Volume XXI
Fall 2019
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No. 2
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Fall 2019
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Inside This Issue
SARA Boards
02 Inside This Issue & SARA Boards 03 Dear SARA Friends ... 04 A Perfect Weekend 08 RPC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 10 Giving Updates 12 SUWROW’s Coaches “A” Team 14 SUWROW Asst. Coach Claire Q&A 16 Quantum Entanglement 18 SUWROW’s Fall Spirit & Pulse 20 Not Too Busy to Reconnect 22 Hard Work & Friendships 24 Definitely Decided on Rowing 26 Men’s Asst. Coach Jason Q&A 28 Men’s Asst. Coach Steve Q&A 30 The Rowing Sanfords 32 SARA YouTube Channel Update 34 Backsplash News
SARA EXECUTIVE BOARD
SARA ADVISORY COUNCIL
Joseph Paduda ’80 President
Paul Irvine ’45 William Hider ’62 Edward Kakas ’64 James Breuer ’72 Bryan Mahon ’78 Ozzie Street ’80 Thomas Darling ’81 Jerome Jacobi ’81 Andrew Hobbs ’83 Rick Holland ’83 Gordon Hull ’83 Barry Weiss ’83 Emme Entwistle Aronson ’85 Kristin Walker Bidwell ’90 Tracy Brown ’90 Jeff Pesot ’90 Donald Smith ’90 Christopher Ludden ’91 Sylvester Rowe ’92 Joseph Bufano ’99 Skye Michiels ’99 Aliza Seeber ’04
Orange Oar Correspondents: Skyler Rivera, 2022 Cover image courtesy of the SUAD. Volume XXI // No. 2 // Fall 2019 © 2019 Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association WWW.SaraRowing.com 2
Paris Daskalakis ’98 Treasurer Gillian Carlucci ’14 Secretary Josh Stratton ’01 VP / Digital Director DIRECTORS Charles Roberts ’61 Paul Dudzick ’67 Donald Plath ’68 Kenneth Hutton ’69 Paul Dierkes ’79 William Purdy ’79 Hugh Duffy ’80 Gerard Henwood ’80 Arthur Sibley ’80 Charles Clark ’83 Beth Marks ’83 Peter Hilgartner ’84 Colin Goodale ’90 Jason Premo ’98 Lena Wang ’99 Adlai Hurt ’04 Joel Harrison ’07 Ryan Armstrong ’08 Ryan Patton ’10 Mark Vyzas ’10 Gillian Carlucci ’14 Rebecca Soja ’14
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US Men’s Head Coach: Dave Reischman – dreischm@syr.edu Women’s Head Coach: Luke McGee – lwmcgee@syr.edu Orange Oar Writer, Editor & Publisher: – Hugh Duffy – duffyfamily7@comcast.net The The Orange Orange Oar Oar
Dear SARA Friends ... For Syracuse rowing, there’s much to be excited about. A newly refurbished William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center (think: Crew Room of yesteryear) made possible by a very successful fund-raising campaign, another top-ten finish by the Men’s Crew (plus stellar showings at the Head of the Charles this fall season) and a resurgent Women’s Rowing program with excellent coaches – all bode well for Syracuse rowing in 2020. Fast boats require great athletes, and on that front our coaches’ efforts are paying off. The number – and talent level – of international athletes wearing the orange has never been higher. The athletes from Europe and the Antipodes are helping our boats go faster, which will make the ’Cuse even more attractive to A-level stateside rowers. Academically, Syracuse has significantly raised its standards across all schools. While this may make it harder for some potential athletes to gain admission, over the long term this will help – a lot. Higher academic standing makes our alma mater more attractive to potential recruits – and their parents. There is also a lot of positive energy coming from you, our alums. The nearrecord attendance at the Evening at Ten Eyck (driven by a strong contingent of alumnae!), big alumni showing at the IRAs, record number of contributors to the Coaches’ Funds, a solid alumni entry at the Head of the Charles, and hundreds watching the first-ever ACC Network rowing broadcast ... are all a testament to the growing excitement about Syracuse Rowing. I’d be remiss if I didn’t note once again the strong support we have from our University. Unlike most top-level programs, we don’t need to fund raise for operating funds, which means every penny we raise goes to making the boats go faster. Syracuse men’s rowing will return to the ACC Network in 2020 with a live broadcast of the home race with Boston University. We are working with SU’s athletic department on ways we can use these broadcasts to broaden our outreach to the international rowing community. More to come next year. SARA’s goal is to put both the Men’s and Women’s programs in position to win a national championship in 2025. We have much to do, but we are well on our way. I hope you enjoy this issue of the Orange Oar as it offers exciting Syracuse Rowing highlights from our athletes, coaches and alums. We certainly appreciate Skyler Rivera’s SUWROW’s Fall Spirit & Pulse insights into the current Women’s teams. And thanks to all who help make Syracuse Rowing what it is, while also continuing to work hard to help realize what Syracuse Rowing can be! Bleed Orange! Joe Paduda, SU 1980 SARA President Fall 2019
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A Perfect Weekend In September 2013, SARA, under the leadership of then-President Barry Weiss, endeavored to achieve what few other Syracuse University athletic alumni groups have done: build a meaningful, well-attended affair for those who competed for SU in one form or another to reconnect on an annual basis. What started as an afternoon / evening affair has turned into a joyful weekend of celebration! This September, over 155 men and women who pulled an oar, coxed, and / or coached at SU plus their companions / spouses celebrated a day of memories at the historic Ten Eyck Boathouse along with 30 student / athletes and 10 coaches or Athletics Department representatives. Each year’s events since 2013 have been different, but the spirit exhibited by all participants year after year is unparalleled.
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This year a real effort was attempted to bring the “Evening” into a weekend full of events and make Syracuse a destination of fun and activity: ♦♦ Friday, after setting up the venue at the Boathouse, some viewed a high quality field hockey game between UVA and SU. Others played a round of golf at the public course on Drumlins Country Club. That evening the 1959 Pan American crew gold medalists, their families and friends dined at Drumlins. ♦♦ Prior to reunion and racing crews, some learned what it feels like to pull an oar using flat bottom boats. Others toured the wonderful history of Rowing at SU as presented in the enclosed porch on the 2nd floor of the Boathouse. Some selected to conduct their own tours around a very different University campus from when they rowed. Group seating blocks allowed those interested to cheer on the SU football team to victory over Western Michigan University.
Thank you again to everyone who were able to return this fall for Evening at Ten Eyck evente. It is exciting to witness the momentum building with the women from the 80’s as they make Evening at Ten Eyck an annual event and take the lead with engaging other classes. Each year reminds us of the legacy these women established at Syracuse and inspires us to provide the best experience for our current student-athletes. – SUWROW Head Coach Luke McGee.
The 2019 Evening at Ten Eyck was another fantastic event and one of our best attended yet. Ken Hutton, Peter Hilgartner, Pam Schrock, the people who showed up to help with set up/ take down, they all contributed to making it all go smoothly. And then to top it all off with the dedication of the ‘William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center’ made it a perfect weekend. – Men’s Crew Head Coach Dave Reischman. The rich Syracuse Rowing tradition, the SU pride and “Feeling of Family” — as Coach Sanford so emotionally spoke about during Sunday’s dedication — is the common bond connecting us all. That bond has led to various anniversary crews and others in making group reservations at lake homes and reconnecting with each other. In many cases, a common refrain was “Why did we wait so long to gather together? Let’s do this again next year with even more participating.” Over the past seven years, the SU spirit and pride displayed during these Evenings at Ten Eyck has made each one special and an event unto its own. Mark your calendar now for September 18–20, 2020 to return to the Ten Eyck Boathouse to reconnect with your family and friends from the Syracuse Rowing Community. – Ken Hutton, 2015 – 2019 EAT Chair.
