have definitely pushed the competitive level of our program. I am eager to see if they are going to be satisfied with where they are competitively or keep pushing hard to improve. Much of our 2V and 3V were Sophomores and Frosh. Typical of younger athletes they had moments of brilliance combined with moments of, shall we say, inconsistency. We are definitely looking for our younger athletes to mature and develop a more consistent practice and racing ethic.

QUESTIONS AND

OO: Please reflect on the overall season: dual meets, Cup races, Sprints, IRAs? Was there any race result that surprised you?

ANSWERS

DR: I am not sure if ‘surprise’ is the correct word. When you are working with your own crew in isolation it is hard to get a sense of speed. You think the boat is moving well but you really never know until you see them on the race course. There is usually about eight weeks between our first race and the IRA and it is impossible

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to be at your best for all eight weeks. The key is staying positive and working for constant improving – realizing that improvement isn’t always a linear process. Navy was nice enough to show us we needed to work on our first 500m when they beat us at the Goes Trophy. BU / Columbia was our first confirmation that we had a bit of speed as BU had some very good early season results. We raced well against Dartmouth but looked a bit flat. From there to the IRA I thought we just continued to get better and better. I thought we raced well at the Sprints. Harvard and Yale were the two best crews but after that things were pretty tight. There were some epic racing conditions (i.e.: a 20 m.p.h. tailwind) and I thought we handled that well. We had a solid IRA Camp were we were really able to develop some consistency and confidence in our base rhythm. We were also able to fine tune our finishing 500m. But again, we were training in isolation and you don’t know until you get on the race course. The IRA is all about developing positive momentum from race to race. The varsity nailed it in the first heat and were able to keep rolling from there.

I thought that the 2V and 3V struggled at times with consistency. Some of that was being young athletes cutting their teeth for the first time in collegiate racing but some of it was out of their control. We were relatively injury free but there was a set of viruses rotating through campus that seemed to take out one or two guys each week. The 1V was able to maintain some lineup consistency but the 2V and the 3V were changing lineups daily it seemed. Coaches Stangel and Cottingham did a great job of staying positive and working through it all but it was a tough season from that standpoint.

OO: How did your pre-season expectations line up with both the Sprints’ and the IRA’s results?

DR: We were hopeful as a staff that we could find a way to get in the A / B semi at the IRA and thus finish in the top twelve with the Varsity. We did not have any more thought than that. I remember someone asking Steve Gladstone after Yale’s Sprints victory what his expectations were for the IRA. He laughed and said, “Our priority is to have a good practice on Tuesday.” Everyone always thinks an answer like that 12

is a coach ducking the question but that really is our approach. If our Varsity had a ‘skill’ that helped them the most it was that they had quality practices and worked hard at making the little changes we were asking of them that added up to gaining more and more speed as the season progressed.

RECRUIT. REPEAT. RECRUIT. REPEAT.

OO: Do you see emerging leadership, oars challenging for seats, coxes working to move up a boat?

DR: Yes. Every fall season is a blank slate where oars and coxswains alike have to prove themselves all over again. I think the leadership question will be the biggest uncertainty. We have some great ‘lead by example’ guys but we need some upperclassmen to step up and take some young guys under their wings. Different from the past few years, if a returning Varsity guy falters I think we have some eager and capable young guys to take their seat!

OO: Please comment on your recruiting results.

OO: How did the guys hold up? Where there lineup changes? Challenges to overcome? Unexpected successes from opponents?

DR: The Varsity had some illnesses that disrupted practices but we were able to get everyone healthy by race day. The Varsity also had the usual changing of seats within the boat and there was only one personnel change once the season started. Sophomore Matt Barni came out during spring break as a player on our starboard side but suffered a rib injury prior to the first race. He was out of our lineups until Sprints where he raced in our JV. He seat raced himself into the varsity by the IRA.

OO: What will you be looking for from the underclassmen for the fall season?

DR: Our hope is that they come back refreshed, in good aerobic shape, and ready to take the next step forward.

I told the guys before we left after the IRA that I think we are capable of finishing in the Top – 10 in all of our boats. Our focus in the fall, as always, will be on developing the daily work habits and putting in the mileage that will give us the best chance of realizing our speed in the spring.

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DR: We have 13 recruits coming in this fall – 11 rowers and two coxswains (two internationals (Australia, Sweden) and 11 from the U.S.). It is much too early to tell how they will impact our program. I think this class is typical of what we have recruited in the last two years. There are a couple of kids with ‘A – Level’ potential that could (emphasis on “could”) impact the program right away and then a bunch with various levels of development potential. The latter are longer term projects. We are well underway with our recruiting for the fall 2018 class. We are continuing to add to that list and evaluating academic and athletic potential. We will get out this summer and try to put eyes on as many potential recruits as we can. Our goal for this class is the same: 2 – 3 kids with ‘A – Level’ talent with the rest having long term development potential.

OO: Besides some rest, what is in store for the summer / Fall?

DR: Recruit. Repeat. Recruit. Repeat.

OO: Talk about SARA, as well as the Athletic Department’s support for the program.

DR: We surpassed our goal on the Spring 2000 Hour Annual Campaign. So we are doing very well on the yearly gifts.

AUGUST 2017

Every rowing program that competes at the IRA meets their yearly budgets by a combination of athletic department and alumni funding. Our breakdown is 90.5% from the Athletic Department and 9.5% by alumni sources (Head Coach’s Fund, Scholarship Endowments, and the SARA Endowment). In terms of athletic department total dollars spent on crew we are as good as any program in the country. Our Athletic Department is doing their part. We have a very loyal group of alums that send in their donations every year and we cannot run our program without that support. I cannot emphasize enough how crucial that support is. Joe Paduda, President of SARA, and I talk quite often about this and our goal is to keep growing this group of loyal supporters. So, from a yearly donation standpoint I think we are on track but need to keep growing. Some of our competitor’s alums give multiples more than SU alums. It would be nice to catch up a notch or two in this area, to more equitably compete with our competitor’s alums’ giving.

The other part of alumni support is ‘major gifts.’ By that I mean six- or seven-figure gifts. If SARA is going to grow an impactful endowment, and / or we are going to do some major facility work, then we are going to have to work on identifying some benefactors who are motivated to give gifts of this nature. You can’t establish a significant endowment or do a major facility upgrade without major gifts. We need to get better at that and it is on us to identify and cultivate donors capable of this kind of giving.

OO: How important is the Evening at Ten Eyck to SARA and the teams? Do you have any encouragement in advance for attendance?

DR: The coaching staff has been blown away by the positive feedback and tremendous support among alums that the Evening at Ten Eyck event has received.

The vast majority of attendees have not been back to the Boathouse in several years and to see them reconnect with teammates they have not seen since graduation is absolutely amazing. I, in particular, enjoy the alumni recreational rowing. It is like riding a bike. You get back in the boat and the motions ingrained by miles on Onondaga Lake come rushing back. It is an honor for the coaching staff to be part of it. OO 13

QUESTIONS AND

ANSWERS WITH COACH MOORE

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OO: Greetings Justin! Reflect on your senior class’ leadership to the team.

