Results are available at Row2k.com
We will post an article shortly. Fight On!
]]>
Almost a second home, the waters of Newport offer an uncanny degree of comfort to the Trojan Navy. Having spent their Spring Break training there, every oarsman on the crew is aware of how clean and fresh the air and water are, especially in comparison to our home at the Port. Everything about Newport is beautiful: the houses, the yachts, and the locals, who were extremely friendly towards the crew during Spring Break; but this is a story in and of itself (ask a rower about their experiences during break) Set in this gorgeous environment is one of the most prestigious races on the West Coast: the Newport Regatta. Hosted by OCC, the regatta is a showcase of the speed of Southern California rowing, and an event the Coast Crew has historically dominated. Coach Danny Johnson said of the event: “There is something to be said about Southern California rowing. Hopefully the collection of rowing programs produces enough boat-speed to contend nationally. The whole collection of schools: Coast, UCSD, USD, UCI, UCLA, and LMU are pushing each other to go faster and faster. I would love to see Coast have a good showing this weekend at the Stanford Invitational. Every regatta, we see these boats getting faster.”
Coast is an opponent not to be taken lightly. A powerhouse program, OCC turns out fast crews year after year with the speed to compete on the national level. This is the first time since the fall racing season (in which the USC Men’s Crew and Coast split races) that we have had a chance to race them. Just as Coast has been healthy competition during the fall, LMU has been a tough opponent in the spring. Training under similar circumstances to the Trojans, LMU has proven they are a boat not to be taken lightly. Although we beat them in our duel, their performance at the San Diego Crew Classic reinforced their status as a strong crew this year. Traditional rivals UCLA were set to line up against the Trojans, along with crews from UCI and USD.
The regatta took place on Sunday, April 11, 2010. This was the first time in many years that the Trojan Crew was invited to race at the event. At about 8:30 in the morning, USC lined up against OCC, LMU, USD, UCI, and rival UCLA.
The Race
The conditions: cloudy skies, slight drizzle, and a brisk tailwind, and a slack tide. The race was going to be extremely fast. As the crews lined up, one could feel the tension pulsing off of the other crews. Undaunted, USC sat ready to defeat the competition.
As soon as the crews were aligned, the race was started. The abruptness of the start was a shock to the boat and we floundered with our worst start of the season. 500 meters into the race, USC was out of the picture, sitting 2 seats down to archrivals UCLA, and noticeably down on the rest of the pack. But all of the sudden, something clicked. Typically when crews are put in that position, especially with club crews, the boat turns off. The rowers become demoralized and stop rowing, a disease which has plagued Trojan Crew’s of the past.
Yet, as coxswain Myles Gutenkunst put our position in perspective, the boat collectively refused to accept reality. With intention, the boat became perfectly set, every oarsman startied catching and finishing together, getting full extension at the front of the slide, crushing the footboard, bending the shaft of the oar and propelling the boat through the water. The race became effortless. The boat was flying over the water, all nine members gaining more and more confidence with each stroke. The mental wall crumbled. We began to take seats on the pack, one by one, stroke by stroke. Coming to the OCC boathouse we were in fourth place, just about to stage our last move before the sprint. It was at this point that the entire boat realized that we had the ability to win the race. We took our move, and flew past USD and LMU. In second place there was one boat left to take down: OCC, and they had a boat-length lead. You could feel the desire, the hunger to move to the front of the pack. As junior Austin Delana put it, “You could smell victory.” With 250 meters to go, coxswain Myles Gutenkunst screamed into the cox box, “This is it boys, are you ready, are you ready for this!!” With that he pounded the side of the boat. The crew collectively said “YES.” we had decided it was time. The rating shot up from 35 to 41. 200 meters to go, down 8 seats to OCC
150 meters to go 5 seats down
100 meters to go 4 seats down
50 meters to go 3 seats…
40 meters…
30 meters…
20 meters…
Last stroke.
