News Archive from the 2008 - 2009 SeasonCase Crew 2008-2009 Season RecapBelow is the academic year 2008-2009 racing schedule for Case Crew with links to the results and photos for each event. For a write up about each event continue to scroll down.
Rochester's Women Become Varsity with Help of Alumni
Trailer Fundraising Update - We did it!!!June 12, 2009: We've raised enough donations to buy the trailer from Lesley University! We'll post more details as they come in. Thank you to everyone that made a pledge! SARA and Case Crew always have ongoing expenses so you can donate any time. Another way to help is to shop on Amazon using our link.
We are buying a two year old Vespoli 36' Transporter trailer from Lesley University. Details for the Alumni Victorious Campaign and a listing of previous donors. Miranda Cullins invited to USRowing National Team Pre-Elite Camp
Case Women's 4+ Miss Semis by 2.3sec at Vails
The regatta organizers faced significant risk with the weather this year. The typical format for heats on Friday is 6-abreast, 2000m racing with the top few boats advancing to the semi-finals on Saturday morning. A long week of rain leading up to the race resulted in too much water flowing down the Schuylkill River Thursday night and practice was cancelled. Fearing more issues with rain, the organizers shortened the distance to 1500m and used a time trial format -- with the top 18 crews in Case's event advancing. The Case women put in a strong effort and felt they had a fast row. When the results were posted they saw that they beat three other teams that were in their originally scheduled heat -- implying they would have advanced to Saturday racing. However, the 21st overall position in the time trial meant they would not advance to the Saturday semis. UAA rivals from U. Chicago garnered the final qualifying spot posting a time only 2.3 seconds faster.
Comments from coxswain Nina Ma '09 regarding the race: The 4+ really came together and bonded in the last several weeks of practice. Right before we left for Vails, it was noted that we had come to trust each other and believe that each of us were really pushing and giving it our all. The race was incredible and over as soon as it started. (1500 m is really short when you want the experience to last forever. ) We rowed a great race. It was probably this boat's best row and we had a kind of power that we never had before. I could feel the shift in power when I called a ten. The rate went up two beats and it felt like someone had just put an engine in the stern of the boat. It flew and it felt amazing. We were disappointed that we didn't get a chance to race again, but we tried our best and none of us would've changed anything about the row. Even though two of us are graduating this spring, we're hoping this lineup will row together again at Head of the Cuyahoga and the Alumni Regatta next spring. Race results can be found HERE. 2009 Dad Vail Regatta Photo Gallery Three Times a Charm in Charleston for Case Crew
In the women's varsity fours and eights Case had to qualify in order to compete in the grand final. In the eights heat they battled with cross town rival, Cleveland State, all the way down the course but ended up just behind to capture the third and final qualifying position. Finishing less than 2 seconds off Cleveland State was all of the motivation the women needed and put in strong performance in the finals to finish fourth overall and 10 seconds ahead of Cleveland State. The improvement in the eights was such that they were only 2.5 seconds off UAA rivals Carnegie-Mellon for third. Just a couple weeks prior Carnegie-Mellon beat Case at the URA Championships by 26 seconds. The crew then turned and headed up river for the traditional 500m dash. The team gained one spot to finish in third -- this time beating Carnegie-Mellon by 5 seconds. In the Varsity 4+ heat Case finished ahead of Old Dominion and Wittenberg for a place in the final. The crew of Nina Ma (cox), Katie Puttmann (stroke), Margaret Wilkes (3), Jessica Schneider (2), Meg Grady (bow) struggled with the rough water and came back to the dock soaked to the bone after finishing fourth of six. The first three places went to Carnegie-Mellon, Miami and Cleveland State, but the women were able to beat the local team (and varsity program) from the University of Charleston. The Case women took advantage of the SARA small boat fleet and entered the pair and double events. Katie Puttmann (stroke) and Margaret Wilkes (bow) hot seated from the fours into the pair and finished third against three entries from Carnegie-Mellon. In the 1000m open double event, Sarah Rubin (stroke) and Laura Boucher (bow) took on one team from Carnegie-Mellon and were hanging on the entire race and finished just 4 seconds off the pace. The men's frosh/novice event was split into two flights and the entry from Case Crew finished a strong second to Carnegie-Mellon while beating crews from Old Dominion and Duquesne. The line up of Matt Moss (stroke), Nick Beese (3), Dan Seery (2), Adam De Guire (bow) and Matt Goldenberg (cox) are a young dedicated group of guys that will form the nucleus of the men's team for the seasons to come. Full results from this year's race can be found HERE (html). 2009 West Virginia Governor's Cup Photo Gallery Alumni Regatta Results; New Shells Added to Spartan NavyApril 18, 2009: Cleveland reserved the best weather of the spring for the 4th annual spring alumni regatta, and a number of alums showed up to enjoy the fine weather and racing. The students through together a great BBQ after racing. With full stomachs everyone joined to christen some new shells into the Spartan Navy. Before heading home the alumni present held the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for SARA to discuss results from 2008 and plans for the coming year. Then later that evening everyone adjourned to Great Lakes Brewery for some fine brew.