JM: I feel like it is a bit cliché to say, but in almost every case in which we have had strong team performances, we have had strong senior classes. This year was not different. Our seniors did a great job of leading by example and lifting others with their words. Hattie Taylor has just been named to Great Britain’s Senior Team for World Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland. It was great for the young women on the team to see how an elite athlete trains. Shannon McCann, our other captain, led with a level of maturity that will surely be missed. She is an outstanding communicator and acted as a fantastic bridge between the staff and the team.

OO: Reflect on the overall season: Dual Meets, Cup Races, Sprints, ACCs, NCAAs? JM: The overall season was a ‘big ask’ of the women. In order to ‘get off the bubble’ we had to race an extremely challenging race schedule. Both the travel and the intensity of competition was fierce. Making three trips a year to Clemson, SC, has now become normal for the team and coaches (who drive the truck and trailer).

It is a fantastic place for our spring training trip. The Clemson Invite is the most important regular season race of the season for us (with so many strong teams represented from all Power Five Conferences) and it is nice to be able to control the venue for the ACC Championships.

The 1V raced extremely well throughout the season.

In particular in a three week stretch we beat Harvard / Radcliffe by open water; finished 4th in the A Final at the Clemson Invite, beating Wisconsin, Indiana and Virginia; then beat #12 Iowa and lost to #7 Princeton by 2.5 seconds in Princeton. The was the best stretch of racing any Syracuse crew has completed during my tenure as coach. We struggled to continue to build the momentum in to ACC Championships and NCAAs. However, without that three week stretch of strong racing, our NCAA invitation would have been in jeopardy.

The 2V was consistently good throughout the season, and then really good at the ACC Championships and 16

NCAAs. We made a line-up change just before the Princeton / Iowa race, but our 7 seat fell ill on the bus ride down, so we were unable to race that line-up. Once healthy, this crew really started to challenge the 1V in training. At the ACCs, we drew UVA in the heats. The goal was not to go out and beat them, “… but if you are ahead with 800 to go ... why not?” That is what they did. Having showed their hand, we were curious to see the final. Once again, it was a back and forth affair. In the final 200m, the Syracuse women were able to pull ahead and win by a few tenths. At the NCAA, two women came out of the 2V and into the 1V. With a new line-up, the 2V made the A / B Semifinal and then sprinted through UVA again to finish 11th in the B Final.

The 4s, had a tough go through the regular season.

The line-ups were switched frequently, in search of a winning combination, but it seemed the more the A and B 4+ raced, the closer together they got. Coach Alicea Kochis-Strodel did a great job of staying with the grind and eventually found a combination that worked. Coming into the NCAAs unranked, they had a fantastic weekend to make the A / B Semifinal and beat Iowa, who had beaten them convincingly earlier in the season, to finish 11th.

The B 4+ had a very solid season, one that should not be overlooked. They challenged the A4+ all the time and were consistently strong in the B4+ rankings. Their 2nd place finish at the ACCs, to an extremely strong UVA B4+, was a fitting end to their season.

The 3V8+ is a boat full of young potential. They were the first Syracuse crew to beat a UVA crew this season.

They may have peaked at the Clemson Invite, as they were unable to build on their Clemson Invite speed and beat UVA at the ACCs. However, these women now know that they can defeat UVA and look to continue that trend.

OO: How did your pre-season expectations line up with the Sprints’ and NCAA’s results?

JM: We targeted a National Top 10 finish. This was / is an extremely ambitious goal. We fell short, finishing 13th again. However, the team was able to earn a THE ORANGE OAR

second consecutive bid to the NCAAs, the 3rd team bid in team history. If we “failed” this year, we did so nobly.

in September of 2017. If they do, they could become a very strong class.

For our first-years, we would like them to become consistently strong students (in both the classroom and of the sport) and women who are “willing to compete” in the cultural tradition of the past three years.

OO: Reflect on the recruiting process.

I FEEL LIKE IT IS A BIT CLICHÉ TO SAY, BUT IN ALMOST EVERY CASE IN WHICH WE HAVE HAD STRONG TEAM PERFORMANCES, WE HAVE HAD STRONG SENIOR CLASSES. THIS YEAR WAS NOT DIFFERENT. OO: Reflect on Trends in Women’s Rowing JM: The sport continues to change. Radcliffe failed to earn a bid to the NCAAs for the second consecutive year, thanks in part to Syracuse earning its second bid in two years. The University of Iowa earned the first bid in team history to the NCAAs under coach Andrew Carter, keeping USC out of the field. The USC Coach resigned at the end of the year, as did several other coaches from under-performing programs (B.U., Dartmouth, Oregon State, SMU). A new group of young, and very professionally trained coaches will be getting their turn as head coaches. It is going to speed up the conferences and raise the bar for an invitation to the NCAAs.

OO: What will you be looking for from the underclasswomen for the fall season?

JM: From our sophomores – many of whom struggled as first-years, I am looking to see that they learned some valuable lessons last year. We need this group of physically talented young women to ‘get it’ a little more AUGUST 2017

JM: There is no doubt that the recruiting game is changing. The calendar is shifting earlier and earlier, and teams are leveraging their admissions slots and scholarship $ to encourage young women to commit earlier in the process. There are several women we have been recruiting who are off the board already (July 4) because of verbal commitments to other schools.

OO: Besides some rest, what is in store for the summer / fall?

JM: As I approach 50, I find that my vigor is in decline, as my experience is on the incline. Rest is an incredibly important component in a training cycle. It is also incredibly important in one’s own ‘life cycle.’ Besides this, the coaches want to ensure that they have time for their families. The women’s rowing staff is a rare staff in that 3 of the 4 coaches have multiple children. We just welcomed Percy Kochis-Strodel to our family this winter. I believe that our staff has a unique combination of being hard driven and competitive, but also one that understands that these athletes are still 18 – 22 year old kids and young women.

OO: How is SARA doing? Do you have thoughts on future fund-raising initiatives?

How can SARA continue to support all of the crews?

JM: First and foremost, I want to compliment our current president Joe Paduda. I think, when working with a volunteer organization, that it is very easy to have a diffusion of focus, which follows the personal interests of each of the active volunteers. Joe has done a fantastic job of continuing to simplify the mission and shine the light on the core function of SARA … ‘to help make the boats go faster.’

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This is largely done through increasing the number of active SARA alumni and increasing the financial capacity of the men’s and women’s crew.

Secondly, I want to express my appreciation for the massive amount of work Jason Premo has done with the history of the crews. He has been so consistently engaged (which is not easy to do when raising a family and running a business) and the content he is producing is exceptional. As a new coach to the Syracuse family, I really enjoy reading and learning about the great history of these programs.

Thirdly, I want to give a big shout-out to Gillian Carlucci – who has taken on the role of Women’s Alumni Race Coordinator, and has proven to be an extremely reliable contributor to the SARA Board. It is great to see a dynamic young woman mixing it up with the men of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

The challenge on the women’s side is engagement. We are making good progress, especially in the younger generations, but we have yet to hit a tipping point for the women in terms of female participation in group events and consistent alumni giving. There is no doubt: women respond to outreach, engagement and challenges differently. We need to continue to work to find ways to make SARA more appealing / important to the women who raced for Syracuse.