September 2019 EAT images courtesy of the SU Athletics Department (SUAD). Fall 2019
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September 2019 EAT images courtesy of the SUAD.
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RPC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony images courtesy of the SUAD. 8
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Giving Updates Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund All totaled, more than 265 donors made a gift to add to the Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund between July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019, to raise $100,557! Much of this total was received during the 2019 Men’s Crew 2,000-Hour Annual Giving Campaign on the online GiveCampus platform provided by Syracuse University and the Orange Club. Overall, these resources represent the same annual philanthropic impact as a $2.6M endowment! Thank you to the donors who helped Coach Reischman achieve his annual $100,000 program goal with gifts throughout the 2018-19 season! Women’s Rowing Head Coach’s Fund After a one-year hiatus, the Women’s Rowing 2,000Hour Campaign had a new look for Spring 2019. Rather than a dollar goal, the campaign tracked donor participation towards an overall goal of 50 donors from April – June. In the end, 25 donors, spanning 10 states, made a gift to the Women’s Rowing Head Coach’s Fund via the GiveCampus platform. Thank you to the donors who made this campaign a success!
Boost the ’Cuse 2019 Rowing Programs Finish #1, #2 Held over 44 hours, Boost the ’Cuse was Syracuse University’s third annual Annual Giving Day. The campus-wide campaign goal was 5,000 donors. Gifts to head coach’s funds in the Orange Club were tracked via a live leaderboard. Due to the teamwork of SU’s annual giving office, Coach Reischman and Coach McGee, SARA, and alumni and friends atlarge, the men’s and women’s programs led all teams in donor participation and dollars raised! In the end, 125 donors gifted $18,021 to the Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund while 92 donors gifted $7,088 to the Women’s Rowing Head Coach’s Fund. Digging into the data, it is significant that Men’s Crew donors represented 2% of the overall campus donor count; women’s rowing donors represented 1.5%! Furthermore, Men’s Crew donors represented 20% of the 609 posted donors to Orange Club accounts, while Women’s Rowing donors represented 15%! Overall, the generous and passionate alumni and friends of the Men’s Crew and Women’s Rowing programs had a significant effect on Boost the ’Cuse. Thank you to all those who participated in this condensed campaign! – Adlai Hurt 2004.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the 44 hour #BoostCuse fundraiser. Because of your efforts both Men’s and Women’s Rowing programs finished #1 and #2 among all programs in the athletic department both in terms of number of donors and dollars raised! This is obviously an excellent showing and did not go unnoticed amongst the athletic department administration. Thank you all for your participation and thanks for, once again, showing everyone at Syracuse how passionate you are about our program! – Coach Dave (November 2019 e-mail). 10
The Orange Oar
SARA Men’s Crew Endowment
Women’s Rowing End of Year Giving Appeal
The SARA Mens’ Crew Endowment continues to grow with an overall assets valued at over $585,000. The Endowment, managed by the Central New York Community Foundation (CNYCF), has a yearto-date investment return of 9.6% as of the end of September 2019. It’s a portfolio of domestic and international equities, fixed income securities and private equity investments. Founded in 1927, CNYCF is a 501(c)3 organization and manages assets of over $240 million.
A major part of our student-athlete’s experience is on the race course, and the team’s most immediate need is for a new Varsity 8+ racing shell. A new boat costs $60,000 and has to be paid for through fundraising efforts.
We have received contributions in 2019 of over $12,000. A special thank you to leadership gifts received this year from Bob Braue ’59, Walter MacVittie ’78, Steve Anthony ’80, and Mark Sprague ’68. The SARA Men’s Crew Endowment, founded in June 2010, continues to support the team through funding capital projects (Crew Room refurbishment), equipment (a recent erg purchase) and the assistant coaching staff. There is a separate Board of Directors (Joe Kieffer ’88, Joe Paduda ’80, Tracy Brown ’90, Dan O’Shaughnessy ’06, Jay Greytok ’87, Jim Breuer ’72, and Ken Hutton ’69) that meets regularly to monitor investment performance and work with Coach Reischman on allocating the funds to make our Men’s Crew go fast!
The University provides tremendous support with athlete scholarships and our annual operating budget for day to day expenses, racing and training trips, travel expenses and more. But equipment falls outside of our operating budget and this is where we rely upon the generosity of our Alums, Parents and Friends of Syracuse Women’s Rowing to help keep the women racing in top-of-theline equipment. I encourage all of you to make a gift to the Head Coach’s Fund prior to the end of the year and to please check if you employer offers a matching program to maximize your donation to Syracuse Women’s Rowing. You can go online to https://give.cuse.com/ and click on the top right corner to make your donation today. Go Orange! – SUWROW Head Coach Luke McGee.
Donations are always welcome any time during the year through credit cards, check or investment securities. Donations are accepted on-line at www. cnycf.com/sara or at CNYCF, 431 East Fayette Street Suite 100 Syracuse, 13202. At the end of calendar year 2019, you may want to take advantage of year end-401k rollovers, avoiding capital gains tax while donating to a program that provided a foundation for your success. Talk to your tax advisor, and if you have any questions – please contact Joe Kieffer ’88 at jkieffer@email.com or 267-228-1341.
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SUWROW Coaches “A” Team OO: Coach Luke, describe your vision for your “A” Team of coaches.
OO: What differing / similar skills do you see in each of your Assistant Coaches?
It was a busy summer in the ’Cuse that resulted in the hiring of a new Women’s coaching staff. The vision is to build a hungry and energetic staff. We brought in Sheila Rinozzi as the First Assistant Coach to head up our recruiting efforts.
On top of identifying and communicating with recruits, each coach has individual duties and brings a unique set of qualities to the staff.
Claire Kuehnel was elevated to the Second Assistant Coach position to help the recruiting efforts and to build our communications. And Mackenzi Sherman was hired as our Third Assistant Coach to work with our development group and to lead the program operations. Steve Sawyer remains as our ever-faithful volunteer assistant coach. All of the coaches are committed to making every student-athlete their absolute best, and the new coaches have all come in with a great excitement for recruiting the next generation of athletes to Syracuse University. Their hard work is already paying off and I am excited to be working alongside these great coaches. OO: Can you give some insight into what your coaches do every day? Recruiting is the number one job for all of our coaches. We are all involved on some level, requiring a critical level of collaboration to find and attract the top talent to Syracuse. In order to help stay on top of things, we have three weekly staff meetings that cover logistics, recruiting and athlete wellness. In addition to discussing daily training and line-ups, coaches may have athlete meetings, rules education meetings with our compliance department (to ensure that we are following all of the NCAA regulations) or meetings with our academic advisor to keep tabs on how our athletes are performing in the classroom. Each week is slightly different, but I would estimate that 75% of our time is spent on administrative and other non-coaching duties and 25% of our time is spent coaching athletes. 12
Sheila was previously with Indiana and Louisville before making the move to Syracuse and is in charge of coordinating our recruiting efforts. She determines the recruiting structure and is a very detail oriented individual. She has great experience building winning teams through recruiting and coaching and has already brought a great excitement to her new position and new ideas to our staff. Claire has a great ability to connect with our recruits and their parents in any setting. She plays an instrumental role assisting Sheila in the recruiting while also leading our communications efforts. This is an exciting new role for Claire, and she has been doing a fantastic job based upon all of the positive feedback I have received from our alums and parents about our Instagram account! Mackenzi runs our operations, helping to make all of our racing, training and travel arrangements. She has great competitive experience from her time at Virginia and is always a proponent for more training volume and keeping our training standards high. More important than their individual skill is their ability to work as a team. They have already created an environment where we are all excited to jump in and fill in any gaps as they come up. That may be a phone call with a recruit, showing a family around campus or running out to the Boathouse to get boats rigged up for practice. – SUWROW Head Coach Luke McGee.
