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2007 Men's Season Outlook
Heading into its spring season, the Clark University men’s rowing team looks to build on last season’s success and improve a youthful squad. With six sprint races this season, including five at nearby Lake Quinsigamond, Clark hopes to produce its best results by season’s end. Striving for a top-three finish in the New England Fours Championship, the Cougars ultimate quest is a bid to the ECAC Championships held in Oswego, New York to cap off the year.
2007 Women's Season OutlookThe Clark University women’s rowing team will hit the waters again this spring as they look to build upon a successful fall session. Competing in a conference that boasts a pair of NCAA Championship contenders, the Cougars hope to get an early start on their training this year.“We’re going to Cocoa Beach, Florida for Spring Break this year,” said head coach Erick Thiemke. We’ll get a chance to perfect our technique, condition, and most importantly, the team will get the opportunity to bond with one another.” Striving to qualify for the New England Championships and ECAC Championships, the team will pick up a pair of new opponents this year. The Clark squad will face Endicott College and Franklin and Marshall College, both beginning their inaugural Division III varsity seasons. “It will be good competition for us,” said Thiemke. Tri-captains Mika Kuwahara, Sarah Brooks, and Missy Berger will lead the team this season, joined by Katharyn Baca, Jess Baker, Lauren Clement, Christina Lyman and Lauren Shiappa to round out the eight varsity rowers returning from the fall season. Sara Fealhaber, who returns from a semester in Australia, will also help the team. With all of the returning talent, Coach Thiemke is optimistic about the season. “This is the most mature team we’ve had in the four years I’ve been here,” he affirms. The group also enjoys a great deal of young talent, as nine freshmen have come out for the team. Rachel Golden, Becca Smith and Maureen Mercier all look to improve upon successful first campaigns in the fall season, and will fine tune their skills this spring. While the varsity squad has a lot of returning talent, they will look to the incoming class for support to fill out the team. “The women race eights instead of fours,” explains Coach Thiemke. “So, we’re probably going to have three or four freshmen in the varsity eight, and they’re going to need to get caught up as far as rowing ability.” The fourth-year coach will have some additional help in that department, where Zoe Lang and Emma Summer join the staff as assistants this year. Lang hails from Harvard University, where she rowed for a club team while at graduate school, while Summer, a 2006 Clark grad, will work with the team to improve flexibility through yoga. With the season motto, “The Strength of the Wolf is in the Pack,” Coach Thiemke believes becoming comfortable with the team and learning to work together is a must this year.
Coaching StaffHead Coach Erick ThiemkeErick Thiemke has coached Clark’s men’s and women’s crews since fall 2003 and in a short period of time he has increased the number of participants and improved the competitive level dramatically. The 2005 season marks Thiemke’s sixth year as a collegiate rowing coach. He served as an assistant rowing coach at Amherst College for one year and was the Head Coach of the Worcester State College rowing club for two years. Thiemke’s credentials also include the completion of all three levels (I, II, III) of U.S. Rowing Coaching certifications.Thiemke welcomes walk-on rowers, taking those students who have the heart, drive and determination to work hard and improve their athletic aptitude. He believes anyone, despite his or her experience or ability, can learn to row successfully if he or she is willing to commit the time and put in the effort. Thiemke also recognizes the value of team building and incorporates various activities into the schedule such as a varsity vs. novice softball game, pre-race pasta dinners, a community-service project in the fall and spring, movie night during winter training, and an awards luncheon during the New England Rowing Championship with alumni and parents. Thiemke rowed for two years on the Engineers' crew team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where he graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology. A 2002 graduate of Worcester State College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he also rowed one year for the Lancers. Varsity Men’s Coach Christopher “Tuffer” DowChristopher “Tuffer” Dow begins his first season as an assistant coach with the Clark University varsity men’s rowing program. A four-year rower for the University of Colorado, Tuffer previously served as head coach for his alma mater from 2003-2005, where his efforts spawned the “Christopher Dow Most Valuable Rower Award.” In addition to his collegiate coaching duties, he also founded the Colorado Junior Rowing Program in 2004.An accomplished athlete, Tuffer won the gold in the M2-event in 1999 at the MRC. He is currently a Math teacher at Worcester Academy. Assistant Women’s Coach Zoë LangZoë Lang will serve as an assistant coach for the women’s rowing team this season. A first-year coach, Lang began rowing as a graduate student at Harvard University, where she participated on the Dudley House team for three seasons. After completing her Ph.D. in Musicology, she came to Clark as an instructor in music history. Prior to joining Clark’s coaching staff, Lang was a member of the Dudley House Dragon Boat team and coached the group for the past two years.Flexibility/ Yoga Coach Emma Summer ‘06A 2006 Clark University grad, Summer has been teaching yoga for five years and practicing yoga for 12. Certified through the Yoga Alliance, she has experience with Iyengar, Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Viniyoga and Universal yoga. Summer, who holds a Bachelors in English with an African American Literature concentration, is currently enrolled in Clark’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. Summer is also teaching 10th and 11th grade English at South Community High.
2007 ScheduleView updated results and race recapts
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2007 Men's Season Outlook