Syracuse wants us to be competitive. They have increased our travel budget to accommodate the new requirements relative to cross-conference racing. They have funded a 4th coach for our team, which enhances our capacity to recruit. It is exciting to think what might be possible if Coach Babers gets Syracuse Football into the national conversation, and if the ACC Network begins to produce revenue that can rival the Big Ten’s and Pac-12’s. But as I said earlier, given our current context, Syracuse supports the women’s rowing team very well.

OO: How important is the Evening at Ten Eyck to the Women’s Rowing tradition at Syracuse?

JM: The Evening at Ten Eyck is one of the most unique alumni events I am aware of. It highlights all that is special about the Syracuse rowing facility, and helps to build a strong connection between the current teams and the great history of both the Men’s and Women’s programs. We have been slowly increasing the number of women in attendance at Ten Eyck for the past few years, but, as with the fund-raising, we have not yet hit the tipping point. We hope to continue to build the attendance to a level where all of the undergraduates understand that this is a ‘must’ event. OO

Summer Reading list Since SARA’s founding in 1954, its mission has been “… to aid, encourage, foster, support, and promote the sport of rowing in Syracuse.” Two prominent SARA print publications clearly exemplify this. The first: Mark Of the Oarsmen, Malcolm R. Alama (SARA 1963); and the second: Mark II – 50 Years of Syracuse University Rowing, John Nicholson & Joe Paduda (SARA 2014) are testaments to the depth of SARA’s commitment to keep the history of Syracuse Rowing through its first 100 years – alive.

When reading these two outstanding narrative accounts, the history of Syracuse Rowing comes alive. The hopes and dreams of the athletes in their quest for victory become tangible. And the risks and corresponding rewards of coaching also take their place in the reader’s imagination. And rereading these Syracuse Rowing classics may wet your appetite to attend an Evening at Ten Eyck each September, or may serve to prime your competitive urges to participate in a reunion row. And they may inspire you to attend the SARA event at the World Championships in Florida later this year.

These two outstanding documents are still available. Athletes and their families as well as fans and supporters can all enjoy a relaxing evening reminiscing about the ups and downs of Syracuse Rowing.

And these books make great holiday or class year gifts. The SARA Board recommends that parents consider gifting their athletes one or both of these books after their Junior year.

Please see the following links to obtain your copies now:

OO: Talk briefly about the SU Athletic Department’s support for the program.

And: how does it compare to our competitors?

JM: Taken in context, the Athletic Department has been fantastic in its support of SU Women’s Rowing.

What do I mean by “taken in context?” The latest and biggest players on the women’s rowing scene are: Ohio State; Texas and the University of Washington.

What do they all have in common? They are very large State Universities with outstanding football programs and essentially unlimited budgets. I think it reflects extremely well on Syracuse, that, of the crews invited to NCAAs who were not automatic qualifiers from minor conferences, there were six private schools in attendance: Princeton, Yale, Brown, Stanford, Notre Dame and Syracuse. This is some fine company to keep.

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THE ORANGE OAR

AUGUST 2017

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ZACK VLAHANDREAS

REFLECTIONS A look back at the season

UPON ENTERING THE RACING SEASON IN APRIL, WE, THE SYRACUSE MEN’S CREW, CARRIED A BIG CHIP ON OUR SHOULDERS. WE KNEW THAT WE WEREN’T GOING TO BE GIVEN TANKS. WE ALSO KNEW THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT FOR EVERY METER, SEAT, AND VICTORY. Having our race against Wisconsin canceled due to travel weather, we opened the season with Cornell and Navy. Beating Cornell and falling to the Midshipmen, the team was determined to train harder for the following week. With the Terriers and Columbia looming, we were ready for the fight. Quick off the gates, we carried our momentum forward down the channel past Ten Eyck and took the Terriers by storm. Not only did our rankings get pushed up, but we as a team realized that we had the strength, speed, coaching, and motivation to push ourselves when we needed a victory as triumphant as our victory against Boston University.

Dartmouth, although a loss, was a learning experience as we headed into the post season.

With each Cup race we had this season, we knew that what mattered was showing our ability to overcome odds and adversity to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. The projection of a whipping tail wind at the Eastern Sprints excited our team as we trained for ‘Syracuse Racing Weather’ day in and day out. The team had a bright mindset entering that weekend of racing. Spirits were high during the practices leading up to the Sprints and our motivation showed everyone in the east that the chip we had on our shoulders was just getting bigger and bigger as we got closer to racing.

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The coaching staff took the days from our race with Dartmouth to the Sprints to help each and every boat become its best on race day. With swing days here – and high intensity pieces there – we looked to be as fast as we could at that point in the season. The winds in Worcester were relentless, but that wasn’t going to stop our crews from replicating what they had been doing at practice to take advantage of this opportunity and compete for those tanks.

taught us over the past year. It was time to go out there and race our race.

ONE OF SARA’S MEMBERSHIP GOALS FOR 2017 IS TO INCREASE THEIR PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

As I am sure everyone would concur, receiving the automatic bid to IRA’s after placing 8th at the Sprints was exciting to us all and helped us carry that momentum over to California for IRA racing.

With so much time between the Sprints and the IRA’s, it is important for us to keep trying to get faster and improve the speed of our boat so that we can perform at the best of our ability for when racing comes.

Let’s Get Social...

Finishing 8th in the country was something we were all proud of; however, we know that there is still work to be done. Coming from 15th last year to 8th this year, we are headed in the right direction by the numbers. Two of our teammates have been selected to the U23 team this summer. Out of our 27 rowers, 22 who competed at the IRA’s are coming back next fall on top of having eight of the nine gentlemen from the varsity returning as well. The recruits coming in next fall will be tremendous assets to our team’s development as we look to continue to grow in speed and in consistency.

SARA’s primary communication goal is to increase our presence on social media. Our emerging generation of athletes and their families, as well as friends and supporters of Syracuse Rowing are connecting on social media more and more.

SARA’s presence there will help us achieve our membership theme of “staying connected, reconnecting … and cherishing memories!”

You can connect with SARA on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to receive timely information such as getting directions to races, race reports and host tent information.

You can also make connections with your teammates in advance of your attendance at a race or a SARA-hosted event. And you can make professional connections on LinkedIn. See you there!

@syracuserowing

Upon arriving to California, the team headed first to an off-site location a week prior to the IRA’s to adjust to the time difference as well as to the dry heat. There was plenty of excitement floating around the team, but one thing was for sure: the chip on our shoulders was still there as we waited for the opportunity to strike with boat speed. Above all, everyone wanted to be there. Everyone fought to be there, and everyone knew that no one was going to let us take tanks. We were going to have to fight, but we were all prepared to.