The Orange Oar
^ Coach Mack > Coach Claire
^ Coach Sydney, image courtesy of the SUAD.
Four coaches’ images courtesy of Skyler Rivera.
^ Coach Sheila
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^ Coach Luke
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SUWROW Asst. Coach Claire Note: OO Editor Duffy caught up with Coach Claire via e-mail. OO: Your path to Syracuse … I came to Syracuse after spending three years in the Philadelphia / Princeton area. I broke into collegiate coaching through a graduate assistant position at Temple University where I was working towards my masters degree in Adult Education and Organizational Development. In addition to coaching at Temple, I coached the Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA) / Mercer Women’s U23 program during the summers where athletes from different universities came together to develop their skills in hopes of being selected for the U23 National Team. I took a brief hiatus from coaching and work as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch before fully knowing that I wanted to pursue coaching as my profession. I am so happy to have ended up at Syracuse, I have grown as a coach and a person more than I could have ever imagined in a very short time. OO: What is a normal day like for you? I would say there are not typically normal days in coaching which is what I love about this job. A majority of my office job as a coach is dedicated to recruiting, which is very time consuming. There are days where I spend all of my time doing office work and there are days when I don’t sit down at all and do anything and everything from pulling launches out of the water to winterize them, painting oars, rigging boats to picking up 40 tires (I am not joking). OO: Describe the Women’s fall training program. Our fall training program is dedicated to helping our freshman transition into collegiate rowing and creating a positive and competitive team environment through weekly head racing. We spend time in smaller boat classes rowing a lot of meters to expand our aerobic base for the spring. We have been focused on learning how to push your limit as an individual and as a boat. We’ve worked a lot on being better competitors and maxing out your efforts on every stroke to be able to expand the amount of hard strokes we can take. 14
OO: What is a normal day like for you? I would say there are not typically normal days in coaching which is what I love about this job. A majority of my office job as a coach is dedicated to recruiting, which is very time consuming. There are days where I spend all of my time doing office work and there are days when I don’t sit down at all and do anything and everything from pulling launches out of the water to winterize them, painting oars, rigging boats to picking up 40 tires (I am not joking). OO: Describe the Women’s fall training program. Our fall training program is dedicated to helping our freshman transition into collegiate rowing and creating a positive and competitive team environment through weekly head racing. We spend time in smaller boat classes rowing a lot of meters to expand our aerobic base for the spring. We have been focused on learning how to push your limit as an individual and as a boat. We’ve worked a lot on being better competitors and maxing out your efforts on every stroke to be able to expand the amount of hard strokes we can take. OO: How did recruiting go this year? Recruiting has been going extremely well. Although it has been stressful and we have had a number of ups and downs (which happens every year) our hard work and diligent efforts have really paid off. As of right now we have the best recruiting class to ever walk through the doors at Syracuse and I truly feel that with the addition of these athletes our program can reach new heights and achieve things that have never been done before. Coach Luke, Coach Sheila and Coach Mack are some of the most hard working people I know and always go above and beyond to try to get the best athletes in the door here at Syracuse.
The Orange Oar
OO: Tell us about this year’s recruits.
OO: How about your coxswains?
This year our freshman have been a great addition to the team. The class of 2023 is a large class which gives them the opportunity to have a larger impact on the team as a whole right away. They are dedicated, hard working and talented young women who will continue to grow throughout their four years here and leave a legacy on our program.
Our coxswains are quite the fantastic bunch. They look out for one another and support each other to grow and improve even when they are competing for seats in boats. I am really proud of all of them because they have stepped up in so many ways. We have an upperclassmen coxswain who has really stepped up as a leader. We have two walk-on coxswains who spent the summer and fall showcasing their quick learning abilities and dedication to the team. And we have three freshman coxswains who are invaluable and will be making an impact for years to come.
OO: Talk about the returning athletes. Our returners are outstanding human beings. I am always impressed by their maturity and self accountability. They push one another to be better everyday and they have a lot of fun while doing it. I feel that the team is continuing to shift their efforts to achieve SUWROW’s goal of winning the ACC Championship this year – something that has never been done before.
OO: Academic achievements? Our overall team GPA continues to fight for first or second out of all women’s sports in the athletic department which I think is a huge accomplishment and always deserves to be celebrated especially since we have such a large team. – SUWROW Assistant Coach Claire Kuehnel.
Open Mic: I love being a part of the Syracuse community. The amount of passion and love that the alums and student have for this place is something I really appreciate and enjoy getting to be a part of! – SUWROW Asst. Coach Claire Kuehnel.
SUWROW on the Canal, stroke to bow: Rachel Pierce (2021), Izzie Begley (2023) Olivia Schaertl (2023), Kate Ryan (2022), Lauren Witek (2021), Kate Aemisegger (2020), Lily Moffly (2021), Heather Stafford (2023). Image courtesy of Skyler Rivera. Fall 2019
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Quantum Entanglement OO: Coach Sydney, describe your path to Syracuse for SARA folks? I actually attended UNH for my undergraduate education, where I walked-on to their club rowing team my freshman year. The summer between my junior and senior year, I trained with the Craftsbury U23 Sculling Team. There I was introduced to Justin Moore, then the SU Women’s Rowing Coach. Rowing for a D1 program (or competing as a D1 athlete in general) was a dream of mine from a very young age, so as soon as I found out I had eligibility to row at Syracuse while obtaining my master’s degree, I was basically already enrolled. OO: What is it about rowing that gets your adrenalin running? I had no idea what rowing was until I got to UNH, and was hooked the second I held an oar in my hands. I feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to pick up rowing so late in life. My favorite part of rowing, that brings me back day after day, is the opportunity to push myself, and achieve things that I never thought possible. Breaking limits is empowering. Plus, the teamwork and connections formed within the sport of rowing are unforgettable. If I had to describe it, I would equate it to “Quantum Entanglement,” where words are not necessary for communication, but you can simply feel your teammates’ energy. That is what I consider adrenalin!
sustainability and green energy, involving myself in company that is designing and promoting renewable energy sources. I have always been math and science oriented, and getting the opportunity to be involved in a STEM field, and inspire other women to do the same, has been incredibly motivational. OO: Why Syracuse? I loved Syracuse from the moment I got here, so I definitely never thought about leaving after my eligibility ran out! That being said, I feel incredibly lucky to continue to be involved in the team and help out where I can while I finish my master’s. With goals to pursue rowing post-collegiately, I am also incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to occasionally train alongside the SU Women in such a competitive and fun environment. Not to mention, I have already acquired so much knowledge from being a part of such an incredible coaching staff! OO: How do you help the women build their skills? I hope to inspire a passion and fire in young women who are new to rowing, and to successfully share my love for the sport. I am proud to be a college walkon, and hope that current walk-on’s can see where I started, and the small accomplishments I have achieved, and will be inspired to reach for the stars as well. Because honestly, the sky is the limit, no matter when or where you started rowing!
