News Archive from the Fall 2010 Season

Fall 2010 Regatta Recap

Below is the fall 2010 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.

Golden Finish to 2010 Fall Season in Hamilton, Ohio

Next, the varsity men’s line up of (4) Adam Wilson, (3) Nick Beese, (2) Matt Moss, (1) Nicholas Miller and (cox) Anna Czekaj took to the water. After racing the past two weekends and feeling like they had more to give, the men powered down the river and finished second getting edged out for first by a little over a second from Cincinnati Juniors.

The women’s pair promised a strong performance after taking gold at Speakmon. The lineup of Caitlin Bowerman at stroke and Katie Puttmann in bow arrived at Hamilton to find no competition in their race. Determined to make their last pair head race fun, the ladies focused on having fun and finishing cleanly before going to collect their gold medal. The women’s varsity 4+ also felt the nostalgia as it was seniors Elizabeth Brott and Kathleen Puttman’s last fall head race. The line up of (4) Katie Puttmann, (3) Elizabeth Brott, (2) Mallory Miller, (1) Grace Eder, and (cox) Anna Czekaj pulled power tens for their seniors to pass Dennison before the 1000m mark and finish 1st.

Wilson & Miller - Varsity Pair Gold

The last race of the day was definitely the most anticipated for Case Crew. The men’s masters/open 2- race included 2 entries for Case. The “A” entry of Doug Brubaker (stroke) and Nick Beese (bow) raced the positive α and finished 3rd. The “B” entry of Adam Wilson (stroke) and Nicholas Miller (bow) started 4th in the race but by the time they reached the finish line the men were in first place and gaining ground. Looking solid in the kaizen, Adam and Nicholas easily took gold to round out the day.

Alumni Compete in Boston - Cullins Takes 3rd in Champ 2x

October 23, 2010: A number of Case Crew alumni competing in this year's Head of the Charles in Boston, MA. Alumni racers were in the Women's Club 4+, Men's Club 4+, Women's Championship 2x and Grand Master Single.

The women's club 4+ entry for SARA consisted of Lauren Boucher '09 (cox), Katherine Allen '06 (stroke), Anna Foster (3), Cara Murphy (2), and Monica Ionescu '10 (bow). Cara and Anna are friends of the team and substituted in at the lst minute for other alumnae that couldn't attend.

SARA Women's Club 4+ passing under Elliot Bridge • © row2k.com

Lauren Boucher '09 provided this account of their race:

We went out and practiced on Friday with Brian Chroney '07 in bow. On Saturday it was sunny and rather warm for Boston but very windy. The first half mile of the race was a little rocky as we battled high winds and settled into a rhythm but the boat pulled it together. For a boat with four rowers who never rowed together and despite the strong winds, the boat was able to have several strong stretches of power and walked through several boats. In the last third of the race, a boat from Sydney started to pass and took the inside lane. Rowing through Eliot bridge we had a slight clash of oars as we were determined not to let them pass and moved up on their stern as they were trying to clear us. While they eventually passed us, we hung onto their stern all the way through the finish. We finished 46 of 52. Endicott College, the team Chorney coaches, finished 7 seconds ahead of us in 45th place. The wind played a big role in racing as the winning time was over 20 minutes while on Sunday, when the there was no wind, several course records were broken.

Solid Results at 2010 Speakmon Regatta in Columbus

October 16, 2010: The 27th running of the Jack Speakmon Memorial Regatta strayed from its usual end-of-October date this year. The event on Griggs Reservoir in Columbus, Ohio is typically the last one of the fall season for the team. However, with five weekends in October this year and other hallmark races shifting around as a result, the organizers at GCRA picked the mid-month date in 2010. The team is now planning on wrapping up the fall season in Cincinnati at the Hamilton Fall Classic.

The mid-October date proved a blessing given the great weather for the race. It has been known to snow in late October for those of you out there that remember...

Full results from this year's race can be found HERE (html).

2010 Speakmon Regatta Photo Gallery

New Competition Coming to the Cuyahoga

October 15, 2010: Notre Dame College in Euclid, Ohio announced today the addition of women's varsity and men's club rowing to their athletics program. The women's team will become the first varsity rowing program in northeast Ohio, and the team will only the fourth varsity program in Ohio behind Ohio State, Dayton and Marietta. The Falcons have hired Cleveland rowing stalwart Russ Eckles to lead both the varsity and club programs. Russ has coached almost every scholastic and adult program in Cleveland. The Falcons will begin recruiting immediately for the inaugural season, which is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012. Click here to view a copy of the press release (html) or here (pdf).