Racing weekend came, and we knew that it was in these three days that we were going to show everyone that we did not let opportunities pass by us. It was time to seize the opportunity and apply all that the coaching staff had 22

Syracuse Alumni/ae Rowing Association

For our program, the future is bright. The dynamic of the Syracuse Orange Rowers is and will continue to be special. I have no doubt in my mind that with the help of our tremendously talented and determined coaching staff, we will continue to try to take advantage of each and every opportunity given to us in order to become consistently good as opposed to occasionally great. OO

THE ORANGE OAR

@cuse_mrowing

Syracuse Row-O-Rama

AUGUST 2017

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ANDREW REICHARD

A Parent’s Testimony THE SYRACUSE ROWING FAMILY INCLUDES MANY GENERATIONS – ROWING ALUMNI, CURRENT ROWERS, COACHES, PARENTS AND FAMILIES OF ROWERS, AS WELL AS FRIENDS AND FANS OF THE SPORT. As parents, we appreciate the relationships that our children form with the coaches and support staff, especially those that spend a good amount of time with them week in and week out on the water and in the training room. The reputation Coach Reischman has amongst the parents and rowers is exemplary; he keeps his compass and that of the team pointed with a solid set of priorities that has school and personal character in alignment with the bonus of being able to participate in a collegiate sport. I believe the longterm effect on our sons of his coaching philosophy is a strong reason many of us are committed to the program.

As parents, we also appreciate the fellowship the coaches demonstrate in stopping by the team tent and spectator area to introduce themselves, discuss the current team and competition, as well as getting an update on campus life and the team in general. I personally think it is great the coach is both capable and willing to spend time with the parents and alumni in such a personal setting.

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WILLING TO

During this year’s IRA competition, it was really impressive to see the alumni come out and ‘pay back’ the same support they received years ago. I was appreciative of the kind words the alumni had to offer as to the support they received when they were in our son’s shoes; many reminisced about the boats, the long practices, the rowing tanks, but most of all the camaraderie and friendships formed during their tenure at Syracuse. They considered their attendance at this event a way for them to show their support and appreciation for a sport and team that gave to them many years ago.

I for one am proud to have my son studying at SU and rowing under the guidance of Coach Reischman.

START HIS LEADERSHIP

Dave Barni Dave Barni (Matt Barni, class year 2019)

PATH OVER

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LEADERSHIP IS A QUALITY IN PEOPLE WE ALL CRAVE TO SEE, AND TO FOLLOW. TRUE LEADERS ARE RARE, AND THEY ARE TASKED WITH FOLLOWING UNIQUE PATHS TO THEIR ESTEEMED POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP. Andrew Reichard (class year 2017) was introduced to rowing at home in Cleveland, Ohio, watching his older brother Wayne row scholastically, and attending races.

He went on to row four years in high school, where “I developed the work ethic and leadership qualities that I would carry into my career at Syracuse.” Andrew was interested in getting into the medical field, so the biochemistry and exercise science curricula at Syracuse attracted him. He also wanted to row at a Division I school, with a chance to row in the IRAs. “Coach Dave outlined for me the resources that would be available to me.” Coaches Stangel and Cottingham also had a substantial impact upon Andrew’s arrival at SU and his first two years rowing, based upon their career, science education and rowing backgrounds.

And he thought that the campus life atmosphere at Syracuse would be a good fit for him. The ability to pursue interests parallel to his life goals was also a draw at SU, eventually volunteering at a local VA hospital.

After researching other schools, he remembers his parents being willing to hand him off to Syracuse, “You have the right information, we trust your choice. Coach [Reischman] is very academics oriented and willing to work with those who put in the effort.” He asserts: “I always had their total support through the years.” His sister Nicole was an influence also, being closer in age than Wayne, and providing feedback on his student life options.

Andrew set out his frosh year to be consistent, and to work hard at this technique. Coach Stangel was the first to notice that Andrew was a good stroke. “The coaches relied on me to lay down a consistent, easy framework to follow.” He was successful, a lead-by-example guy, after stroking the 3V to a victory he was elevated to the four seat of the 2V. Coach Cottingham worked with Andrew the remainder of his frosh year and most of his sophomore year. The 2V was struggling to find rhythm, and the guys found it easy to follow Andrew’s rhythm.

In Andrew’s frosh and sophomore years, Coaches Stangel and Cottingham were the ones that first noticed his ability to generate a rhythm and that whatever boat 26

he was in tended to have the better row and thus win pieces.

After the Sprints, Andrew was moved to the varsity stroke seat.

Coach Reischman’s philosophy with Andrew was not an ‘Andrew emphasis,’ but a ‘boat emphasis.’ Thus began an annual sequence to the team’s development which Andrew helped lead from the fall through the spring. Laying down a rhythm … making necessary adjustments … being consistent … more adjustments … always aiming towards competition.

“DURING PRACTICES WE RELY ON EVERYONE IN THE BOAT FOR A BIT OF FEEDBACK BETWEEN PIECES BUT ON RACE DAY WE PUT GENERATING THE RHYTHM AND RACE STRATEGY CLEARLY ON THE SHOULDERS OF ANDREW AND DOM (COX).

ANDREW WAS OUR MOST EXPERIENCED OARSMAN AND RACER AND HE AND DOM HAD ROWED TOGETHER A LONG TIME. I TOLD ANDREW HE WAS OUR LONE SENIOR AND THIS WAS ‘HIS BOAT.’ IT WAS UP TO HIM. HE DEFINITELY ROSE TO THAT CHALLENGE.” – Coach Reischman And during Andrew’s junior year, Coach Dave worked with Andrew to change from a lead-by-example guy to being a more vocal leader, and to help keep the team energetic and positive in winter training. “Coach worked with us as captains [Sam Busco] and Dom our cox to make our winter training fun and avoid monotony. The ergs, the weight circuits, and the dome stairs lasted four months. We didn’t want it to be a slugfest, we just wanted to get faster, every day. We wanted to celebrate [improvement]. We wanted to take pride in our work.

Being able to race and win is what we trained all year for. We had to get ready for the Sprints and the IRAs.” THE ORANGE OAR

Combined with increasing leadership demands imposed by the coaches, the demanding training worked over Andrew’s years at Syracuse. “We learned that the natural instinct to be faster than the guy next to you had to take over in the third 500.” The trust instilled by Coach Dave, “… clicked. We wanted something [metaphorically] we could dance to as a boat. We knew we could create it … as a boat. Now we had to go out and do it … as a boat.”

Of his friends on the crew, he highlights Dominic Santora ’18, his coxswain of 7 years, going back to his days in Cleveland. Friends, or friendly competitors? “Dominic always wanted to get faster, we were constantly getting on each other’s case. My catch placement, his steering.

The list goes on. We truly wanted to get faster. We are still best friends.” About the other oars, “We lived together, spent time with families, went to the dining hall together. Most of our free time we were hanging out as a group, we watched a lot of Netflix. We will stay connected.”

As a frosh at Syracuse Andrew was one of the youngest guys on the team, and had to learn to work hard while building trust with the coaches and his teammates. And he let his natural leadership qualities be nurtured under the watchful eyes of Coaches Stangel, Cottingham and Reischman. Having rowed from a 19th place finish while stroking the V8 as a sophomore, to an 8th place finish as a senior in the IRA, Andrew is “100% satisfied with my choice to study at Syracuse and to row. I believed it was possible to turn things around, and am grateful I could prove that before I graduated.”

When Andrew starts his career in research at The Cleveland Clinic this summer he admits: “I will be the new guy again. I am willing to start my leadership path over. I will build trust. I will work my way up. I have a model to follow.” After two years, he is hoping to go to medical school, and possibly study orthopedic surgery or sports medicine.

Stay tuned for Andrew’s work-life teams to be successful.