OO: Describe your path towards coaching?
OO: Open Mic?
I never actually thought about coaching seriously until getting to Craftsbury, where I got to teach community scullers how to row. Sharing my passion for rowing brought me so much joy, sparking my continued interest in coaching.
I am thankful for everything at SU! Especially my teammates for pushing me and brining out the best in me, and for the coaches for letting me be a part of their team, while helping me to inspire new athletes. I also benefit from opportunities for the Women’s Rowing Coaches “A” Team to share little pieces of wisdom and support with me when needed!
OO: Any continuing academic pursuits? I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in Mechanical / Aerospace Engineering. I would eventually love to apply this to the field of 16
– SUWROW Asst. Coach, Sydney Michalak, 2019, connected via e-mail with the OO Editor. The Orange Oar
Let’s Get Social...Media
World Championships, Sarasota, Florida September 24 – October 1, 2017
ONE OF SARA’S ON-GOING MEMBERSHIP GOALS IS TO INCREASE THEIR PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. 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!
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SUWROW’s Fall Spirit & Pulse Head of the Housatonic Regatta
Cornell Autumn Classic
After bursting through the start line at the Head of the Housatonic at a stroke rate 41, I called for my crew to settle into a dominant rhythm.
Following a gorgeous Upstate New York Fall, the Syracuse Orangewomen closed out the fall season with a trip down to Ithaca for the Cornell Autumn Classic. The women went down the race course once in even eights (featuring a freshman eight) and another time in stacked fours.
Early in our race week, Coach Luke McGee detailed his plan to eliminate pre-race nerves to maximize our race day potential by practicing exactly how we would race: asserting dominance and going hard every stroke. Our focus during practice through the week prior to the Housatonic was learning how to assert sustainable dominance in practice, identical to how we would row in Connecticut when rowing close to the buoy line and battling rivaling crews. The current energy at the Ten Eyck Boathouse is different from other fall seasons. Last season’s heartbreaking miss for a bid to the NCAA Championships reignited a fire within SUWROW. The Syracuse women returned in August with the ambitious goal of winning the 2020 ACC Championships in order to receive an automatic bid to NCAAs. Our fall season opener, the Head of the Housatonic, was our first chance at making a statement to the college rowing community: Syracuse Women’s Rowing is faster and stronger than before. – Orange Oar Correspondent Skyler Rivera.
The women performed an opening 6k erg test at Ten Eyck the Monday prior to racing, setting the stage for a week of speed. The Orange made a statement at the Head of the Housatonic and sought to gain speed and establish their fall season reign in Ithaca with newfound speed. The Orange burst through the starting line in stacked fours focused on finding efficient acceleration through the drive to gain more speed. Syracuse A, B and C rounded out the top four finishes in the Women’s 4+. Following the first race, the women quickly hydrated and fueled for another quick 3k down the Cayuga Inlet, this time in even eights. This fall season SUWROW strived towards establishing depth, becoming a forced to be reckoned with in each division. From our Novice 8+ to our Varsity 8+, the Orangewomen demonstrated speed, grit, and depth with all boats pulling impressive times within the top 10. This fall season brought tough ergs, long rows, and consistent results to The Women of Ten Eyck. We set goals to succeed and emphasized the importance of every stroke leading us to a fall filled with success. Our spring season kicks off on March 28, 2020 at the Doc Hosea Invitational in Camden, New Jersey. Until then, the Orangewomen will call the William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center our home. – Orange Oar Correspondent Skyler Rivera.
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September 2019 EAT images courtesy of the SUAD.
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Not Too Busy To Reconnect Editor Note: OO Editor Duffy had the opportunity to catch up with Carl Mather, 1986, recently. Our orbits in Colorado, actually, sometimes intersect! Carl had not been back to Ten Eyck since 1987, and returned with his wife Mary to enjoy the festivities at the 2019 EAT. OO: Thoughts since graduation? My scenario is similar to many alumni. After graduation, I got busy with life – career, marriage, kids, etc. Vacations were family affairs. In recent years, what little free time I had away from work was spent visiting my daughters. My youngest graduated this past June and this (attendance at the 2019 EAT) was the first vacation my wife Mary and I have spent together since 1995! OO: Any rekindled memories? The last time I rowed in an eight was at the alumni weekend in 1987. Much is still the same. There’s still that dank smell – the mix of gas fumes and swampy water. Tim McDermott (1987) coxed my last collegiate race and his voice over the cox box coxing the “Old Coot Crew” brought back memories. OO: Any 33-year perspective reflections? Through rowing I got the opportunity to visit some very diverse, and memorable, places: Tampa, Oak Ridge, Boston, Ithaca, Hanover, Annapolis, and Henley on Thames. When my eyes weren’t “In the boat,” I got to see these places from a perspective not many people experience. More importantly, I had the privilege of training really hard with some exceptional athletes.
OO: What was it like to get back on the water? It was a once in a lifetime treat to row in the seven seat behind an Olympic Silver Medalist. Thank you, Tracy Brown, for stroking the “Old Coot Crew.” We were no match for the recent grads we lined up against and fortunately they were far enough ahead that the spectators weren’t distracted as we rowed by the docks like heroes. OO: How did Mary participate? Since my wife, Mary, and I met 30 years ago, she has endured the embellished tails of my rowing feats. Mary was happy to experience rowing firsthand and she gamely rowed one of Jerry Henwood’s (1980) flat bottom boats. The oarswomen of my era warmly welcomed Mary and plans were made to meet again next year. OO: Open Mic? A lot of water has flowed past the Boathouse since I graduated in 1986. I stayed away too long. My selective memory is still good and attending the Evening At Ten Eyck made it easy for me to drift back into the glory days. I thanked Coach Laszlo for teaching me how to row. Coach Sanford gave me a framework for training that I have followed to this day. I’ve done some interesting things athletically, but the activity that I am most proud of is that I had the honor of pulling an oar for Syracuse University. – Carl Mather, 1986.
OO: Reconnecting with teammates? It was surprising how easily it was to reconnect with the guys I rowed with 33+ years ago. Conversations – mostly about what our kids were doing – seemed to pick up where we left off back in the 80s. We shared some intense moments a long time ago. Dave Priest with a “Try Sculling” shell at Ten Eyck. 20
The Orange Oar
I enjoy seeing the guys I coached years ago. I think it’s unique for me and my former athletes due to the age factor. It was 40 years ago and it’s great to see these guys as adults with families and careers. At this year’s EAT, I had great conversations with Carl Mather, 1986, he was one of the guys who helped create the Dave Godfrey award after Dave passed. It was rewarding to know that the Godfrey Award has stood the test of time and still passes on Dave’s spirit. – Assistant Men’s Coach Larry Laszlo.