BEEP…
BEEP…
Two horns signaling the finish of the race, less than one second apart. The time it takes to snap your fingers, the time of one breath, one heartbeat. OCC had just held us off, with a three seat advantage. The rest of the pack followed shortly behind, down by more than a boat-length to us and OCC.
Evolution of a Crew
In light of the finish, the Men’s Crew has been gaining confidence with every competition. A noticeable mental shift has taken place on the team, and with every competition the crew is continually energized to build off of the race and train harder and stronger. Captain Ryan Hasvold said, “It was a good mental race, in that we were able to come back, something we haven’t been able to do this season. It’s a good race to build off of going forward for the rest of the season.” Coach Danny Johnson is confident in the speed of the crew. He says that, “Any time you race a nationally ranked crew, it’s a good measure of speed. We are definitely a top 10 crew, and if we raced OCC one hundred times right now, we’d probably split the races fifty/fifty. It’s nice to see we can contend with a national powerhouse. The Boat speed is a good sign of the direction the program. We are getting faster.” Words only reinforced by the speed and tenacity generated by the crew in training this week. This is going to be a good year for the Trojans, a sentiment that will be reinforced in races to come.
NOVICE RACE:
In what is being considered their best race yet, the novices of the Trojan Crew lined up against OCC’s A and B novice crews, UCI’s A and B crews, LMU, and USD. With a fast start, the crew put themselves in a competitive position for the race. But a series of unfortunate events meant the crew dropped out of contention. Despite this, the crew was able to destroy UCI, and finished a second behind LMU, a finish showing improvement, determination, and competitive drive. Senior Scott Spongberg said of the race, “It was kind of funny, it took 20 minutes to get all the boats aligned before the race. There was a bit of a current, and people were out of their lanes. Despite all of the confusion, we still managed to have a good start, the best start we’ve had in a race. We rowed pretty well and everything felt good.” In addition, the most senior member of the crew, Noel Warner, said of the race, “It was the best race we’ve had. It felt really good. We had a good start, we were all catching together, and although a couple hiccups in the middle, we rowed hard the whole time. Our form fell apart at the end, and we tried to pick it up but didn’t go anywhere. I’m pretty amped about destroying UCI, but bummed that we didn’t edge out Loyola. We should’ve beat them.”
Overall, the Novice Crew has shown a new fervor and drive during training. This commitment at practice has lead to marked improvements in the boat since the Crew Classic.
Varsity 8:
OCC 5:39.86
USC 5:40.96
LMU 5:43.02
USD 5:43.82
UCI 5:53.20
UCLA 5:55.70
Novice 8
OCC ‘A’ 5:56.83
USD 6:07.30
OCC ‘B’ 6:17.00
UCI ‘A’ 6:22.40
LMU 6:34.50
USC 6:35.50
UCI ‘B’ 6:53.30
Perspectives: Thoughts From The Crew Both On And Off The Water
From the Boat:
Myles Gutenkunst: Coxswain
Definitely our best closing thousand meters, the hardest fight and the most committed all 9 athletes in the boat have been all season. Reminiscent of Head of the Harbor even though we came up a bit short at the end. There were a few moments of brilliance of a dangerous closing crew that coach has been hoping for us to become. We still have lots of work to do as we approach UCLA and ACRAs…
Buck Scalese: 3 Seat
After a slow start in a fierce tailwind, we found ourselves well behind all the other crews before reaching 500 meters. Yet we did not panic and confidently executed our race plan, taking long, effective strokes that, along with our moves, allowed us to climb back into the top two or three by 1000 meters. Though our best sprint of the year left us a second behind Orange Coast, I felt it was our best executed race of the year, and showed that no crew that finds itself in front of USC should feel safe…
Austin Delana: 2 Seat
I was pretty nervous going into it. But the race was ours to win. We had a hard time catching at the start line, but our form picked up during the race. There was a point towards the end, when I could see OCC out of my peripheral vision, that I could smell victory. Another 100m and we would have had ‘em. It’s definitely motivational for next race. We’re going to get back and train harder. Overall, the race was a step in the right direction for the SC Men’s Crew and a perfect motivational segway into training for the club national championships…