The alumni men weren't present for the coach's and coxswain's meeting, but they thought they heard that the starter's commands were only suggests. The single elimination, bracket-style racing saw the alumni men's 4+ knocked out in the first round even with a healthy couple seat lead off the start. They were then left to contend for third place. The men's pair of Chris Shoemaker and Tom Attenweiler won their two races against the fours to take home the trophy. Tom will be teaming up with freshman Adam De Guire from the 2nd place crew at this year's Dad Vail Regatta and will hopefully contend with the big boys.
After racing concluded, Tom Attenweiler fired up the grill and everyone feasted on some tasty hamburgers. Everyone then helped dedicate five new shells to the Spartan Navy: two eights owned by Case Crew and a pair/double and two singles donated to SARA. The students decided to name their two eights after their two recently departed head coaches -- Chris Sheridan and Tim Marcovy. Photos from the dedications can be found in the photo gallery. The alumni regatta also serves as an opportunity for alumni to learn about SARA during the organization's Annual General Meeting (AGM). At the AGM alumni hear about the last year's results and plans for the coming year. They also elect the board of directors. SARA assets currently stand at about $50,000, which is primarily made up of the four shells we own. Donations for 2008 exceeded $27,000! The next capital campaign priority is a trailer. If you'd like to know more check out the AGM Meeting Minutes. Full results from this year's alumni regatta can be found HERE (html). 2009 Alumni Regatta Photo Gallery Streak Ends for Case Crew at Home Schools RegattaApril 4, 2009: The three year winning streak for Case at the Home Schools Regatta ended this year against tough competition from Cleveland State and John Carroll. The pre-season regatta is hosted by Cleveland Rowing Foundation and consists of side-by-side racing along a 1500m bendy part of the Cuyahoga River. The racing schedule is determined every year by the number of boats each team can muster, and the winners of each dual race are awarded a point. Case ultimately took third place this year. On a day more like winter than spring, racing proved difficult -- temperatures were in the 40's with a fine Cleveland breeze. Case did not win any of the races for points, but won both exhibition events. This year's dominating win for Cleveland State was their first-ever in seven years of the event. As a primarily commuter school their performance hopefully bodes well for the future of that program. Full results from this year's race can be found HERE (html). 2009 Home Schools Photo Gallery Rough Weather, Tough Competition at URAs
The regatta was formulated as a dual race between Case and the University of Chicago, but it quickly blossomed into the de facto University Athletic Association crew championships. The regatta is organized and run by alumni and coaches. While each team from the UAA has attended the race in the past, the 2009 installment was the first time all eight teams showed up. The depth and size of the regatta continues to increase. This year's overall winners were Rochester for the women and Emory for the men. The Case men finished 7th overall in the conference, and the women finished 8th. Full results from this year's race can be found HERE (html). Case Crew Hosting 24-Hour Erg-A-Thon on Campus
2009 Erg-A-Thon Appeal Letter Case Crew Throws the Hammer Down in ClevelandFebruary 22, 2009: The annual Hammer Ergatta was held on John Carroll's campus this year. Case Crew standout Miranda Cullins also set the team's new best-ever time pulling a 7:00.0. Novice strong man, Nicholas Beese, pulled a time that would have won him the open men's event. Case Crew also won all but two of the events they entered. Unfortunately, these stellar personal results did not translate into team success. Cleveland State won their first-ever Hammer Cup this year with Case Crew taking second. This year's loss puts the overall record even at seven wins apiece between Case and JCU with one win for Cleveland State. The archive of past Hammer Cup results can be found HERE (html). Case walked away with 3 individual gold medals and one team gold. Here's a list of the best Case Crew finishers in each event:
The race venue rotates between John Carroll and Case every year, and full results from this year's race can be found HERE (html). An article about the race from Cleveland State's student newspaper, The Cauldron, can be found HERE (pdf). Women and Alumni Tops in Pittsburgh
Women's Team Success in Columbus; End of an Era for Marcovy
Powered by grad student, Miranda Cullins, the women's team finished 1st in the Collegiate Eight and second in the Collegiate Four. The "A" four in the Collegiate event was only beaten by a crew from Robert Morris University who are varsity rowers. Miranda then jumped into a single to win against five other scullers in the Open Single event. The "B" entry in the Collegiate Four finished eighth ahead of Wittenberg University.