Please go to the SARA YouTube Channel to view the “2019 Old Coot Crew @ 2019 EAT” video! It is listed as #150. Members of the “Old Coot Crew” at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. (L-R) Beth Gummere, 1989; Gayle Alden Robins, 1990; Carl Mather, 1986; Karen Harr, 1987 and Dave Walker, 1985. Fall 2019
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Hard Work & Friendships OO: SARA Hall of Famer Bill Bater, please tell SARA folks about your scholastic rowing career. I was fortunate to have good coaching in high school which resulted in winning the scholastic national championships in the JV4 my novice year. The next fall that same boat rowed for Vesper Boat Club in Philly. That coach became our high school coach my junior year and in the fall of my senior year I raced in my first Head of the Charles Regatta as a combo boat of Vesper and St. Joseph’s College. We were a small program so my senior year we raced a varsity four at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta which was our qualifier for nationals; we had to finish in the top two. We had a good race but were outpaced by a Liverpool HS crew coached by Larry Laszlo. I believe Bill Purdy was in the boat which knocked us out of qualifying for nationals. My freshman year in college I attended and rowed at FIT in Florida. At the Dad Vails I raced in the Freshman 4 where we won the gold medal. Again I was fortunate to be coached by a good coach. As to other rowers in the family, my brother rowed in high school. My father rowed for Pennsylvania and I had several cousins who rowed for Atlantic City High School in New Jersey. I have two nephews that rowed or are rowing for Haverford High School, so it appears that rowing runs in my family. OO: What was it about SU Crew that attracted you? To be honest, I had no knowledge of Syracuse Crew other than that SU had a team. When I looked to transfer, I chose schools that offered a degree in geology and had rowing, but that was about as much research as I did. One drawing point to SU was that my sister was already there so I figured it would make my transition a little easier.
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The Orange Oar
OO: Lightweight vs. Heavyweight? The thing of heavyweight vs. lightweight never entered my mind. I felt I was a good enough rower to hold my own and I would just row and see what happened. I do remember my first few days at SU walking around when they were recruiting for the team and Rick Trembly was at the table and I stopped by. I said I was interesting in rowing and that I had rowed in high school and Rick said, “Well, you are kind of short,” which was true standing next to him. Then I explained my scholastic accomplishments to him and that seemed to change things. OO: Talk a little about that one key conversation with Coach Bill in 1979, where you had to seat race to get a seat. The one point in time that comes to mind was my senior year when we getting ready to send two boats to San Diego for the Crew Classic, the V8 was set and there was one port seat open for the JV8. Coach took the three of us who were in contention and explained what each would need to do to make it. When he got to me he simply said, “You just have to prove yourself.” That was not exactly what I was expecting to hear, and it frustrated me. It also made me realize, if I really want this to happen I just have to keep working hard, and to prove myself.
OO: How did rowing at SU influence your international rowing career? Rowing at SU gave me the determination, confidence and work ethic that allowed me to compete successfully internationally. I think the confidence aspect is probably the greatest thing I took away from rowing at SU. I think just dealing with all the hard workouts and at times the less than comfortable weather makes one tough in ways that can’t be coached or taught. Mental toughness would be a good phrase. OO: What 1 or 2 things were really special about your time at Syracuse? All of the friends I made over the four years whom I have been able to stay in contact with through rowing (Bill Purdy, Tom Darling, Tom Evancie, Walt MacVittie, Bob Donabella, Dan Hanavan, etc.). Having the IRAs on the west coast and attending the EAT are great for reuniting. And getting to represent SU as an athlete, since not many people get to do that, was special. – SU Rowing Hall of Famer Bill Bater, 1981.
So I made the trip as the spare but do to an illness I ended up stroking the JV8. Once back at SU, I worked my way into the JV8 at the stroke seat. OO: Has having to “prove yourself” been a lifelong burden to you, or a habit? For me it has become a habit. Life is all about challenges and proving yourself whether in sports or professionally. You usually don’t achieve success of any type without working hard. Work ethics are very important and the earlier in life you develop a good work ethic the better prepared you will be. This is something my wife and I tried to instill in our children and in the athletes we coached in high school.
Fall 2019
Bill Bater, with friends Bill Purdy and Dan Hanavan. Photos courtesy of Bill Bater.
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Definitely Decided on Rowing Editor Note: Orange Oar Editor Duffy made the acquaintance of Laurence Joss, 2022 (a sophomore from Great Britain) at the 2019 Evening at Ten Eyck and we connected via e-mail. OO: Tell SARA folks about the genesis of your rowing activities back home. I’ve always been into lots of different sports from a very young age. I swam at a national level, I played with Chelsea Football Club Juniors, I competed at a regional level in cross country and I played tennis competitively. My older brother led the way and tried out rowing as another sport and liked it so much that he stopped all his other sports and focused on rowing, so I decided to give it a go and followed suit! I started in September 2013 and since then I have won four national competitions, I have competed the past three years at Henley Royal Regatta and I have had the privilege to race for GB Juniors in the last two years before coming to SU. OO: How did you find your path to SU? While I was rowing for GB a number of US Universities were in contact with me and after several Skype calls and a visit to Washington University, I had decided to go to Oxford Brookes in England which is a very good, strong and competitive university. Then by chance Coach Jason Elefant started to message me through social media. He had been monitoring my progress with GB and expressed an interest in me joining SU. Jason was in the UK so I was able to meet him and discuss life at Syracuse and I was really impressed. I knew coming to the USA would be life changing and after discussions with my family, the GB coaches and my club coaches we all agreed that SU could offer so much. It all happened very quickly, as I met Jason in July, I was in Prague for August at the World Championships and then I started SU a couple of weeks later! OO: Academic major? With registration and on-boarding happening so quickly, my academic advisors worked with me 24
and concentrated on registering me with a broad selection of subjects that they thought I would like to complete. I am still currently undecided, but I am keen in sports management and philosophy as majors and possibly history or math as minors. OO: Is SU a good fit for you? I honestly believe SU is a great fit for me and I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming to me. Some students do complain about the snow, but I really enjoy the snow & it is definitely better than the sludge London experiences! One thing that I am enjoying right now is the fact that I am living on South Campus and I am becoming more independent as I now cook for myself which I’m really enjoying. OO: Compare intercollegiate rowing and your scholastic endeavors? The number of sessions per week has not changed – which initially surprised me – but looking at the NCAA rules, it makes sense! The biggest change for me was, firstly the amount of water session we do, when we can, and then secondly it is very seasonal here, so we have to adapt our training accordingly. I used to do two ergo sessions a week but now we have 10 weeks of intense ergo training where it is all we can do. This surprised me and I was not used to it! During my first winter, because it was so new and intense, I had some minor injuries. The Orange Oar
OO: How do you remedy the long miles away from your home?
OO: What would you tell prospective international athletes?
I go home twice a year – during the summer and at Christmas time. My family has not visited yet, but they plan on visiting next September! I keep in regular touch with my family through social media, enabling me to stay updated with what is going on at home and ensuring they know what is going on in Syracuse. We have FaceTimed about once a month although my Mum wishes they were more often! I’m very busy over here and focused on my academics and rowing which means that there Is not a lot of time to miss home!
I would highly recommend Syracuse for future prospective international as it offers a supportive educational system where you can choose a broad range of subjects and fantastic rowing facilities. I am really enjoying school and my rowing has improved too. It’s a fantastic experience and I can’t recommend it enough. – Men’s Crew Oar Laurence Joss, 2022.