From the Coaches’ Launch:
Chelsea Eckelkamp: Asst. Coach
Sitting on the front of the launch boat and watching the race from start to finish allowed me to see the personal maturity that each oarsmen has undergone just in the past 2 weeks. To be in 6th place at the 500 meter mark is a huge mental disadvantage and it takes a lot of heart and determination to come back from that position…
From the Dock:
Chris Fisher:
As the boats passed the OCC boathouse it looked as if the crews from LMU and USD were walking on the USC boat, but in true Trojan spirit the varsity eight staged a “furious sprint” that propelled them clearly ahead to the second spot. At the end of the race the crowd of spectators went silent after USC’s great charge, only exhaling when the final results were announced…OCC had won by mere fractions of a second…
Steven Kent:
From a spectator’s Point of View, it was anybodies race but USC for the first half. USC just made a huge charge and decided to go for it. They kicked it into gear and shredded down the course, and almost took first. There was a big feeling of respect for the crew as they stepped off the water…
VIDEO of the race can be seen here, at IBNSports.com
OUR NEXT RACE WILL BE USC v. UC Santa Barbara, APRIL 24th, at 8:00 in the Port of Los Angeles.
This is our premier Orange County rowing event for the Spring which will pit USC versus our local rivals — UCLA, UCSD, USD, UCI and Orange Coast College.
We would like to make a special invitation to all Young Alums from the 90’s and 2000’s to come out and support the Crew in what will be some of our most competitive racing of the year! This is the 10th Anniversary of the re-founding of the USC Men’s Crew program after our hiatus in the 90’s. Since then, hundreds of Trojans have matriculated through the Crew, representing a new era in our long history at USC and we would love to see you all.
Racing begins at 7:30AM and will be followed by our first annual USC-Orange Coast College Spring Brunch Mixer at the newly remodeled Orange Coast boathouse. All parents, friends and alumni are invited to attend the regatta.
At 12:30 we will head over to the Newport Aquatic Center for our Spring Board Meeting for the Orange County Chapter of our Alumni Group. We are making a special effort at getting more of our Young Alums involved in the Crew.
Mark your calendars for next weekend, Sunday April 11 starting at 7:30AM at the Orange Coast Boathouse for the Regatta and the following festivities.
The San Diego Crew Classic came, went, and left the USC Men’s Crew with a clear understanding of what it will take to get a top ranking at ACRA National Championships in late May. With typically over 5,000 spectators and 3,000 competitors, it was a beautiful weekend for a regatta in Mission Bay, CA. The Varsity Eight (cox: Myles Gutenkunst, stroke: Trent Oliver, Harrison Taylor, Kellen Proctor, Ryan Hasvold, Collin Evans, Buck Scalese, Steven Kent, bow: Jeff Nelson) drew the middle lane for the first race of the day, the Cal Cup at 7:30am on Saturday against an unknown Trinity boat in lane one, LMU in lane two, a fast Notre Dame in lane four, and UCLA in lane five. What turned out to be the fastest heat of the morning had Notre Dame and Trinity advancing to the Grand Finals, with LMU and USC to race in the Petite Final. UCLA finished 11.1 seconds behind the USC Varsity and did not advance to a second race.
Sunday’s Varsity Cal Cup Petite Final was considered the “race of the day” by all who attended the Crew Classic this year. Going into the race, all 6 crews had heat times within 3 seconds of each other. The USC Men’s Crew drew lane 4 and lined up with Santa Clara, Drexel, Georgia Tech, UCIrvine, and LMU. The entire race had all 6 lanes within inches of each other until the last 400 meters when Santa Clara jumped in front and won the Final by one second over the GT crew and 4 seconds over our Varsity 8. It was a great race by all crews, and an especially landmark race for USC. Finishing with a time of 6:18.8 marks a new boat speed precedent at USC and puts the Varsity 8 within striking distance of the Club National Championship!
