News Archive from the Fall 2006 Season

Case Finishes Fall Season Strong at the Speakmon

October 28, 2006: Case Crew’s fall season finished on a blustery note at the Speakmon Memorial Regatta in Columbus, with rowers powering through gusts as high as 40-miles-per hour along the Scioto River. Because organizers cancelled this year’s Head of the Elk, the Columbus event drew many more teams than usual, including regional powerhouses like Purdue and the University of Michigan. The Spartans didn’t manage to bring home hardware this time, but still posted some strong finishes. The women’s 8+, which took gold at the Head of the Cuyahoga and silver at the Head of the Ohio, finished sixth of 13 at the Speakmon, behind multiple entries from Purdue and Ohio State, but ahead of Mercyhurst’s Division 2 varsity program. The women’s open 4+ that competed at the Head of the Charles, meanwhile, placed 5th of 11. The varsity men, still reeling from losses due to injuries and student co-op requirements, finished at the back of the pack in the open 4+, but their form and speed far exceeded what they demonstrated a few weeks earlier in Pittsburgh.

Race results can be found HERE (html).

Perhaps most important, the Speakmon witnessed the debut of Case’s novice rowers. The team fielded one men’s novice 8+ and two women’s novice 8+’s, and many of the athletes came off the water beaming. Several have since said the racing helped them understand the work required to compete well in the spring, and have tackled indoor training with gusto. After years of being crowded in a corner of the cardio room upstairs, the team now enjoys a beautifully updated erg room (converted from a squash court) complete with a dozen Concept 2 Model D ergs and mirrors on three walls. The improvements, courtesy of the university, should help immensely in improving technique and overall speed.

2006 Speakmon Photo Gallery

The team plans to compete at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints in early February, and at the Cleveland Hammer Ergatta on Feb. 18.

Thanks to Coach Chris Sheridan for providing such great race reports throughout the fall season.

Impressive Showing for Case Women at the Charles

October 21, 2006: Case Crew sent a women's club four to this year's Head of the Charles. As many of you know, the Head of the Charles is the world's largest rowing regatta, drawing teams from all over the world (China, South Africa, Sweden, New Zealand, etc.) in a two-day celebration of sport. Several countries' national teams and world championship athletes attend; Cleveland sent one single sculler, plus two 8+'s from St. Ignatius, one 4+ from John Carroll, one 4+ from Burning River Crew, one 4+ from Shaker Heights, and one 4+ from Cleveland Scholastic Rowing Association. (Case alternates between sending men and women each year).

The team placed 15th of 29 teams this year and only 14% off the winning time of Saugatuck Rowing Club; full results for all events are available at http://www.hocr.org/results/results.asp. Results for the Women's Club 4+, in particular, are HERE (html).
What follows are details of the event...

Katie Menosky headed up early Friday and attended the Charles' special coxswain class and then took a tour of the river. She took copious notes and had memorized key steering tips by Friday night. The intensity with which she tackled preparation for the race is a testament to the kind of commitment to excellence evident in this program's greatest successes over the years.

Teresa Shyr, Miranda Cullins, Jenna Copeland and Shannon Armstrong drove up during the day Friday, braving driving rains and winds so intense that at least one of the cars had to stop the drive for a bit for safety's sake. They arrived in Cambridge Friday evening and learned the weather had been so bad that organizers had considered shortening the race the next day (a development that typically means many more crashes among boats). The good news was that Teresa had arranged housing for the team in her old undergraduate abode, saving considerably on travel costs.

Saturday morning dawned clear if brisk, and the organizers kept the race at its full length. As the morning wore on, winds picked up, turning the warmup area before the start into a mass of whitecaps. Brad Whitehead, a sculler from Cleveland who raced before us Saturday, was kind enough to offer details regarding where in the race course the worst gusts would hit. If anything, he underestimated just how brutal the wind would be.