^ Laurence (stroke) and his fellow oars took 3rd in the Head of the Housatonic Regatta in Shelton, Conn., their first 2019 fall race.
^ Laurence is 2nd from the right in the back row. > On Onondaga Lake, Laurence is stroke (also image on previous page). Images courtesy of Laurence Joss. Fall 2019
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Men’s Asst. Coach Jason Q&A OO: Coach Jason, please describe the Men’s 2019 fall training program. Our fall training has been going well so far. We’ve broken down most training weeks into two halves. In the first half of the week, our top athletes have been spending time in small boats – pairs and fours – while the second half of the week has been more of the traditional mixed eights work in the big boats. Every Wednesday, both our men’s and women’s teams have been running a Boathouse-wide time trial, 2x4000m on the River at open cadence in the pairs, fours, and eights. It’s been really useful to see how different combinations in the small boats have played out over the race course, and the results help inform our lineups for the eights that are racing this fall. On top of the water work, we’ve been putting in a few indoor sessions on campus throughout the week, mainly to get some additional erg or RP3 volume while also touching on some weight lifting and strength exercises. OO: And the focus has been on ... A focus in the fall season has been keeping the drive phase horizontal and to develop good rhythm and flow between strokes. The work in small boats, particularly in the pairs, is quite useful for getting guys to flatten out their stroke and keep the work in the legs and hips, rather than up in the shoulders. Rhythm is always a big thing we work on, and teaching the correct sequence from finish to catch is a huge part of getting length on the water. And, as always, we put a big emphasis on rowing with the correct intensity during workouts. Length + power = boat speed!
OO: Tell SARA folks about this year’s recruits. The incoming group this year has been very promising thus far. As with most of our recruiting classes, we have a nice mix of present talent and future potential. A few of the group are already very experienced oarsmen with U23 medals, Junior Worlds appearances, and national championships, while others have some serious upside that we think can develop after a couple years in the program. 26
As a rule, all of the guys we recruit are what we call OKG’s: Our Kind of Guys. It means that they’re the type of person who makes a good teammate, is motivated academically, and of course, is very serious about their success in rowing. We don’t compromise on these values, no matter how talented a prospect might be. Good people make good Orangemen. OO: How did recruiting go this year? Recruiting went fairly well this year, and I’m excited about the group we were able to assemble in the freshman and transfer classes. Three straight years of Top-10 finishes at the IRA have started to boost our recruiting profile so I’m glad we’re getting a higher quality of athlete to consider Syracuse. I’m a pretty harsh critic of myself, though, so I feel like there’s still another gear to be reached in our recruiting strategy and effectiveness. We lost out on a couple key guys this cycle, many of whom ended up at some of our closest competitors (Dartmouth, BU, and Cornell come to mind). That’s the way recruiting goes sometimes – you can’t win ’em all – but the competitor in me still gets fired up and motivated to be even better the next round. OO: Future recruiting plans? Two big keys to recruiting, I think, are building the personal relationships with prospects, families, and high school coaches, and telling an effective story about the University and the program. Personal relationships are really important nowadays as recruits have so many options in front of them – high school students want to know that the coaches they’ll row for are good people and invested in their success, and parents want to know that the people they’re entrusting their children’s collegiate career to are genuine. Effective storytelling is the backbone of any program: people want to know the “why” before they care about the “what.” Why should I consider Syracuse? Why do you think I’d be a good fit for the team? Why is your way of doing things advantageous to me as a student? As I enter my third year at Syracuse I feel that I am getting better at answering those types of questions.
The Orange Oar
OO: Talk about the returning athletes. Our captains report that the team stayed in shape over the summer months, and that was made evident on the first few workouts of the year (including everyone’s favorite, the beloved Duathlon: 7500m erg, 4-mile run, 7500m erg). I think the returners, especially those who raced the IRA Championships last June, had a better understanding of the level needed and the competitiveness required to be successful on the national stage. We have a very large squad this year, to the tune of six eights, so earning a seat in an IRA crew is going to be a battle this coming spring. I’m eager to see who rises to the challenge. OO: Any Men’s Crew oar’s academic or community achievements?
OO: Okay, let’s hear it, then. At Syracuse, you have the chance to make a lasting mark on one of the most storied and successful programs in history, all while studying what you want at one of the most outstanding educational institutions in our nation. The community, energy, and excitement that comes with our campus is what makes rowing at Syracuse one of the most exciting programs in the country! That’s my elevator pitch, at least! OO: Any recruiting initiatives on the horizon? I’m always looking to strengthen existing ties with high school programs that we pull from, as well as open some new frontiers including those on different continents. Domestically, we always need to own New York State. If a kid goes sub-6:30 in the state of New York, I need to know about him, and he needs to get up to campus. In general, the Mid-Atlantic Region is growing stronger and stronger, breaking the notion that fast teams are only found on the West Coast or in Florida. Outside of the U.S., some areas that we are looking to get “boots on the ground” this coming winter are South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. These regions have some impressive programs and I’m looking forward to meeting with coaches and athletes out there who share our vision for Syracuse. The recruiting pool is truly global nowadays and you have to be thorough in your search. Fall 2019
I’m always proud of what our guys do on the racecourse, but there’s plenty of impressive achievements going on in other aspects of our team’s lives. We had ten student-athletes on the IRA AllAcademic Team, awarded to athletes who compete at the National Championship with a 3.35 GPA or higher. We’ve also got a number of athletes involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) on campus, and senior Pieter Kerpestein ’20 was elected president of that group last spring. I think that in general our team does a great job of representing Syracuse Rowing when they’re out in the community. The term “spread the sunshine” gets used quite a lot with our team, and it’s a goal of ours to make sure that everyone we interact with has a slightly better day because of a Syracuse rower. Winning boat races and getting good GPAs are goals, but being a good person is paramount.
Coach Jason has done an outstanding job of handling our recruiting efforts—both domestic and international. We are looking for the best athletes we can get that measure up to our standard of wanting to pursue academic and athletic excellence. It is no easy task in today’s recruiting environment but Jason has been traveling the globe and getting our name out there. – Men’s Crew Head Coach Dave Reischman. 27
Men’s Asst. Coach Steve Q&A Note: OO Editor Duffy caught up with Men’s Crew Assistant Coach Steve Hoskins via e-mail. OO: Describe your path to rowing at SU? I first arrived on campus in the fall of 2011, having all intentions of walking-on to the soccer team. I played soccer since I was five years old, I also swam and ran track through High School. I talked to the Syracuse soccer coaches during my senior year and had tryouts planned for the winter. During the first week of school, all freshman boys got an e-mail about walking on to the men’s rowing team, and a guy across the hall asked me to come to the informational meeting with him. I went, and being a competitive person, saw the Olympian and IRA National Championship banners on the wall in Archbold, and saw an opportunity to further my competitive and athletic passions with rowing. I spent that fall learning how to row and ended up being invited to join the Freshman team at the end of the fall semester. Four years of rowing and thousands of meters later, I was hooked. I graduated in 2015, and moved to Washington, D.C., where I worked as an engineer and coached part-time for three years before getting the opportunity in 2018 to return to Onondaga to work with Dave and Jason.