Novice racing is always a dubious endeavor in the US, with wide ranges of abilities and experience levels entering the "novice" category. Case Crew always enters their "true" novices that just learned to row less than two months earlier into the Speakmon every year. The system is set up to give novices a taste of how exciting racing can be and to encourage people to stick around for winter training for ultimate inclusion on the varsity team in the spring. Given Case's training philosophy, novice crews rarely contend for medals in Columbus versus other teams that race their novices for a full year. This year's crop of novices struggled to find speed and finished near the end of the pack in all races. However, the novice team is large and dedicated, which has always boded well for the spring championships. Race results can be found HERE. 2008 Speakmon Regatta Photo Gallery Coach Marcovy Bends an Oar in Boston
October 18, 2008: Rowing for WRRA in the Men's Senior-Master Eight [50+], Coach Tim Marcovy took 32nd out of 41 crews at this year's Head of the Charles in Boston. This world class event draws crews from around the world and is one of the most competitive fixtures on the fall regatta calendar. WRRA garnered an entry into the Senior-Master 8+ event and the club's members embarked on a months-long selection process for the priviledge to wear the purple, white and green. Sitting in 6-seat, the Case Crew Head Coach helped power the crew down the course to finish 18% off the winning entry from Team Attager, which usually holds many ex-national teamers and Boston rowing stalwarts.
New Regatta, More Medals in ColumbusOctober 11, 2008: The men an women of Case Crew headed to Columbus for the Fall Classic Regatta hosted by Westerville Rowing Club. The team did not get an entry into this year's Head of the Charles so they headed to this new regatta held on the Hoover Reservoir (as opposed to the Griggs Reservoir where Speakmon is held). The women's team were dominant in the Collegiate Eights and Open Fours garnering gold medals in both. The women's 8 crushed the second place crew from Miami University by nearly a minute. The women's "B" four just missed out on a medal to a new team from the University of Toledo. The men took silver in the Open Four sandwiched between in-state rivals from the University of Toledo and Miami University with all three boats within 8 seconds of each other. This performance by the varsity crews bodes well for the Speakmon season finale. The Speakmon Regatta is traditionally the first opportunity for novices on the team to get their first taste of racing. Due to the format and closeness of the regatta, the team brought a few novices down to see how they got on in eights and fours. Given that they just started rowing a couple weeks ago just finishing is a result. Let's hear it for the novices and hopefully many return for the Speakmon in a couple weeks! Race results can be found HERE. 2008 Columbus Fall Classic Photo Gallery Women Show Speed Before Pittsburgh Head Cancelled
Race results can be found HERE. 2008 Head of the Ohio Photo Gallery Alumni More Generous Than Fast in Cleveland
In the men's open 8 the alumni line up were chased down the course by the Case entry. With Coach Tim Marcovy sitting in 5 seat (only 7 varsity men available for the regatta), the Case line up pushed the alumni all the way from West 3rd Street to the boathouse. The undergrads put on a fine display for the crowds and passed the alumni right in front of the docks and continued on to finish 4th. Both the alumni and undergrad crew finished ahead of Cleveland State.
Spartan Navy +1September 3, 2008: We did it! Thank you to everyone that made the new shell possible. The latest addition to the Spartan Navy is a beautiful, brand new Pocock Hypercarbon box-coxed 4+. Our 2008 goal was to replace the Sweet J, and all donors were honored at the naming ceremony held during Head of the Cuyahoga on September 20, 2008. The lead donation was made by Case Crew founder, Tom Hudak, and his father in honor of their mother and wife. Click Here to view photos from the dedication ceremony! Thanks to everyone for the support.
The shell was purchased as part of the SARA Alumni Victorious Campaign Tom Hudak Tells a Tale of YoreAlumnus Tom Hudak '92 has written an account of the founding of the team. Tom founded Case Crew, still rows in Pittsburgh and is a Board member of SARA. To read his account of starting Case Crew Click Here. Also if you'd like to help Tom and other alums keep the team afloat please consider a donation. Alumni play a crucial role in almost all college rowing programs. Please take a moment and click on the Orange Coast College Alumni Day Video. Obviously, it's a different college but the video production is amazing, and the "underdog" message translates well to Case Crew. (Click on the link and select "Alumni Day Video") |
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| Last modified: September 22, 2009 |