Reflecting on his Syracuse years, Andrew is “… ready to leave the training, but not ready to leave the team.” The success Andrew helped SU achieve through the years is apparent. In Andrew’s four years, Syracuse consistently re-climbed the national rankings. “I am happy to have been part of that improvement.”

AUGUST 2017

OO

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FREDDY GLIESING

COLLEGE LIFE HAS THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS. FREDDY GLIESING (ESF, CLASS YEAR 1978) WAS IN A SPECIAL SITUATION WHEN HE ENROLLED AT SYRACUSE IN THE FALL OF 1974.

IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS COLLEGE LIFE HAS THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS.

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His father, Rudy, had passed on when he was just 16 years old, taking an important anchor and mentor in his life away from him. Fred had spent much time hiking, camping and fishing and other activities with his Dad. Several other adults were major influences in his life, all uniquely contributing to Fred’s growth in his laterteen years. In a clearly familial tone, Fred recounts influences by Mr. Andy Knutsen, and Mr. Bob Brooks, two adult family friends, who continued to challenge Fred and provide much-needed outdoor skill time for Fred through those years.

But, “It was at Syracuse, that I enriched the life skills critical to my success as an adult,” he asserts. “Syracuse Crew was more than times, speed, wins, etc. It was building confidence, commitment, time management, setting and achieving goals, and a host of other skills.”

Among those, was the ability to accept constructive criticism in front of his peers, “And I got lot’s of that from rowing!” This skill, he adds, is important because it helps you to support your team members, as “You are all facing similar challenges but have the same goal.” He also learned time management skills, because he wanted to finish his academic work so that he could get out to the Boathouse to row. Chalk board winter workouts were especially key, empowering team members to manage their time and meet commitments to the team and as well as to their academic work.

Like most athletes at that time, Fred was a classic walk-on, introduced to rowing on the SU quad while at fall registration. He met Coach Drew who was looking for potential athletes 6’-0” or taller, and greater than 175#. If you know Fred, even the weight guideline was questionable. But Fred had much experience swimming and kayaking, even building kayaks with family members – as a pre-teen. So he had experience on water. Yet the coaches still advised Fred this way: “We see three outcomes for you: You will quit the team, you will get cut, or you will have to work extremely hard to stay on the team.” So Fred gave rowing his all. He remembers the fun, and the successes along the way.

“Over the fall, I began to feel that I was doing good work. And I learned then that whatever I was going to

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do, in crew or in life, I was going to do the best that I could do.” Another life skill learned.

At the late October meeting, and notwithstanding Fred’s size, Drew stated: “Fred you have good balance and swing, probably from your kayaking. I’m going to keep you around for another month or so.” Then suddenly Fred was diagnosed with mononucleosis, setting his training back three weeks, although he was undeterred.

Fred trained all winter his Frosh year with this background thought: “When is Drew going to cut me?”

Yet Fred seat raced every week in the spring, and stayed on the team until the Dartmouth race (traditionally held after the Sprints) where he rowed in the 2F8.

After the race, Coach Drew unceremoniously sent part of the boat home, with no prospect to compete at the IRA, keeping four oars and a cox. “Pack your bags,” he said. But it was not a discouraging moment at all; “I felt successful, especially after the three options I was presented by the coaches in the fall.” It was an encouraging moment, with Fred looking forward to the next season.

Fred remembers each year building more confidence, and getting more experience in the boats, and finding it an accomplishment to be asked to stay for IRA Camp his junior year. He rowed in the four without cox in both the 1977 and 1978 IRAs, placing 4th in 1977 with Dan Hanavan, Pappy MacVittie and Andy Papp. And he can recall each race, and how he had to learn from failure more than he learned from success. “That is what coaches do, they help develop the whole person, teaching you through wins and losses.” Once, Fred remembers his boat outracing a tug boat chugging parallel to the race course.

And Fred has one particularly funny and vivid memory – rowing in a mixed boat at Rollins College on winter break – hearing relentless screams from the [politely nameless] coxswain. “2 man, you’re short!, 2 man, you’re short!, 2 man, you’re short!, 2 man you’re short!” You get the idea.

Fred’s relentless response while keeping up the cadence, was: “I know I’m short! I know I’m short! I know I’m short!, … I’m just short!” If you are imagining a coxswain swimming upon their return to the dock, you are correct.

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Fred completed four years rowing for Syracuse and takes satisfaction from his 3V victories, including one against Harvard’s 3V. Yes, Harvard’s 3V. And he never felt slighted by his height. He still has his betting shirts “… somewhere, as well as my two Men’s Crew sweatshirts, clearly labelled on the inside: 3V2, 2F1.”

When Fred reflects on the role of the coaches Drew and Bill during his time at SU, he admits, “Today this day, I am not sure that they even knew I lost my Dad in high school. But they filled an important gap in my life. The coaches working with me gave me structure. It gave me confidence. I looked forward to that each fall when I returned to Syracuse.” On his time at Syracuse, “It’s still significant to me, it is very important to me.”

Either directly or through assimilation “… coaches help us figure things out, either sitting in the Crew Room on Coach Sanford’s couch, or out on the water.”

Fred lives in Germantown, New York, managing the forests of New York City’s watershed system, as the Senior Forester / Forestry Program Manager where he continues to use the chalk board approach to help his staff organize their work.

Along the way, Fred has been a soccer coach, and a USA Swimming official. He has continued his outdoor pursuits such as hiking and kayaking, and still swims high-yardage master’s practices to stay fit and swims open water events, having just completed his 20th year of swim competition. Oh yes, and he still gets on the water when he can.

Good work Fred!

OO

OO Editor Hugh Duffy recently had the wonderful opportunity to re-connect with Freddy Gliesing ’78, a fellow ESF student, based upon E-mail communication.

Current SU athletes and coaches may not know that ESF students used to be able to compete on SU teams.

It was a type of symbiotic (please forgive the illusion to nature) relationship, benefitting both institutions. ESF undergraduate students at that time, all also received a Bachelor’s of Science degree from SU, in addition to their ESF Bachelor’s degree.

Alas, that opportunity has passed by the wayside.

He also supports his twin daughters, Julie and Kelsey, in their successful athletic careers. “Either my wife, Sue (ESF, class year 1978), or I – or both – will always go to their competitions. We recently were in Victoria, BC, for our daughters’ triathlon, and Drew and Lee Harrison hosted us all for lunch.” Fred enjoyed the reunion and the interaction between Coach Drew and his daughters.

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DREW HARRISON

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FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN THE ORANGE OAR

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AT THE OUTSET OF OUR BRIEF CONVERSATION, DREW DECLARED: “FIFTY YEARS OF MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE – CENTERED ON ROWING – HAS BEEN FUN, WONDERFUL FUN. AND IT STILL CONTINUES TO BE FUN.” REMINISCING FROM HIS EARLY DAYS OF COACHING AT SU, DREW EQUATED TRAINING FOR SPORTS COMPETITION WITH A TRADITIONAL BALANCE SCALE, COMPLETE WITH COUNTERWEIGHT AND JELLY BEANS. HARD WORK HAS TO BE BALANCED WITH FUN. TOO MUCH HARD WORK WITHOUT COUNTERBALANCING FUN WILL TIP THE SCALE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. Drew’s first exposure to rowing was through Scott Sanford, who encouraged Drew to consider rowing, based upon the prospect that Drew would attend SU. Drew attended a practice on the water, a winter practice in the Crew Room, and then the IRAs before settling upon SU as his academic choice. Of his first experiences on the water: “I loved being in a boat, I loved making it move,” he reminisces. “Rowing takes time to learn. I liked to work hard. I stroked the Frosh 8, but I probably didn’t know much about what I was doing.” So somehow he must have been having fun to go along with his successes.