Most humans like to only do “just enough” when they are capable of so much more, and I feel it is a coach’s job to help get them to realize what they actually can do. OO: How do you hope to connect with the athletes? I hope that I connect with the athletes through my passion. I’m a pretty passionate person: passionate about rowing and about life in general. I try to bring that energy every day to practice, the office and my daily life. I hope that my energy and passion is contagious with the oarsmen; that through my energy they see that I genuinely want each of them and the team to excel. I find when people are genuinely interested in your success, and the team, then it’s easy to connect with them. I also think being not too far removed from their shoes helps a little. I still remember a lot of what’s on the minds of 18-22-year olds in college.
OO: Tell SARA folks about your coaching style. When I think of how I coach, the phrase, “tough love” comes to mind. What I mean by that is that I have very high expectations and standards for the athletes I work with. I think most current and former athletes I’ve coached would attest to that. I push them to stay disciplined mentally, technically, and physically. If they try to cut corners, check out mentally, or don’t put forth the appropriate effort, then I make them aware of the standard. That accountability comes from me caring about each athlete personally and wanting them to succeed, much like a parent is tough on their children because they care about them. I feel it is not as much what they achieve if they hold themselves to those standards, but the journey they go through when one holds themselves accountable to them, and pushes themselves daily to reach, and hopefully exceed their perceived potential. 28
The Orange Oar
OO: What has been your emphasis this fall?
OO: What successes are you starting to see?
I have been working with our lower boats this fall, particularly freshmen and sophomores. With more freshman coming in with prior rowing experience than ever before, we tend to spend time in the fall “reintroducing” some of the fundamentals. Not everyone was taught to row the same way. My emphasis is about getting everyone to row in a similar and efficient way. Every year we’re intrigued with the many different “styles” that are taught, which don’t always align with what we coach at Syracuse. So, I’ve worked on how to sit on the seat the right way, getting the bodies into a strong position, how to move the bodies together, etc. From there we move to learning to introduce the proper level of intensity needed to get boats up and moving and then to understanding the intensity needed to make fast boats in our league. When you think of the thousands and millions of strokes you take, and if they’re not at the proper intensity, then you’re missing out on opportunities to get faster. The fall season is a lot of teaching the young guys about that so that come racing season in the spring it’s second nature.
I think the Syracuse “brand” is more widespread and recognized across the world more than it used to be. Some of that is a result of our recent on the water results, but also from racing internationally (e.g.: at Henley Royal Regatta) and from our international recruiting efforts spearheaded by Coach Jason Elefant. Every time we travel, the Orange and Block S travel with us. People know who we are, they follow us on social media and see what our program is about before stepping foot on campus. I feel that that has helped us attract the type of individual we are looking for, more than we were a few years ago. It has gotten people excited about being a part of this program. We’ve seen that translate to first years showing up with an energy and desire to give their all for Syracuse, and that creates a good, healthy, competitive environment that is needed to make the program faster. – Men’s Assistant Crew Coach Steve Hoskins via e-mail.
The fall has been very productive for us. There has been a lot of learning going on as we try to introduce some very talented newcomers to how we do things here at Syracuse. They have been up to the challenge. Our team leadership has done an excellent job of establishing a team culture that brings a lot of positive energy to the training sessions. – Men’s Crew Head Coach Dave Reischman. September 2019 EAT Images courtesy of the SUAD.
Fall 2019
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The Rowing Sanfords As the perfect cap to this year’s amazing Evening at Ten Eyck weekend, SARA celebrated the dedication of the beautiful “William E. Sanford & Family Rowing Performance Center” (formerly the less than beautiful Archbold Crew Room). Among the most touching moments of the weekend was Coach Bill’s revelation that he insisted on including “& Family” in the Rowing Center’s name.
Scott Sanford (Bill’s brother): Founder of Hyde Park Rowing Association (Junior 8 National Championship); Coach at FDR High; Founded and Coached at Vassar Rowing Club; Director of Rowing at Marist College (2002 NY Small Colleges Coach of the Year). In 2003, the New York State Small Colleges Championships renamed the points trophy the “Sanford Family Cup” and the Men’s Varsity race the “Scott Sanford Cup.”
Coach explained that while this of course meant his blood relatives, it extended to his larger family – we former and current oarsmen and women, coaches, and supporters from through the years. How nice that we are all tied together in this way! This month’s tidbit will focus on those of Sanford blood – a recap of just how wide the Sanford name and influence reaches. So here they are, the Rowing Sanfords: Bill Sanford: He began his undergraduate career as a Syracuse Basketball player and ended it as captain of the Men’s Crew. Bill’s Hall of Fame plaque reads: “Bill Sanford defines an era that stretches nearly half a century in the history of Syracuse University Crew. A Syracuse man in every way – a native son who walked on to the squad as a freshman, rose to lead it as a senior, became Freshman Coach, then Varsity Coach for 35 years. His tenure includes the 1978 IRA Championship. More importantly, his instruction, concern and often his personal assistance helped his athletes on their way to successful lives in a myriad of ways. Bill Sanford has three daughters and hundreds of sons.” Bill Sanford was instrumental in the creation of the Syracuse Chargers Rowing program. 30
Paul Sanford (Bill’s brother): Learned to row with the Syracuse Chargers and would later serve as Chargers’ President; he began his Master’s racing career in a pair with brother Bill. Coach and Empire State Games State Chair of Rowing in early ’80s; Liverpool High School Rowing Coach until 1991 (6 National Championships); Freshman Coach at SU from ’91 to ’98, a tenure during which he would unofficially adopt Jason Premo but never financially support him (despite annual inquiries around Christmas card time). The Orange Oar
Kris Sanford (Bill’s daughter): Junior National Team stroke; Stroked Washington to four National Championships as an undergrad; Director of Indianapolis Rowing Center (and hosted National and FISA Regattas); Head Coach of SU Women’s team 1997-2010 (three-time Big East Coach of the Year, five NCAA appearances, three Big East conference championships).
Jennifer Sanford (’93) (Bill’s daughter): Cox for SU Men as an undergrad; Coach for Syracuse Chargers; Former Coach for Liverpool High School (National Champs); Former Novice Women’s Coach for Penn; ’96-’97 National Development Team Coach; Presently the 22-year Head Coach for UConn Women (multiple Dad Vail medals, 2005 points champions). Shawn (Bebko) Sanford (’87) (Bill’s daughter): Cox for SU Men as undergraduate (where she earned an IRA Silver Medal); and she coached for the Syracuse Fall 2019
Tom Sanford (Bill’s nephew, Scott’s son): “Tommy” (as we know him) was cox at Roosevelt High and then at UPenn; Freshman Coach at Georgetown; is presently the Director of Rowing and Women’s Coach at Marist College (MAAC Champions, Automatic Qualifiers at NCAA’s in 2013 and 2019, Women’s MAAC Coach of the Year).
