Men's and Women's Rowing
2007 Men's Rowing Recap
With a young crew on deck this season, the Clark University men’s rowing team made significant strokes throughout the year. Prior to the season, Russ Giacobbe, Andrew Gager, Horia Kraus, Josh Cohen and Mike Hardie participated in the C.R.A.S.H. B’s, the indoor rowing championships, in Boston.
The men’s novice four began its career with a gold medal at the New Hampshire Championships this fall. In the seven-boat event, the team of Elena DeStefano, Nicky Boyne, Wes Dunkel, Andrew Gager, and Mike Haride took first place in a time of 17:02. Closing out the fall session at the Head of the Charles, Coxswain Heather Larson, Russell Giacobbe, Tom Valleau, Andrew Gager, and Peter Dunkel had a strong showing in the men's club four. The crew placed 28th of 34 (20:27).
In the first regatta of the season, Clark had its best showing in the second men’s varsity race, where they were runner-up to Connecticut College with a time of 8:00.8. The men’s varsity four raced to a fifth place finish (7:49.2) and later found themselves ranked 17th out of 23 in the New England Rowing Coaches Poll. The regionally ranking was warranted when the four outlasted Wentworth Institute of Technology with a time of 7:36.3 in a two-boat race the following week. Coxswain Leah Block, Russell Giacobbe, Andrew Gager, Josh Cohen, and Tom Valleau manned the winning boat
Concluding the season at the New England Championships, the men’s four placed fourth in their heat (7:22.0).
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2007 Women's Rowing Recap
After a slow start, the Clark University women’s rowing team came on strong towards the end. The women used a trio of races, including a regatta, the New Hampshire Championships and the Head of the Charles to prep for a challenging spring season.
The varsity eight placed third out of four boats with a time of 7:47.0 in its opening regatta and went on to claim the 17th spot in the New England Rowing Coaches Poll. Despite high winds and low temperatures, both the varsity eight and varsity four boats participated in its second regatta placing fifth (8:18.6) and third (10:11.6), respectively.
The Cougars’ results showed steady improvement in the next three races. The varsity eight team of coxswain Christina Lyman, Sarah Brooks, Kasia Baca, Sara Fealhaber, Kate Dorsey, Rebecca Smith, Mika Kuwahara, Rachel Godin, and Missy Berger raced to a 7:52.49 finish at the NEWMAC Championships, 7:48.3 at the following regatta, and a 7:25.9 heat, the fastest-time in head coach Erick Thiemke’s four-year tenure, at the New England Rowing Championships - where Clark competed in the third level final with a third place (7:26.6) performance.
The Cougar women’s rowing team led all spring programs with three placed on the All-Academic squad. Sophomores Jessica Baker and juniors Sara Brooks and Sarah Fealhaber earned the honor.
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2007 Women's Rowing Season Outlook
The 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.
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2007 Men's Rowing 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.
In preparation for this year’s grueling slate, Russ Giacobbe, Andrew Gager, Horia Kraus, Josh Cohen and Mike Hardie will participate in the C.R.A.S.H. B’s, the indoor rowing championships, in Boston on February 25. “We’re excited to take part in the event this year,” said head coach Erick Thiemke, entering his fourth season at the helm. “It will be really good to put Clark’s name out there.”
Anchored by senior captains Tom Valleau and Christian Bowman, the team will look to boat a pair of competitive fours this season. The group will be bolstered with the return of Kraus, who competed with the varsity squad last fall, and Cohen, back from Australia this semester.
Coach Thiemke believes the duo of first-years Gager and Hardie and will make an immediate contribution. The two promising additions will look to polish their skills and help build for the future, while newcomer Elena DeStefano joins Amanda McLoughlin as coxswain to help lead the men’s boats.
One of Thiemke’s biggest challenges will be the inexperience of this year’s team, where half of the squad has less than one year of rowing expertise. In an effort to combat this concern, the team will travel to Florida for an intense week of training over Spring Break and welcomes the addition of assistant coach Christopher Dow this spring. “He is a huge bonus for our team,” said Thiemke. “It takes time to learn how to row, so he’ll be a tremendous help to our entire men’s program.
Coach Dow, known as “Tuffer,” arrives at Clark after a three-year coaching stint at the University of Colorado, where he was also a four-year letterman.
“We’ll get a month of training done in one week in Florida,” said Thiemke. “I’m glad we are going to get the opportunity to go this year. Without it, you’re always playing catch up with other schools.”
While perfecting technique and conditioning will be paramount on this trip, team bonding will be just as pivotal. “Our team motto is, ‘the strength of the wolf is in the pack,” Thiemke said. “The most important aspect of rowing is to become comfortable with your teammates and to learn to work together.”
By Bill Cobb, Sports Information Intern
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