“I know that I repeated many technical mistakes, but I felt that after four years I was becoming a good rower.”

After graduation, “I wanted to continue rowing.

Coaching and a master’s degree came later. Rowing and coaching are both processes that take a long time to achieve results.” But it continued to be fun, and he was inspired to pursue more success. Each step along the way attracted more attention, earning Drew coaching spots on national as well as university teams, and he coached men and women at the international level. His coaching approach was always to create training plans and race plans centered around his philosophy that athletic achievement had to be based upon fun.

Reflecting on the influential role that coaches play in college-level athletes lives, Drew feels that athletes in their college years are ripe for influence and ready for 33

development. Creating a fun environment, combined with elements of success, breeds more success he noted. “Our sport of rowing is great at showing athletes the positive successes that they can have, and how success builds on itself. Fun has to be part of it.”

And Drew reflects on the faster times being achieved by today’s crews – across the board – as a result of the combination of improved equipment, training, and rowing efficiency “… lighter and stiffer boats, improved rigging as well as improved blade shapes,” as well as “… the increased prevalence of scholastic programs in North America, giving universities a larger pool of quality talent to draw from.” International athletes, nutrition, and coaching also play a part, he notes. “But one thing which has not changed from earlier years is that buy-in from the athletes has to be total to achieve maximum results. I really appreciate the buy-in from the athletes I coached at SU.” Drew observed the emergence of the Women’s Rowing program at SU, and reflects that SARA is healthier because of the participation and leadership of women in SARA. And he echoes Coach Dave’s philosophy of ardently providing opportunities for parents to connect at races and other SARA events. “Athletes need support to be successful. By attending rowing events parents can appreciate their athlete’s interests and efforts, the sacrifices they are making to achieve their goals, the friendships that they are developing, and the role rowing plays in their education.”

Reflecting on his early years at SU, “I loved being in the boat as an oarsman for SU. I am forever grateful for the foundation in rowing and coaching I received at Syracuse. It was sheer pleasure to have started my career there and I appreciate having worked with Bill Sanford in those early coaching years.”

And he reflects this way on his coaching career: “Coaching has been my life-long profession, although part-time now. I was inspired by my coaching success at SU to pursue other coaching opportunities. It has always been fun. It is still fun. As to what’s next, I am not sure, but it will be fun.”

Pass the jelly beans!

How many of us, if we really rested and thought about our path in life, could trace our position and location in life to a sequence of life’s events?

OO

Orange Oar Editor, Hugh Duffy, recently had the rewarding opportunity to catch up with Drew Harrison through a telephone conversation.

Drew coached the SU Freshman from 1973 / 1974 to 1981 / 1982 to great success. Through the years Drew has also been an athlete, an international coach of both men’s and women’s teams, in equipment sales, and a coaching development leader.

Drew continues to live in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife, Lee. And he continues to share in the lives of his grown children, Ian and Emilee.

And how many of us, would put our time at Syracuse and connection to the Syracuse Rowing Community at or near the top of our lists of significant life influences?

Whether it was a short-term connection to rowing, or maybe even a few years, or having mustered a complete academic / athlete career, most of us have been indelibly impacted one way or another through our time at Syracuse and association with the rowing programs.

Maybe it was the runs or stadium stairs (ouch!), or workouts in the Crew Room, the ergs (more ouch!), or the bus rides to Longbranch Park … . Maybe some of us have unique memories of being on the water with our friends, of seat racing, of rowing through fall rain or spring snow squalls. Or a crisp spring morning rowing on flat water … .

Drew still trains five to six days a week, and continually tries to row long, efficient and powerful strokes. “I go out each day to be the best I can be which may be more efficient than when I was twenty-two, though certainly is not as powerful. I continue to strive to beat the other guy. Of course, that is still fun.” To note, Drew was heading out in late June for US Rowing’s NW Masters Championships to try to do just that.

Or maybe we even have significant memories of the Boathouse (officially, the James A. Ten Eyck Memorial Boathouse), and our time there.

Maybe we have a memory of sharing a meal there from Spring Camp or IRA Camp. Or even just being friends while organizing our equipment in preparation for a practice. A card game upstairs ….

And who, for instance, can forget boathouse toast?

The Orange Oar would like to hear your memories, for future publications. We would like to publish some as a way to strengthen the rowing community.

Please send them to the Orange Oar Editor. All Boathouse Memories will be published in a new section of the OO in future editions.

Let’s celebrate our rowing careers, as well as our Boathouse Memories!

... Boathouse Memory Appeal

Through the years, Drew was able to combine his various interests and have a stable home location for his family in British Columbia. He has enjoyed helping a manufacturer develop top boats and leading coaching development workshops in several countries, in addition to coaching at all levels.

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Strengthening the Syracuse Rowing Community ...

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TOM EVANCIE

THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS Member of 1978 Championship V8 at Home in California

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AS TOM EVANCIE ROWED AWAY FROM THE AWARDS DOCK AT THE 1978 IRA, THE SENIOR CAPTAIN AND SIX SEAT OF THE SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY MEN’S V8, WORE A GOLD MEDAL AROUND HIS NECK. IN 1990 HE AND HIS WIFE SHEILA MOVED TO AUBURN, CALIFORNIA, JUST 18 MILES FROM WHERE THE 1849 DISCOVERY OF TWO OUNCES OF YELLOW METAL IN THE AMERICAN RIVER KICKED OFF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH.

In California, as in Syracuse, hard work brought Evancie the gold.

The Orange Oar caught up with Evancie at the 2017 IRA on Lake Natoma near Sacramento, a 30-minute drive from his home. He recalled being snagged on the quad in his first autumn on campus as many tall freshmen have been over the years. A high school swimmer from Pawling, NY, near Poughkeepsie, he was used to ‘pain and boredom.’

The winter training trip that first year went no further south than Washington, D.C., where it rained the entire week. “Four guys to a room,” Evancie said. “Nothing dried out for a week, and everyone was fighting for a space on the heater. You can imagine what it smelled like.”

His first IRA was a little sunnier. Rowing in the four seat for Coach Drew Harrison, Evancie’s freshman eight won a silver medal. As a sophomore, he made the varsity boat and stayed there as a junior and senior.

Evancie does not remember which seats he rowed in those first two years in the varsity boat. In fact, he does not remember the ’78 crew’s first heat of the IRA regatta they would eventually win in a signature moment in Syracuse rowing history.

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Mark II, the 50-year history of SU Rowing written by John Nicholson ’68 and Joe Paduda ’80, recounts it this way: “Cal pulled away in the last forty strokes, earning a spot in the finals and consigning the Orange to a trip to the repechages ... Attitudes brightened when the crew learned that six-man Tom Evancie had been suffering from dehydration most of the race.”