But many of us feel his most memorable role was as a graduate assistant for the SU Men’s Crew program in the late ’90s, where he served as the Dome stairs pace rabbit, motivational speaker, and “Its Raining Men” song enthusiast (ask Premo for the story). Jody Sanford Sweeney (Bill’s niece, Scott’s daughter): Four-year rower at Cornell University. Christopher Sanford (’97) (Bill’s nephew, Paul’s son): Sculler at Bishop Ludden (5th at Nationals); Rowed for South Kent Prep School; Rowed 2 years for Syracuse University. – Jason Premo, SARA Historian, Monthly Tidbit October 2019. September 2019 EAT images courtesy of the SUAD. 31
YouTube Channel Updates OO: Hi Paul, I wonder if you can provide a highlight update on SARA’s YouTube Channel. What is new for SARA folks to view? The 2019 Packard Cup that was televised live by ESPN is on the channel in its entirety. It is fabulous coverage and a great addition to our collection. OO: I wonder also, if you can provide a summary of the sources, credits, etc., for the movies you have produced. PD: About three years ago Coach Dave Reischman mentioned that he had discovered some plastic tubs in the Boathouse attic that were full of old films. After getting his permission to borrow them I began searching for projectors that actually worked. I found a Dual 8mm / Super 8mm projector on eBay and my brother loaned me a 16mm projector that his father-in-law used during his career producing U.S. Army training films. I was now in business and began to view and catalog over 100 films from the attic collection. Some of the films were in cans, some in boxes. Some had dates and descriptions while others gave no information at all. A Syracuse photo lab quoted over $23,000 to digitize the original discovery. The Syracuse University Archives department would digitize them for free but the wait could be many years as their backlog was huge. Finally, I decided to convert the films to a digital format in my basement with my projectors, a white screen and an HD Flip Video Camera. You don’t have to look closely to see they are amateurish. But from there I transferred them to my desktop computer and uploaded them to YouTube. Later I got a photo lab in Liverpool to digitize two films: 1. The 1978 IRA Championship Celebration (shown at the EAT in 2018), and 2. The 1959 Pan Am Championship Celebration (shown at the EAT in 2019).
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Both the 1978 and 1959 videos came from much longer footage, much of which was blurry, dark and unusable. I edited them down to 6 or 7 minutes each in length. Unusable for example was the ’59 team and entourage getting ready to board the airplane to Chicago. That segment was too dark and blurry, but you may still view that and all the original footage in the SU Alumni Rowing Archives. It was a joy to put those two films together. The music was especially fun with all the edits, fade-ins and outs, etc. The cheering crowd was added for effect as were the final bars of the U.S. National Anthem. One of the ’59 guys told me there wasn’t much of a cheering crowd watching the races that day in Chicago and someone may have played the anthem on a record player. In any case I’ve watched the ’59 Pan Am video at least five times since the EAT dinner and get goose bumps each and every time. Call for More Image & Video Donations From the original 110 films the channel has grown to almost 150 items. Many newer additions have come from alums, coaches, live YouTube presentations of the IRA and Royal Henley, and ’Cuse TV. Hopefully, we can fill in some missing years (Men – the 1980’s, Women – the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s) where no film exists locally but may exist in student-athlete’s homes or parent’s homes. Link & E-Mail Contact Information On YouTube.com, type in “SU Alumni Rowing Archives” and browse what is available. I can be reached at pdudzick@gmail.com if you have any new resources to add to the channel. – Paul Dudzick, 1967, via e-mail.
The Orange Oar
There are still some large gaps in SARA’s archives where no media has been uncovered. So when you clean out your attic, do not dispose of your old images or films! Please contact Paul Dudzick to makre sure your media are properly archived!
Fall 2019
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Backsplash News Mike Fegley, 1997
Stanley Lieberman, 1955
“My son Thomas Fegley recently committed to play lacrosse at Providence College. My wife Sheri and I live in Bethlehem, Penn., with our 3 children: Tom 17, Alexa 15, and Victoria 13. I have been the president of Vista Fuels for the past 20 years.”
From Del Mar, California: “I graduated from Syracuse with a degree in physics. I went on to graduate school at the University of Michigan and graduated in 1958 with a degree in mathematics. I was in graduate school when Sputnik was launched and immediately decided that aerospace engineering was going to be my career. I worked on such programs as Skylab and the Hubble Telescope. “After retiring, I decided after one week to start my own company focused on website development and digital marketing for small businesses. I have been at it for over 20 years now.
Howard Sashin, 1981 “How about a big OARANGE shoutout to Thomas Darling? The three time Olympian, SU Letterman of Distinction and reigning 60+ masters singles champion finished second in the 2019 Masters 60+ Singles Championship.” Gerry Henwood, 1980 “It was great to see everyone as always at the EAT and at the Sanford “Family” Crew Room Dedication. The Saturday afternoon “Try Sculling” activity was a fun event. Sweep rowers tried sculling for the first time, and non-rowers tried it. I took a row with Steve Anthony, my old teammate and roommate up to the John Glenn Bridge, the first time we ever sculled together. As you get older you appreciate more so being able to share the water with an old friend. It was great to get alumni and family on the water.”
“I have seen pictures of the new crew training facility. I am attaching an ancient picture from the old training facility. It is, in fact, the only picture I have of my days on the Syracuse Men’s Crew.
Julie Theresa Bengis, 2016, Co-Captain From Manhattan, NY: “This summer I competed at Ironman Lake Placid with a finish time of 15:05:27. This was my second-ever Triathlon having completed Ironman 70.3 Connecticut earlier in June (6:03:39). I was most proud of this accomplishment in exceeding my goal of having one donor for every mile of the race - $10,195 raised by 143 donors in support of Smile Train. Gatorade Endurance did a feature on my journey.” Clink on this link for Julie’s story: https://www. gatorade.com/myfuelmyjourney/athletestories/ athlete/julie ***** Editor’s Note: Sometimes Backsplash News items are edited for clarity, space, punctuation, etc. 34
“That is me in the five seat. I believe #4 may be Oliver Richards, but I am not sure. I am sure that #6 is Henry Einhorn. I am sorry but cannot correlate the names from the 1953 list with the other oarsmen. I would just be guessing. If you find out the names of the other oarsmen, I sure would appreciate knowing who I was rowing with. Maybe some of them are still around and I can try to contact them.”
The Orange Oar
Angus Jackson, 2014
Zoe Preston, 2019
“While in Europe, I found out I was accepted into the Melbourne University Juris Doctor which commences in February 2020. I returned home to Melbourne with Hattie on her last break before the Olympics next year, as she will be training and trialing until June 2020. Since her departure, I have been working as a receptionist at the global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
“Since graduation, I have learned that our campus in Upstate New York is truly global. I was fortunate enough to spend the last days of my student visa attending my classmate’s graduation parties, and saying goodbye to my friends and their families.
“I have also been spending lots of time with my Syracuse teammates from Melbourne. These post graduation experiences have proved one thing: Syracuse was not only the adventure of a lifetime, it gave me friends for life.”
From Lubbock, Texas: “In the new year my startup Trulacta will be launching its first product that uses Human Milk Ogliosacchrides to treat the symptoms of IBS and Crohn’s Disease.”
“I then went to the Pacific Northwest with my roommate where we enjoyed the American Summer, hiking and swimming. I departed America for Europe where one of the highlights was visiting Hattie Taylor (2017) and watching her and the Syracuse men’s four compete at Henley. “After traveling around Europe and visiting current and former teammates at their homes I realized just how many friends Syracuse has given me. This was proven when on my first day in Italy I ran into four of the current Syracuse oarsmen in the Vittorio Emanuel Gallery in Milan, purely by chance.
With my teammates Rebecca Spraggins & Josie Kiesel and Josie’s dog Sky. We are at Josie’s home in Würzburg, Germany. – Zoe Fall 2019
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Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association, Inc. P.O. Box 7202 Syracuse, NY, 13261 Return Service Requested
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September 2019 EAT image courtesy of the Syracuse University Athletics Department. The Orange Oar