The Novice squad (cox: Salina Grilli, stroke: Michael Lin-Brande, Michael Hintlian, Melvin Ardijanto, Noel Warner, Jon Sun, Zak Kobos, Scott Spongberg, bow: Dan Slutsky) lined up at 9:30am Saturday in the Derek Guelker Memorial Cup against Orange Coast College, UCDavis, Sac State, and Santa Clara. While the Novice oarsmen were beat out of a Petite Final race by ¼ of a second by Santa Clara, they showed a greatly improved margin against Santa Clara and UCDavis, who they raced against three weeks prior. The Novice oarsmen have put in a lot of time and dedication in the weeks leading up to Crew Classic, and they managed to gain a collective boat speed of 20 seconds on the fast Novice crew at UCDavis.
Thank you to the San Diego USC Trojan Club, all Trojans, and all friends of the USC Men’s Crew who came out to support and cheer on the oarsmen. Full race results can be found at http://www.crewclassic.org/results/2010.html
]]>Spring break is the quintessential time for relaxation, coupled with week-long mayhem for college students worldwide. But for the USC Men’s Crew, this was a week of testing endurance, stretching limits, and maintaining an edge over the competition. During the week of March 14th-20th, the rowers traveled to Newport Beach, CA, where they pushed through seven days of grueling workouts that tested them physically and mentally. Thankfully, the team was able to raise enough money during the Nike online gear sale to stay comfortably close the training grounds at a local Best Western. The accommodations were appreciated and were vital to the overall success of the intense experience.
Coach Danny Johnson says, “Spring break is a time to tear yourself apart and empty your tanks in order to prepare for the weeks ahead.” The rowers committed to Coach Johnson’s expectations and worked constantly from dawn to dusk to ensure success in the coming weeks. The daily routine began with 6:00 AM wake-ups, followed by a two-hour row launching from the Newport Aquatic Center. Immediately after the rows, the rowers hit the weights in the gym. After a meal and a few hours of rest, they returned to the water for an afternoon row, then attended team dinners, and reposed for the night. The daily grind was also infused with various workouts conjured up by Coach Johnson. The rowers found themselves doing quite a bit of cross-training during the break. One afternoon, in particular, was spent performing a military-style workout, complete with uphill sprints and bear crawls. The Proctor Family was gracious enough to a treat the entire team to Southern BBQ dinner at Luciles’s Restaurant midweek and the Hasvold family cooked a delicious dinner for the team on the final night of training. Thank you to the families for feeding the men.
The Crew was motivated during the break by their success over Loyola Marymount University the previous week in a duel at the Port of Los Angeles. On March 13th, USC pushed through LMU with a 4.4 second lead over their opponents by the end of the race. Team Captain Ryan Hasvold commented, “The crew is set up to be really fast this season. The victory over LMU proves to be a sign that USC is headed for success this season.” The statistics also complement Captain Hasvold’s predictions. The previous week LMU claimed victory over UCLA in a duel at Marina Del Ray. They pushed through their opponent by over ten seconds in a 2,000 meter race. With USC’s win over LMU and their training over spring training, they appear to be headed in the right direction. The crew is set to race the country’s finest in the San Diego Crew Classic on March 27th and 28th. Race times and heats are available here. Let us wish them luck and hail the age-old Trojan battle-cry: Fight On!
]]>Calling ALL TROJANS! The USC British BBQ is this Saturday in Newport Beach at the Newport Aquatic Center, 1 Whitecliffs Dr, Newport Beach, CA, from 4-7 PM. The Oarsmen have had an incredible time training three times a day on the Newport Waters and we invite you to come meet the squad and help us send the Crew to PAC-10’s, the National Championship, and England!
]]> |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||