WV4+ & WV2- Bring Home Hardware from Pittsburgh

October 9, 2010: On a glorious October day in Pittsburgh the Case women brought home bronze in the Women's Open 4+ and combination of Caitlin Bowerman and Katie Puttmann brought home silver in the Open Pair. On the men's side, the open 4+ finished in 13th place and the men's pair of Doug Brubaker and Nick Beese just missed the hardware by finishing fourth. Head Coach Patty Wolford raced in the women's master 4+ finishing third and in the mixed double with assistant coach Bob Gannon to finish in fourth.

The excitement for the day surely was in the women's open 4+. The women's crew of Katie Puttman (stroke), Elizabeth Brott (3), Mallory Miller (2), and Grace Eder (bow) with Anna Czekaj coxing left Pittsburgh thinking they had finished in 10th place. Tenth place was respectable given that 24 crews had entered the race and they got passed by Alexandria Community Rowing pretty early after the start. However, the timers at the regatta were in error and posted incorrect times. In fact, our women finished in third! The crew that passed them early had won the entire event. It wasn't until the day after the event that women were notified of their tremendous result! Case Crew has only medaled in the Open 4+ event two previous times in history: 2005 & 1994. Behind them were a number of crews from varsity programs. Great job ladies!

Case's Women's Varsity 4+ crossing the finish line at the 2010 Head of the Ohio

In the women's pair, Caitlin Bowerman sat at stroke in the pairing while Katie Puttmann in bow held a great line down the course according to Coach Wolford. The crew held off WRRA down the last 1000m calling almost continuous power 10's. Ultimately, WRRA finished in first but the Case ladies beat out the line up from varsity program Duquesne.

The men also had a good showing in Pittsburgh. The men's open 4+ line-up of Adam Wilson (stroke), Nick Beese (3), Matt Moss (2), Nick Miller (bow) with Anna Czekaj at cox felt it was their best row to date in this configuration. The men's pair of Doug and Nick finished with a very respectable time given the fact that this race was their 4th or 5th time in the boat.

Full results from this year's race can be found HERE (html).

2010 Head of the Ohio Photo Gallery

2010 Head of the Cuyahoga Recap

September 18, 2010: The 15th edition of the Head of the Cuyahoga marked the last time the race would be hosted at the Carter Road location. With the acquisition of the new, permanent site next year's race will be held further down river. The weather also cooperated this year with sunshine, mild wind and temperatures in the low 70's -- perfect fall rowing weather. This year's race marked the 7th year since Case Crew alumni began entering the race. This year's race saw alumni from Columbus, Pittsburgh and Raleigh, North Carolina joining the local Cleveland contingent. The students also took home two medals from the women's open 4+ and 2x events, and all Case Crew entrants raced in SARA shells! Nick Beese led everyone off the dock in the morning in the Men's Open 1x. Nick picked up sculling over the summer utilizing the new SARA singles. He faced some stiff competition from Maine, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to finish 4th overall.

The first event involving alumni of the morning pitted Tim Marcovy, Tom Hudak and Doug Rathburn against each other in the Men's Master Single. Twenty-one scullers completed the 4000m Cuyahoga River course with Tom taking top alumni honors in 7th place overall. Doug pipped Tim by time, but ultimately finished behind after Tim's handicap was applied.

Click here for race results plus a Plain Dealer Article about the regatta.

2010 Head of the Cuyahoga Photo Gallery

Cleveland Rowing Foundation Buys Site on Cuyahoga River

September 13, 2010: The Cleveland Rowing Foundation (CRF) in partnership with Trust for Public Land (TPL) has acquired a seven acre commercial riverfront site in the Flats. The new site will create a public park and preserve public access to the Cuyahoga River for healthy, people-powered activities such as kayaking, canoeing, rowing and dragon boating. Rivergate is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2011.

"Today marks another giant step in the revitalization of our downtown, " commented Bob Valerian, Cleveland Rowing Foundation's President. "Rivergate will become a magnet bringing thousands to the Flats to enjoy the increasing natural beauty of our river."

Over 850 people, including eight local high school and college crew teams, kayakers and dragon boaters, regularly use CRF's current boathouse. However, the fate of the current facility became doubtful with the passage of the recent casino initiative which included the leased boathouse property in its footprint.