The race started at 11:43am. Case's launch order was near the back of the pack, and things got dicey quickly when the shell behind them tried to pass in the start chute, an illegal move. The Case group maintained its composure even as the opposing team caused a near-collision under the very first bridge (the Shaker boat this morning was not so lucky in a similar situation - it was hit in the stern by a boat making an illegal move and driven off the course. The crew was penalized 1:30, but shaker nevertheless lost many seconds because of the stunt).

After that worrisome beginning, Case quickly encountered a wall of wind, and in the words of Miranda, "85 percent of the race felt like just doing leg presses." Case nevertheless passed three boats, and looked strong when they passed Nina Ma (who came along to cheer) and I about 3/4 through the race. In bow, it was Teresa's job to holler at crews to yield (i.e. get out of the way) when they were about to be passed; she seemed to enjoy the assignment an awful lot, until late in the row when she could be heard gasping, "NYU, look out." (They beat NYU by about 36 seconds).

Katie really found her voice in this race. We could hear her on shore and she got quite a kick (and the rowers a bit of a scare) from the way her exhortations echoed under the Charles' low concrete bridge arches.

Race results can be found HERE (html).

2006 Head of the Charles Photo Gallery

Coach Marcovy's Son Featured in November Issue of Men's Journal

Coach Tim Marcovy's son, Aaron, is part of a Men's Journal fashion spread that features some of Philadelphia's rowers. His photo is on page 141 of the November 2006 issue. The little blurb mentions Tim contribution to Cleveland rowing and Aaron's asiprations for the national team. Aaron rowed for St. Ignatius and then followed his dad to row for Columbia. Aaron currently rows for Vesper and has a medal pile and erg score we'd all be jealous of. Congratulations and good luck Aaron!

Women's 8+ Takes Silver on the Allegheny

October 7, 2006: The 20th edition of the Head of the Ohio proved fruitful for the Case women as they took second place, a mere 2 seconds off Villanova, in the Women's Club Eight event. The result even garnered the team a mention in the December Rowing News shown here (page 46). In the eight event, the women also bested crews from Michigan State, Capital, and Penn State. The women's team went on to also take 6th and 15th in the Open Fours. Meanwhile, the men’s open 4+, still missing veteran athletes not rowing this term because of co-ops or other academic obligations, finished 12th. I know there are many of us out there that have competed in Pittsburgh for years and returned home without hardware. The fact that the Case women could put up such a stellar result against that class of compeition should be applauded. Good job ladies!!! Race results can be found HERE (html).

2006 Head of the Ohio Photo Gallery

Case Women Find Motivation at 2006 Head of the Cuyahoga

September 16, 2006: The biggest news from Case Crew's first regatta of 2006-2007 came in the Women's Open 8+, where a shell badly depleted by the graduation of several seniors nevertheless managed to defend last year's gold medal.

Credit goes to the women, of course, but also to The Plain Dealer. The local newspaper was kind enough to preview this year's Head of the Cuyahoga the day before the event. Deep within the article came these paragraphs: This year's race is special for college senior Erin Murphy because it's her last Head of the Cuyahoga as a member of John Carroll University's crew. Murphy is a coxswain, the only crew member facing the bow. She steers the boat and shouts commands and encouragement to the rowers. "It's very important for our team dignity to win this race," she said. "It's our river." When apprised of the JCU comments, men's head coach Tim Marcovy responded that he trusted that the Case women would "take care of business." Indeed they did, prodded by sophomore coxswain Nina Ma's frequent reminders of just whose river the course ought to be. The team won in 15:58, nine seconds ahead of Michigan State's club program and nearly three minutes ahead of John Carroll.

Case's women also took bronze in the open 4+ (six seconds out of second and nine from first), and rowed to fourth place in the Mixed 8+. The men's 4+ struggled in this race, but has made substantial progress in practices since and has high hopes for a stronger row at the team's next regatta, the Head of the Ohio, Oct. 7 in Pittsburgh.

Race results can be found HERE (html).

2006 Head of the Cuyahoga Photo Gallery