In 2017 Evancie said matter-of-factly, “I don’t remember it at all.”

Yet, clearly he finished the piece and came back the next day to help the boat finish second in the repechage and make the Grand Final, where as Mark II describes:

“With the powerful Purdy, Evancie, Shamlian and Townsley driving the boat into the headwind, they started to move away from Penn and Cornell … . As the Orange varsity eight crossed the finish line, the stands erupted….They had done it! They were the 1978 IRA Varsity Champions!”

Evancie’s successful approach was simple. “You started the race as hard as you could, and you didn’t take your eyes off the back of the guy in front of you,” he said.

“That’s probably why they put me in the middle of the boat.”

Victory meant a trip to Henley, followed by travel and exploration in England. “Then I went to work,” Evancie said. “I went to New York City and joined what was then one of the Big Eight accounting firms and worked in Manhattan for about 12 years.”

Evancie married Sheila in 1988, and then they had their first daughter, Meredith. “We had a nanny taking care of our baby, and we didn’t really want to raise our kids that way,” Evancie said. “So we wanted to get out of the city.”

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Having kept in touch with teammates Ed Johanson ’78 and Walter MacVittie ’78 in California, Evancie found that friendship generated an opportunity. “Ed had gone to law school out here and gotten into the real estate business,” Evancie said. “He was the general counsel for a real estate developer and decided to go out on his own. And I joined him as the financial man.”

Evancie and Johanson’s company, Silverado Homes, is a regional developer and homebuilder operating in Northern California and Nevada. To date Evancie, Johanson and their team have built over 5,000 homes, declaring on their web site, “But cookie cutter home builders we are not!”

When asked about his hobbies, Evancie’s first answer revealed a work ethic similar to the one he used in the boat at SU: “I spend a lot of time at work. Owning and operating your own business is demanding. We started the business with nothing in an industry that takes a lot of capital and a lot of experience, and we didn’t really have either,” he recalled with a smile. “So we had to build both.”

He then went on to say that he did triathlons after college, which have now given way to some biking, some hiking and work around the house.

He has not picked up an oar since 1978, apart from reunion rows. Still, the lessons learned on Onondaga are still with him. “We attribute our success in business and in life to our experience on the crew,” he said. “I’ll always be grateful to Coaches Harrison and Sanford for showing us what we could achieve with hard work, discipline and perseverance.”

Evancie particularly enjoyed the gathering when the ’78 crew received the LetterWinners of Distinction Award in 2008.

“We’d kept in touch a little bit with Andy Mogish and Bill Purdy, but the rest of the fellas, it was probably the first time I’d seen them since ’78,” Evancie said.

“Everyone was wearing their tuxes, so I wouldn’t have picked Bill Reid out of a line-up 30 years later in a tux, but after spending two minutes with everybody, it immediately was familiar. Right back to where we started.”

AUGUST 2017

Then Evancie shared a little dirt on the ’78 boat. The bow oar Gerry Henwood and stroke Art Sibley, had a reputation for being pranksters. “I will say that Henwood and Sibley were a little calmer that night. Back then they were wise guys. They were sophomores, and we were seniors. And that’s a huge difference.” As Evancie continued, his smile widened, and he laughed as he said, “We were very mature and seasoned and we knew how things were supposed to run. And they were these young wise guys who had won [the IRA] their freshman year and gone to Henley.”

Then the smile disappeared for a moment, and Evancie said, “They were great athletes, great teammates and really great guys.” The smile reappeared, and he said, “And there were some great stories from IRA Camp.”

As the 40th anniversary of the ’78 victory approaches, Evancie is proud of both of his daughters’ achievements.

Meredith graduated from Cornell University and Stanford Law School and is about to join a law firm in nearby Mountain View. Madeline graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and got a second Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Miami. She works in the ICU at Miami Children’s Hospital.

“My teammates are welcome in California any time,” Evancie said, pointing out that Auburn is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. While Tom does not talk about himself this way, folks who remember him from SU know there is a gold medal winner in those hills. OO

By Jay Rhodes ’89

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JASON PREMO

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN AN APRIL 2017 E-MAIL FROM JASON PREMO, WITH MISC. EDITS:

Greetings, ’Cuse fans! With Syracuse kicking off its racing season against Cornell and Navy in Ithaca in April, I thought it’d be neat to put together and share the quick history of the Syracuse Men’s Crew program.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

145 years ago in 1872, two Freshman – Charles Holden and George Hine – unofficially founded and funded the Syracuse Rowing program. They solicited local merchants for funds for a boat and constructed a wooden shack boathouse with their own ingenuity!

They worked tirelessly to create interest in the sport at SU and in the community, and in 1874 drew up the original constitution, moving officially that “we go into boating!” For the next 27 years, we were considered a “club” sport of sorts.

In 1899, Chancellor Day and typewriter magnate L.C. Smith were the muscle that energized the base and brought Syracuse rowing to the forefront as an official competitive sport at Syracuse. This was also, thankfully, about the time the university adopted Orange as the official school colors – shedding its pink and pea green!

Blech!

Our first coach was Ed Sweetland, who also served as the football team coach. He only coached for three years, but if that name sounds familiar, its because he was also the first ever paid coach of the Kentucky basketball team, and head football coach at Ohio State (during which OSU became the first team to ever score a touchdown against Michigan). He was also coached

by Pop Warner as a football player at Cornell, and by Charles Courtney as a rower. Imagine the stories he could tell!

The James A. Ten Eyck era from 1903 to 1938 is well documented. You must read Mark of the Oarsmen at some point in your life. It is available through SARA, or I will loan you my copy. Ten Eyck brought the program to immediate national prominence, gathering multiple national championships for the Orange.

coach’ era, Syracuse has had just seven head coaches!

Among those, James Ten Eyck gave 35 years (and five Varsity National Championships) to the Orange – and became a legend in his time before his extraordinary rowing son Ned filled in for 7 years, and Bill Sanford (it’s fair to say the longest tenured, Orange-est among them, having rowed for the Orange himself 19591963, then Coaching the Frosh until 1967, and then the Men’s Crew Head Coach for 35 years), and into the present sophisticated, high-integrity Dave Reischman regime.

Over the years, Syracuse rowing has produced 10 Olympians, dozens of National Team members, top quality Coaches (see Drew Harrison, Tony Johnson, and legend Steve Gladstone – 12 IRA Heavyweight championships after Coaching Harvard’s lightweights to four consecutive undefeated seasons), and many titans of industry. We’ve created one of the strongest alumni organizations – Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association – in all of rowing. Gordon Hoople and SARA saved us from extinction in the 60s. We’ve survived multiple debilitating floods, structure-leveling fires and interminable winters. We’ve rowed through cold, rain, ice and snow, together. We compete against schools with deeper athlete pools, bigger budgets and way more scholarships, and yet we persist to fight and scrap for every meter. For 145 years the men in Orange have always fought. It’s a common characteristic we all share, and what has helped mold us into who we all are today.

When I shout “GO ORANGE” at the men who represent us as the race by in Ithaca on Saturday, its directed at those men on the water fighting and scrapping, its directed at myself, and at all those who rowed for Syracuse before me, because the Orange is all of us.

There will be future installments of ‘From the Archives’ including more little known information on James A. Ten Eyck and other illustrious figures from the Syracuse Rowing Community.