"CRF approached The Trust for Public Land to help negotiate and secure a new site and TPL was delighted to assist," remarked Bill Carroll, TPL's Ohio State Director. "Rivergate presents a rare opportunity to create a park and recreational gem on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in the center of downtown Cleveland."

Rivergate also affords the space to create a world class water sports venue capable of hosting national regattas. "We hope to bring exciting new events to the Cuyahoga which will attract thousands of visitors to our city, "remarked Theresa Gang, CRF's Executive Director. Gang also noted that the new site provides space for expanded programming including learn-to-row programs for urban youth which have been successful in Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

Rivergate enjoyed broad-based support from the community, including government, foundation, corporate and individual donors. According to Sarah Ott-Hansen, CRF's Development Director, "Raising funds for a capital project isn't easy in this economic environment, but Rivergate resonated with donors."

The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, Metlife Foundation and other local foundations made significant gifts. In addition, a major catalyst was Peter B. Lewis who made a $250,000 challenge grant that spurred new donors including Paul Buchheit, a recent Case Western Reserve University graduate ('98) and early Google employee, who joined the university and the Spartan Alumni Rowing Association to make a significant gift. The Lubrizol Foundation, Scranton Road Development Corporation and Forest City were among the many others who helped meet the Lewis challenge grant. Finally, Parker Hannifin Foundation's contribution days before closing along with a bridge loan from Huntington Bank enabled Rivergate to become a reality.

CRF's work will not end with the acquisition of the Rivergate site. The organization will immediately begin making modest renovations to existing buildings on the site, move the 120 boats from its current facility and installing docks, undertake a site master planning effort and initiate the process of converting the vacant concrete-covered site into a public park and vibrant recreational center in the Flats.

CRF will work with ParkWorks, a local non-profit engaged in reclaiming urban green spaces to convert the vacant, concrete-covered site to park and recreation space.

CRF is a twenty year old non-profit organization, dedicated to promoting low impact use of the Cuyahoga River and preserving public access to the river for healthy, people-powered activities. CRF is committed to making the river accessible to all individuals regardless of race, gender, religion, socioeconomic background, ethnicity, or physical disabilities.

The article made the front page of the Plain Dealer's Metro section: Cleveland.com or click here for a PDF Version.
Crain's Cleveland Business also featured the purchase: online article or click here for the PDF Version.

Alumnus Paul Buchheit '98 Donates to Rivergate Project

August 26, 2010: Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) graduate Paul Buchheit today joined with the university and the Spartan Alumni Rowing Association (SARA) in announcing a $100,000 gift for a permanent boathouse site in Cleveland.

The donation to the Cleveland Rowing Foundation (CRF) will support its Rivergate Project, and will be used as matching funds for the challenge grant philanthropist Peter B. Lewis made to the CRF. Buchheit, a 1998 graduate of Case Western Reserve and Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur, rowed as a member of the university’s crew club during his time as a student.

“To have the support of someone who rowed in Cleveland more than a dozen years ago highlights the positive impact of the sport and the sense of community it helps to create,” said Jon Adams, co-chairman of CRF’s Rivergate Fund. “All of us are grateful to Mr. Buchheit, SARA and Case Western Reserve.”

CWRU students have rowed on the Cuyahoga River since 1991, the year they founded their club at the university. In 2003 graduates came together to found SARA; since then the alumni group has funded the acquisition of several shells and a trailer. The organization also is providing Case Crew member Miranda Cullins a rowing shell and oars while she is training with the U.S. Rowing Women’s National Team in Princeton, N.J.

“Rowing is a lifelong sport that changes every person who participates,” said SARA President Doug Rathburn, a 1997 CWRU graduate. “We are profoundly grateful to Paul Buchheit for his support of this important project.”

Buchheit earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from Case Western Reserve in 1998, and then went on to work for Intel Corp. for one year. In 1999 he became the 23rd employee of Google, and ultimately served as the lead developer for Gmail. Google’s free email system that today numbers more than 170 million users. Buchheit retired from Google in 2006, and the following year founded FriendFeed, a service that allows users to share information – links, photos, videos and messages – online with select individuals. Facebook acquired FriendFeed in 2009.

“The Rivergate Project is a promising one for Cleveland, Case Western Reserve and for our student athletes,” said Barbara R. Snyder, CWRU’s president. “We are pleased to be part of this effort, and honored by the ongoing engagement of our graduates in the university and community.”

Click here for various articles regrading the donation: The Observer, Case Daily, or the offical CWRU Press Release.