Stay tuned, and: “GO ORANGE!”

OO

Speaking of coaches, this would be a good time to point out that, in the 115 years of the ‘having a real full-time

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BACKSPLASH BACKSPLASH NEWS OF OUR ALUMNI

Robin S. Ackerman ’84 Gordon Hull ’83 Coach Dave sent in a photo and note: “Here is a photo from our pre-IRA training camp in Petaluma, CA. We were invited to have lunch at the Heidrun Meadery owned by Gordon Hull. It was a great ‘get away from rowing for a while’ trip and the guys really enjoyed seeing Gordon’s operation and relaxing in the beautiful surrounding.

Gordon is seated in the lower left.

Jason Dorland ’83-’84 Jason has recently published “Pulling Together: A Coach’s Journey to Uncover the Mindset of True Potential.” This is the second book written by Jason, his first was: “Chariots and Horses: Life Lessons from an Olympic Rower.”

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“I have been coaching my local high school’s rowing team for the last 8 years. It’s been a rewarding experience.

Tom was sworn in on June 1, 2017 as Both of my daughters rowed and my son a Deputy Sheriff for Seminole County, is currently a sophomore on the team.

Florida.

While our team is very small – with a total of approximately 24 rowers – my Varsity 4+ Boys boat won their petite final at the New York State Scholastic Our son Cal graduated from SU this year, Championships and qualified for a slot at Nationals in Camden, New Jersey. At and is now living in San Diego where Nationals we advanced out of our first he and my lovely bride are running a heat by .5 seconds. While we came up lacrosse company. Now that I don’t have to focus on SU men’s lacrosse, I’m short in the repechage, my boys rowed their very best races. Overall, we placed running for office – County Legislator 18th in the country.” in Onondaga County. Some may recall that Coach Bill Sanford had a long and storied career in the “County Leg.” If elected I’m going to make sure there’s never any ice on Onondaga Lake and our crews always have favorable conditions.

Tom Johnson ’16

Joe Paduda ’80

Skip Sibley ’80

James Olson ’12

Don Miller ’85

Skip will be retiring this year after 16 years – eight election cycles – as an Old Lyme Selectman. His focus as a Selectman has been on projects driving Town asset upgrades. Among those are the construction of new playing fields (Town Woods Park), the renovations of Town Hall and the Public Works Garage, rebuilding of beach area sidewalks and drainage improvements as well as public restrooms, and the construction of a new boathouse.

On May 6th, James Olson married April Gelbard (SU class year 2013) in Palm Beach, Florida. Many rowers from the classes of 2011 through 2013 were in attendance. It was great to spend the weekend with people who have played such a large part in my life! April and I currently live in Hoboken, NJ.

Don Miller found his old racing tank when he made the trip from Chico, Calif. to the IRA in Sacramento. After getting his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley and doing his postdoctoral work, Don became a professor of biology specializing in entomology at California State University, Chico, a position he has held for 15 years.

Regarding the boathouse project: “It’s been a 7-year journey filled with lots of team effort. Additionally I’ve been leading a fundraising effort that’s raised over $100K.” Children: Amanda (UConn ’12) married Clai White (SU ’10) (yes, they met through rowing); Dustin (Bryant) works and lives at home; and Alexis is a student at Boston Architecture College.

Skip is currently President of Independent Explosives, based in the Northeast.

Skip and Sheree (SU ’81) continue to live in Old Lyme, Conn.

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Kristen Bidwell ’90

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Joe McCluskey ’76 James forwarded the historic poster from the ’74 IRA, noting: “It is one of my treasures. I had it for so long and finally framed it last year.”

Joe now lives in Manhattan, NY.

“I am an educational advocate and I also consult in landscape design.

My oldest son Ian, a frosh, swam for William & Mary and competed @ USA Swimming’s Open Water Nationals this May in Santa Clarita, Calif. My son Alec, also a frosh, just competed at the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships (ACRAs) for Northwestern University and will be attending the Webb Institute for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (Glen Cove, NY) in the fall. I tried to convert my rising HS junior, Hayley, to rowing, but lost her to tennis. I still have hope that my 12 year old, will row (and continue to) as she starts sculling this summer!”

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Charlie Mills ’60

Introducing…

The SARA YouTube Channel

US Rowing will be having a reunion at the 2017 World Championships for all competitors who have participated in one or more of the Pan Am Games, World Championships or Olympics. I think it would be great if as many SU alumni who have been participants in the international events could attend.

What a wonderful opportunity for all of us to meet each other and ‘fly the flag’ for SU! I’m sure you are all as proud of our accomplishments as I am and I would like to meet you all. Together we would help demonstrate to the world the impressive strength of SU’s Rowing program.

The Coaches Connection

Beginning in 2012, the SU Athletics Department began publishing men’s and women’s rowing videos on its CUSE TV (cuse.com) channel. But if you rowed for the Orange prior 2012, you might think you’ve been left out. Not true. If you pulled an oar for the Orange then there’s a good chance your more youthful image was captured on film or VHS tape during a rowing practice or in a race situation. Much of the oldest media in the SU rowing archives has been carefully stored in the Boathouse attic until now. Today’s issue of the ORANGE OAR introduces you to the SARA YouTube Channel. To date, over 100 pieces of media have been collected and are now available for viewing at:

“In conjunction with the US Rowing Reunion, I would like to help organize

WHEREAS WHEN WE CHEER ON ALL SYRACUSE BOATS ON FROM THE SHORES, IT IS NICE TO KNOW THAT SOME OF OUR COMPETITION’S COACHES HAVE ROOTS HERE AT SU, HAVING ROWED ON THE WATERS OF ONONDAGA. IT IS HUMBLING TO LOSE ANY RACE, BUT THERE IS SOME CONSOLATION IN LOSING TO AN SU ALUM.

C L I C K T O V I E W C H A N N E L

W A N T E D

Cases in point: The first assistant coaches of the Men’s 2017 National Champions as well as the Women’s 2017 NCAA Champions are Syracuse alums. Mike Gennaro ’11 is the top assistant with Yale (men) and Josh Gautreau ’06 is the top assistant with the University of Washington (women).

Your SU rowing films/videos. The ultimate goal of this project is to grow the SARA YouTube Channel playlist to include at least one video for each year of men’s and women’s rowing.

Contact Paul Dudzick ’67 (pdudzick@gmail.com) if you have media to contribute.

And, of course, we all esteem Steve Gladstone’s current leadership to the Yale Men’s Crew. Steve has coached more IRA Champion boats than any active coach (and is in reach of the all-time record), and has done so at several schools, successfully turning programs around in the process.

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Future editions of the OO would like to highlight alum coaches who have roots at SU, and their continuing journeys.

Step one would be to identify all alums who have coached or are currently coaching (scholastic, club, collegiate, international).

Step two, would be if you would like to be interviewed or would like to contribute your own original piece to the Editors, you may do so. Please contact the OO Editor.

Let’s all celebrate the success of our alums! And one way to do that is to share their success with the Syracuse Rowing Community.

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SYRACUSE ALUMNI ROWING ASSOCIATION, INC. 1264 MINNOW COVE SKANEATELES, NY 13152 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED