SARA | Case Crew Alumni

Cleveland Rowing Foundation Buys Site on Cuyahoga River

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500

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.

Alumnus Paul Buchheit '98 Donates to Rivergate Project

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

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."

Photos from Spring Break Posted

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The team is spending Spring Break in Cleveland this year, and the coaches have provided some photos of a mixed 8+ row from Monday. The weather is unseasonably warm and will hopefully enable the team to gain some early season speed. We'll post more photos as they come in.

2010 Spring Break Photo Gallery.

Case Wins Hammer Cup; Leads Series

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Case beat cross town rivals John Carroll and Cleveland State to take home the Hammer Cup. The challenge cup is in its 16th year, and Case leads the series with 8 wins to JCU's 7 with CSU winning last year.

Current and recent team members took home gold medals in 7 of 9 events entered including the team relay. These tremendous times garnered the team the women's point trophy and the Hammer Cup for the fastest university crew in Cleveland.

Nick Beese won the Open Men's event with a 6:47.8 and assistant coach Miranda Cullins beat most of the men at the event with a 7 minute flat time. Miranda's consistently fast times have caught the attention of the national team coaches, and she'll be moving to Princeton, New Jersey to join the national team development system in March. We wish her much success with her quest to represent the USA!

Of course, the novices weren't to be outdone by the varsity squad. Caitlin Bowerman won the Open Novice Women's event with a time that would have given her 5th place in the varsity event. Mallory Miller beat three women from Cleveland State to claim gold in the Lightweight Novice event. Douglas Brubaker pulled a sub-seven minute time to take home bronze in the Men's Novice event.

After finishing up their 2,000 pieces and cooling down, the squad broke into two teams to compete in the 6 x 500 meter team relay. The relay requires each team member to pull 500m and then jump up off the machine to make room for the next rower. Case continued a long tradition of winning this event beating JCU, CSU and two teams from WRRA.

Head coaches Patty Wolford and Preya Nixon had this to say about the race:

Case Western did a phenomenal job at the Hammer this year. The women won the overall points trophy, and then the entire team brought home the Hammer trophy! Numerous personal records were set, and for some, this was their first 2k. After the individual events, the team split into 2 groups to compete in the open relay. Both Patty and I were impressed with the teamwork and encouragement from everyone - the results are a true testament to their hard work ethic. Case athletes were also assisting in running the event, and the organizers were very impressed with how diligent everyone was. We are looking forward to seeing many alums at the Home Schools/Alumni Regatta on April 10th. We want to thank you again for making this event possible for us-we truly appreciate your support.

Race results can be found HERE.

2010 Hammer Ergatta Photo Gallery.

Case and John Carroll in Head-to-head Erg Challenge

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

In lieu of attending the Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints, CWRU travelled to John Carroll's campus for a head-to-head competition. Individual rowers from each team faced off against each other with the winner taking one point. The women raced over 5,000m and the men pulled 6,000m. Katie Puttmann pulled the fastest time for the Case Women and Nick Beese pulled 21:53 on the men's side. John Carroll ended up taking the overall competition by a score of 7 to 4.

Next weekend, Case will be competing with John Carroll, Cleveland State and Baldwin Wallace for the Hammer Cup! From Co-head Coach Preya Nixon, "We are looking to break the tie between JCU. The team has been training hard, and has started doing more interval/AT work. Having already done two 2k's this season, the athletes are looking forward to bringing the trophy home!"

If any alumni or parents are in the area, please stop by and support the Spartans on Sunday, Feb. 21st between 9am-12noon (the team will be sticking around to assist the race directors for the remainder of the day, however).

Race results can be found HERE.

2010 JCU 5k/6k Erg Challenge Photo Gallery.

Adam Wilson Profiled in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Current men's team rower Adam Wilson was profiled in this week's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Wilson is a 2007 graduate of Jeannette High School in the southeast suburbs of Pittsburgh, and he is now at Case with a double major in mechanical and aerospace engineering. The article discusses why he joined Case Crew and his accomplishments at recent regattas. Co-head coach Preya Nixon also discusses the team and the commitment required to the sport.

The full article can be found HERE.

Cleveland Boathouse Proposal Highlighted in The Plain Dealer

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The dream of a permanent home for Cleveland rowing is upon us! The Cleveland Rowing Foundation is in talks to purchase the seven acre Commodore's Club site just down river from the current boathouse. The proposal, dubbed Rivergate Park, was highlighted in The Plain Dealer and online at Cleveland.com.

It's still early days for planning, but folks in Cleveland are cautiously optimistic about securing the site. A multi-million dollar fundraising campaign is underway to secure funds by March 31, 2010. The CRF board is calling in all of their chips for donations and approaching numerous charitable boards throughout the region to help. The mayor is behind it and many local organizations are throwing their weight into the project. The site is ideal and it currently has a building that can house all current clubs without much modification.

So what does this mean for Case Crew? Not much in the short term other than (possibly) higher rack rents and rower fees. There's a building currently on the site that can comfortably accommodate the current square footage for shells. The longer term vision (10-50 years) is to have a collegiate boathouse row with each team having their own dedicated space in a new building(s).

The full article can be found HERE.

Join the Case/SARA Concept 2 January Virtual Team Challenge

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Please join the Concept 2 January Virtual Team Challenge (JVTC). We hope to row as many meters as possible between January 1-31. Link your Concept 2 Logbook account to our team and your meters add to our total. The more members and meters we all row the higher our overall ranking. Last year teams from U. Chicago and WashU competed. Let's see how high we can place this year!

To join the challenge is easy:
1. If you already have a Concept 2 Logbook account simply log in. Once logged in you should see a "TEAMS" tab near the upper right corner of the screen. To join the team select "Case Crew - Spartan Alumni" from the drop down list. Once you've joined the team, you then select that you want to participate in the challenge in the "Team Challenge" section. Or...
2. If you don't have a Concept 2 Logbook you can set one up or email Doug Rathburn and he can get you all set up.

Miranda Cullins Competes in Fall Speed Order

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Case Crew coach Miranda Cullins competed this weekend at the USRowing East Coast Fall Speed Order in Princeton, New Jersey. The Case graduate student finished 35th out of 39 national team hopefuls in her single. Her time of 19:13.7 placed her within 10% of the winning time and ahead of current national team member Laura Larsen-Strecker.

The Fall Speed Order is meant to provide a long distance physiological test for current and hopeful national team members early in the training plan. On Saturday each rower pulled a 6,000 meter piece on the rowing machine. The results on the erg provided the starting order for a 4,500 meter head race on Sunday. Miranda pulled an average 1:52.5 for the 6k erg placing her in 28th.

Miranda was invited to the USRowing Pre-elite Training Camp in Bloomington, Indiana this past summer. She has continued her training plan throughout the fall semester and hopes to make a future national squad. We wish her luck as she makes the transition from Case Crew rower and coach to the national stage!

Race results can be found HERE.

Coach's Corner: 2009 Speakmon Regatta Recap

Mon, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The Case Crew Club traveled to Columbus, OH on Saturday 10/ 24/09 to compete at the Speakmon Regatta. This all-day event was very exciting as it was the first race for the novices, and the last race of the fall season! Coaches Patty and Miranda were not able to attend this regatta, so Preya was the only coach present and was extremely impressed by the leadership, enthusiasm and helpfulness of all athletes!

The Men�s Open 4+ A and B were the first event for the Spartan Navy: The A boat of Jessica Schneider (cox), Adam Wilson (4), Chris Cichewicz (3), Matt Moss (2) and Nick Beese (bow) �reunited� to row their Head of the Charles line-up one last time. With good leg drive, they were able to get the hull moving at a solid 28-30, but due to equipment malfunction with their rudder, they ended up zig-zagging down the course. Good leadership from cox Jessica Schneider got them safely across the finish line. During their debrief they decided to put this race aside and focus on the Open Eight later in the day.

The Men�s 4+ B of Anna Czekaj (cox), Dan Seery (4), Ben Lorman (3), Kenji Ishida (2) and Ben Connell (bow) surged through the water in the Hot Sauce. Coach Preya could see their smooth finishes and aggressive catches, and this definitely helped combat a slight starboard lean. It was also cox Anna�s first ever racing experience. When she got off the water, she exclaimed that she was fiercely competitive with her calls. The men felt that this attitude helped them enormously. This boat is comprised of novices racing in an open event and they should be proud of their performance.

The Men�s Open Novice 8+ of Chris Cichewicz (cox), Jordan Lajoie (stroke), Ben Connell (7), Mike Baldonieri (6), Alex Nassif (5), Dan Seery (4), Mike Figura (3) Greg Geither (2) and Mike Johnson (bow) raced very well in the Marcovy. With a stroke rating around a 26-28, they blew down the race course in a very competitive event. Having only 3 experienced rowers in this boat, they were able to focus their power throughout the drive to create good run. I am extremely proud of this group of men; they have great athletic ability and put the team first. Watch for them this spring.

The Women�s Pair of Katie Puttmann and Margaret Wilkes rowed in one of their favorite shells, the kaizen, to a classy second place finish. Even in rainy and cold conditions, they had been looking forward to this race since September! With stellar steering to good swing, Katie and Margaret came off the water with big smiles, knowing they had medaled without even seeing the results.

The Women�s Open Novice 8+ of Matt Moss (cox), Monica Ionescu (stroke), Caitlin Bowerman (7), Sarah Greenlee (6), Elizabeth Brott (5), Lily Hecker (4, from Cleveland State), Ruth Dickey (3), Anna Czekaj (2) and Danna Duchesne (bow) rowed to a fantastic third place finish! Cox Matt Moss said that this boat had excellent set with applied power. Stroke Monica Ionescu, who had just hopped out of her single (where she got first place), told her boat �ladies, we are going to get a medal in this race, I just know it�, did a fantastic job setting the rating. This group of women is compromised of former athletes, and used their competitive edge to row very smoothly. I am excited to see what they can do in the spring! A big thanks to Lily Hecker, who helped complete the novice lineup.

The Women�s Open 4+ of Kenji Ishida (cox), Jessica Schneider (stroke), Margaret Wilkes (3), Sarah Rubin (2) and Katie Puttmann (bow), rowed their HOCR lineup one last time to a first place finish. I was able to see the last 600 meters and was pleased with the good technique and power application. They should be proud of their results. It also marked Jessica Schneider�s and Sarah Rubin�s last race for the Spartan Navy, as they are graduating this fall.

The Women�s Collegiate Novice 4+ of Anna Czekaj (cox) Ruth Dickey (stroke), Caitlin Bowerman (3), Sarah Greenlee (2) and Elizabeth Brott (bow) endured cold winds and rain during their second race of the day. The held their leg drive and even though they maintained a lower stroke rating, they rowed to a second place finish, behind John Carroll University. The experience of racing twice was a good one, and they were enthusiastic of their placing.

The last race of the day ended with the Men�s Open 8+ of Katie Puttmann (cox), Adam Wilson (stroke), Nick Beese (7), Dan Seery (6), Chris Cichewicz (5), Matt Moss (4), Ben Lorman (3), Jordan Lajoie (2) and Kenji Ishida (bow). I was able to see the last 600 meters and was impressed by the clean blade work. Cox Katie Puttmann did a fantastic job steering and motivating the men. After the race, the men said they were pleased with their performance and huddled up to remind themselves that the training for the spring starts now. This group of highly motivated men will be leaders on the team and I look forward to seeing what they accomplish during our winter training.

During this long day, coach Preya coxed the Western Reserve Rowing Association�s Women�s Masters 4+ to a first place finish. Her brief absence would not have been possible without the leadership of everyone on the Case team.

The fall is always a great season; it�s when we teach novice rowers what it means to row for Case and the varsity enjoy being back on the water together. However, spring will be here before you know it. The coaches have a comprehensive winter training plan and are looking forward to instilling a competitive, yet fun work ethic. Do you have thoughts on winter training you want to share with the team? Send comments to coach Preya at preya.nixon@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continual support to the Spartan Navy!

Think fast thoughts,
Coaches Preya Nixon, Patty Wolford & Miranda Cullins
CWRU Crew Club

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 Speakmon Regatta Photo Gallery

Women Earn Medals in Every Event at Speakmon

Mon, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Case Crew headed to Columbus for the annual Speakmon Regatta hosted by the Greater Columbus Rowing Association. The team has made the trek to Columbus for this event since the early 90's, and it usually marks the first race for the novice team. Partly cloudy weather with temperatures in the high 40's and low 50's throughout the day greeted the team making for a crisp fall day.

The low temps and brisk wind did not deter the women's team from racing to a medal in every event they entered. The women's open 4+ of Jessica Schneider, Sarah Rubin, Margaret Wilkes & Katie Puttmann with Kenji Ishida on the rudder beat Toledo high school, Anthony Wayne, for gold. Bringing sliver medals home were Margaret Wilkes and Katie Puttmann in the Open Pair and the Women's Collegiate Novice Four. The Novice Four race was an all Cleveland affair with John Carroll winning the event and Cleveland State taking third. For the women's Novice Eight, Case and Cleveland State joined forces to field a crew and placed third beating an entry from Wittenberg and two from Ohio University.

On the men's side, the Open Eight had a strong performance beating crews from Denison University and the University of Toledo to take sixth overall. In their first race ever for Case, the Novice Eight finished a strong sixth -- one second behind Ohio University and over a minute ahead of crews from Indiana University and Denison. The two Open Fours finished near the end of the pack in a strong field of regional collegiate crews.

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 Speakmon Regatta Photo Gallery

Alumni Men's 8+ Christens Charles River

Mon, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The Spartan Alumni showed up in force in Boston for the 44th Head of the Charles. The regatta organizers saw fit to offer an age adjusted Alumni Eights event for the first time ever. SARA secured the only non-East Coast slot out of the 34 on offer. Case Crew also got two entries and fielded both men's and women's club fours.

Weather threatened all weekend and arrived on Sunday, but for racing on Saturday it was a perfect New England fall day with temperatures in the mid 40's and only a slight head wind. Racing on Sunday for the Champ crews finished in a snow storm.

The alumni 8+ line up of (C) Patty Wolford, (8) Doug Rathburn, (7) Alan Valenti, (6) Tom Attenweiler, (5) Chris Bowley, (4) Ian Henderson, (3) Brian Chorney, (2) Mike Krofcheck, and (1) Nate Uber knew they had their work cut out for them on Friday for practice. Discussion quickly revolved around the other crews in the race -- Chorney lives in Boston and rows out of Community Rowing Inc. and shared insights into how many current and former national rowing team members we now rowing for their alma mater.

The SARA line up somehow was given bow number 4, which meant they were lined up between Holy Cross and the Rude and Smooth from Harvard. In total four crews from Harvard, two from Princeton, three from Williams and the rest of the Ivy League were in the race. The guys from Rude and Smooth inquired about our age at the start. Their hey-day was well before all of the SARA guys were born (except maybe Doug), and wondered if it was fair to be racing with them. However, they were still THE Harvard crew from the 70's and the boys from Case set a goal to stay ahead of them.

For the race, the alumni went off at a 33 and quickly settled into a rhythm at ~30 strokes per minute under the BU bridge. They maintained that rating throughout the body of the race and felt strong. Crews from Hobart, Georgetown, Harvard (another one) and Cornell (clashing oars under Eliot) did eventually pass the SARA crew -- including an exciting three abreast adventure under Weeks that got us on row2k -- but the old boys in Rude and Smooth stayed firmly behind. The final verdict saw SARA beating Rude and Smooth on the water, but were bested by 43 seconds due to the age handicap. Given that the handicap is meant to adjust for age, the crew was excited by the speed of the line up and how they could hang with the former national champions.

SARA finished their event in 28th place out of 34 crews. They were the highest placing crew from a club program and beat line-ups from Columbia and Princeton.

Case Crew garnered two entries into the Club Fours event -- one for the women and one for the men.

The men's four finished in 52nd place out of 55 crews. The women were assessed a one minute penalty for interference under one of the bridges, which knocked them down to 52nd place out of 54 crews. The men were all underclassmen so hopefully this experience will encourage them to build more speed throughout the winter season for Dad Vails. For many of the women there will be no more head races in Boston under the Case banner. Graduation beckons, but don't worry because you can always row with us next year as SARA!

That evening most of the alumni, rowers and a few parents headed to the Boston Beer Works near Fenway Park for dinner and reminiscing. But it was early to bed, because many of the students volunteered for the regatta the next morning. It snowed on Sunday, and that's all that really needs to be said.

A couple alumni competed in the regatta as well for other teams. The results were:
Rich Richards CIM'99 stroked the Carnegie Lake Rowing Association team to a 14th of 24 finish in the Master Four [40+] event;
Tim Marcovy LAW'77 sat three seat for WRRA and took 25th of 31 finish in the Senior-Master Four [50+] event;
Cindy Ching '96 is a USRowing referee and was stationed near the start on BU bridge;

If we've missed any other alumni results please let us know.

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 Head of the Charles Photo Gallery

Tough Day for Fours in Pittsburgh; Regatta Utimately Cancelled

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Beautiful weather greeted the team in Pittsburgh for the annual Head of the Ohio. Three of the four crews slated to race finished before the winds picked up around 2pm. With wind speeds reaching double digits, the regatta organizers decided to cancel racing. The one crew not able to finish, the women's open 4+, was sitting at the start when the race was cancelled.

Miranda Cullins in her single won her event while besting the second place finisher by nearly a minute. In men's racing, Case Crew fielded an Open 4+ and Novice 4+, with both placing at the end of the pack. The Men's Open 4+ of Matt Moss (stroke), Chris Cichewicz, Adam Wilson, Nick Beese and Grace Eder (cox) powered through strong winds and high waves holding off two boats coming up from behind for the entire course. The Men's Novice 4+ Dan Seery (stroke), Ben Lorman, Kenji Ishida, and Ben Connell with Jessica Schneider (cox) battled for a long stretch of the course with John Carroll's Novice 4+. The JCU and Case novice boats had a large gap in front and behind resulting in a mini dual race. By the end JCU persevered placing a few spots ahead of Case in the final standings.

The Women's Varsity 4+ survived what could be called a character building outing. The crew of Jessica Schneider, Margaret Wilkes, Sarah Rubin, and Katie Puttmann with Kenji Ishida coxing in his first ever regatta headed to the start excited to race. On the way to the start the weather got worse and the cox-box failed. While waiting in the starting area two boats swamped near the finish and racing ceased. However, the team had to row all the way back to the finish area to the docks anyway -- all of the rowing without the glory. According to Sarah Rubin, "Luckily, HOTO is fun even on a bad day."

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 Head of the Ohio Photo Gallery

Great Weather and Racing Greet Alums in Cleveland

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Head season is upon us! 2009 marked the fourth time Case Crew alums have entered events in the Head of the Cuyahoga in dedicated alumni boats. While no SARA boat walked away with a medal this year, it was a beautiful day of racing and everyone had fun.

Case Crew took top honors in the Men's Open 8+ against cross town rival Cleveland State and in the Women's Open 1x Miranda Cullins trounced her nearest competitor by over two minutes. The fours for both men and women proved quite a challenge Saturday. The Women's Open 4+ were nudged out of a bronze by 15 seconds behind Wheaton College from Chicago. The men's split up their gold medal eight combo to race two Open Fours with the A entry finishing in 7th and the B entry finishing in 9th out of 14 crews.

Shoemaker, Bachmann, Hewson and Denzel at the catch

The Men's Open 4+ event also had one of the SARA entries in the regatta. The line up of Chris Denzel (stroke), Fraser Hewson (3), Dan Bachmann (2), Chris Shoemaker (bow) and Erynn Rathburn (cox) held off three boats to finish 11th of 14. The Open 4+ event was won by a local line-up made up of Ignatius, John Carroll and Cleveland State Alumni. The crew, stroked by Tim Marcovy's son Aaron, won the event by nearly a minute and was certainly one of the most impressive crews of the day.

Two other alumni boats rowed under the SARA banner: Men's Open 2x and Men's Open 2-. In the pair was Chris Denzel and Chris Shoemaker, while in the double it was Dan Bachmann and Doug Rathburn. Denzel had never been in a pair before and Bachmann had been sculling less than five times in his life so last place finishes in each event were not a surprise. However, everyone had a great time catching up and enjoying the sunny, mid-60's weather.

Case Crew founder and SARA Board Member, Tom Hudak, raced in a number of events for Three Rivers. We're not sure exactly how many events, but he sure got a good mental image of all the bends in the Cuyahoga. At last count he finished 1st in the Masters 8+, 2nd in the Open 2x, and 4th in the Men's Master A-B 1x. Former Case Crew head coach Tim Marcovy, rowing for WRRA, won his first-ever Head of the Cuyahoga medal in the single beating out 11 other scullers in the D-F category. Great job Tom and Tim!

Alumnus Tom Hudak '92 in one of his three races at the 2009 Head of the Cuyahoga

While we did not have a formal dedication like we do for shells, taking delivery of the new trailer was still a big deal for the team. In the mid-90's the team shared a trailer with WRRA and John Carroll. But after an accident (not by Case) the team has been without a trailer for almost ten years. To get to races they had to beg, borrow or rent space on other team's trailers. SARA bought the 2007 Vespoli 36' Transporter trailer from Lesley University who were disbanding their rowing team. The trailer had almost no miles on it and SARA Board member Brian Chorney brokered a great deal for us. Click here see photos from the new trailer.

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 Head of the Cuyahoga Photo Gallery

Club Sports Highlighted in The Observer

Tue, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

An article in this week's Observer highlighted the efforts student athletes put into making their sports a reality on campus. Sports club administrator, Pat Kennedy, sums up the club sports experience:

Like any state, the rise and fall of a sport depends on the efforts of its citizens. For the 20-plus years they've been on campus, club sports have come to life and been mercilessly snuffed out by student interest. Clubs are responsible for recruiting their own members, and doing their own fundraising. They are allotted supplemental funds based on what associate athletic and club sports director Pat Kennedy calls "goal-oriented budgeting." As in, how many recruits does a club think it can get this year? Will it need cash to travel?

Not a terribly supportive stance by the administration. Case is the only team amongst it's UAA Peer Schools that is explicitly prevented from paying coaches. Rochester, Emory, Carnegie-Mellon, and WashU have dedicated boathouses. When Brandeis was staring at losing their boathouse space a couple years ago, their administration used its influence to help secure alternate space in Boston. Case Crew has the smallest cash allotment of all UAA schools by over $8,000 to its next closest peer. As alumni, we step in to fill the gap between what Case provides the team and what others schools are provided by their administrations.

From the article:

Jessica Schneider, the president of the crew club, understands this struggle too well. She commends the efforts of the athletic department, but believes funds dispensed for varsity t-shirts and pizza at meetings could be better spent. She recently spent 12 hours selling beer at a Browns game to help fund her sport.

"While they're eating pizza, I'm serving beer to a drunk man whose making comments about my chest," Schneider said.

But thanks to Schneider and her teammates' herculean fundraising (over $11,000 last year), the club has just enough income to stay afloat.

At all of the other UAA schools the money Jessica raised would go into equipment and coaching to make the team fast. At Case it just provides for their existence: travel and rack rents. The other schools set funding levels for existence and the kids fundraise for speed. Not at Case...

You can read the full article HERE

Three Boats to be Racing at the Head of the Charles!

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500

This year's Head of the Charles is turning out to be a major event for Case Crew. The team got both of their club 4+ entries - men & women - accepted into this year's event. The men's alumni 8+ entry was also accepted so three boats representing Case will be racing down the Charles River on October 17. If you're in the area please come down and cheer the team on. The university may have an alumni tent at the regatta site and we'll post more details as they come in.

The current alumni 8+ line up is: (C) Meg Grow, (8) Tom Attenweiler, (7) Doug Rathburn, (6) Dave Simpson, (5) Chris Bowley, (4) Ian Henderson, (3) Brian Chorney, (2) Mike Krofcheck, (1) Nate Uber. A number of alumnae voiced interest this year, but not enough to field a women's eight so we did not submit an entry -- maybe next year!

Get Ready for Head Season - Row With Us in Cleveland and Boston!

Sun, 2 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Last year we entered a number of alumni boats in the Head of the Cuyahoga -- (pictures HERE). The regatta is September 19 in Cleveland, and if you'd like to race this year please send Doug Rathburn an email. Aside from the racing we'll dedicate the new trailer and meet up for drinks at Great Lakes Brewery that evening. Entries open up on Regatta Central on August 6 so contact us soon.

The other potential exciting news is SARA's alumni 8+ entry into this year's Head of the Charles. This is the first year the regatta is offering the event so there are no guaranteed entries -- just a pure lottery. We won't know if our entry is accepted until after the September 1 deadline, but we'll send a note out with the news. If accepted the current line up is: (C) Meg Grow, (8) Tom Attenweiler, (7) Doug Rathburn, (6) Dave Simpson, (5) Chris Bowley, (4) Ian Henderson, (3) Brian Chorney, (2) Mike Krofcheck, (1) Nate Uber.

Rochester's Women Become Varsity with Help of Alumni

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The University of Rochester announced that their women's rowing team will become a varsity sport this coming fall. Rochester has always proven to be a very fast club winning 4 of the 6 women's URA Championships. The men's team will maintain club status.

An interesting point in the university press release is the credit the school gives to alumni. One of the main inspirations for creating SARA was the success of Friends of UR Crew. We have modeled much of our operations on theirs. From the press release:

"This longstanding dream of achieving varsity status for women's rowing would not have been possible without the dedicated Rochester alumni, friends, and parents constituting the Friends of UR Crew," said Dr. Edward Fox '91, '95 MD, President of the Friends of UR Crew.

Read the full press release here.

Trailer Fundraising Update - We did it!!!

Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500

SARA is trying to buy a 2007 36' Vespoli Transporter Trailer from Lesley University. Thanks to the generosity of Case Crew alumni, family and friends we were able to raise the $8,000 for its purchase. Top racks were sponsored for $1,000, middle racks for $650 and bottom racks for $350.

Photos of the trailer can be found HERE.

This trailer purchase represents the second piece of equipment for the Alumni Victorious Campaign, which is the first capital campaign undertaken by SARA. Please click here if you'd like to see a listing of current and previous donors.

Miranda Cullins invited to USRowing National Team Pre-Elite Camp

Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Case Crew rower and coach Miranda Cullins was invited to the USRowing Women's National Team Pre-Elite Camp. This past season she has been coaching the team while completing her graduate studies. Much of her spring training was done in SARA's new Hudson single, the sustain. She was selected as part of a group of 13 collegiate women from across the country.

From the press release: The camp is focused on developing athletes who have the potential to contribute to future Under 23 and Senior National Teams. The goals of this camp are to introduce and develop sculling, improve technique focusing on small boats, gain fitness and increase strength-to-weight ratio, and acquire skills necessary to compete at the elite level. Athletes will train intensely with two to three practices per day, and they will have opportunities to race throughout the summer.

Click here for the full press release

Case Women's Four Miss Semis by 2.3sec at Vails

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Case Crew sends its top boats each year to the Dad Vail Regatta to match up against the fastest small programs in the country. Vails is the culmination of a long season for most teams and is recognized as the de facto national championship for teams like Case. This year saw Case entering two boats: a women's varsity four into the newly created DII & DIII event along with a men's pair. The men's pair suffered an illness and scratched so it was up to the line up of Meg Grady, Jessica Schneider, Margaret Wilkes, Katie Puttmann and Nina Ma (cox) to carry the Case banner into Philly.

The regatta organizers faced significant risk with the weather this year. The typical format for heats on Friday is 6-abreast, 2000m racing with the top few boats advancing to the semi-finals on Saturday morning. A long week of rain leading up to the race resulted in too much water flowing down the Schuylkill River Thursday night and practice was cancelled. Fearing more issues with rain, the organizers shortened the distance to 1500m and used a time trial format -- with the top 18 crews in Case's event advancing.

The Case women put in a strong effort and felt they had a fast row. When the results were posted they saw that they beat three other teams that were in their originally scheduled heat -- implying they would have advanced to Saturday racing. However, the 21st overall position in the time trial meant they would not advance to the Saturday semis. UAA rivals from U. Chicago garnered the final qualifying spot posting a time only 2.3 seconds faster.

Comments from coxswain Nina Ma '09 regarding the race:

"The 4+ really came together and bonded in the last several weeks of practice. Right before we left for Vails, it was noted that we had come to trust each other and believe that each of us were really pushing and giving it our all. The race was incredible and over as soon as it started. (1500 m is really short when you want the experience to last forever. ) We rowed a great race. It was probably this boat's best row and we had a kind of power that we never had before. I could feel the shift in power when I called a ten. The rate went up two beats and it felt like someone had just put an engine in the stern of the boat. It flew and it felt amazing. We were disappointed that we didn't get a chance to race again, but we tried our best and none of us would've changed anything about the row. Even though two of us are graduating this spring, we're hoping this lineup will row together again at Head of the Cuyahoga and the Alumni Regatta next spring."

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 Dad Vail Regatta Photo Gallery

Three Times a Charm in Charleston for Case Crew

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Three crews took home three medals from this year's West Virginia Governor's Cup in Charleston, WV. The team's performance on this hot and sunny day garnered them a seventh place overall finish out of 15 colleges. The medals came in the Women's Varsity 8+ Dash (bronze), Men's Frosh/Novice 4+ (silver) and the women's collegiate pair (bronze). While the sun was out and the usual festival atmosphere was present on shore, the wind proved a tough competitor that threw up white caps for most of the day.

On the alumni front, Chris Shoemaker and Doug Rathburn jumped in a pair and finished at the back of the pack. The pair were in second place to the 1000m mark, but their lack of fitness and time together (this was their first time ever in a pair together) left them struggling to hang on to the pack for the second 1000m. Later that morning, Doug jumped in his single and finished in second place in the 1000m Open 1x event.

In the women's varsity fours and eights Case had to qualify in order to compete in the grand final. In the eights heat they battled with cross town rival, Cleveland State, all the way down the course but ended up just behind to capture the third and final qualifying position. Finishing less than 2 seconds off Cleveland State was all of the motivation the women needed and put in strong performance in the finals to finish fourth overall and 10 seconds ahead of Cleveland State. The improvement in the eights was such that they were only 2.5 seconds off UAA rivals Carnegie-Mellon for third. Just a couple weeks prior Carnegie-Mellon beat Case at the URA Championships by 26 seconds. The crew then turned and headed up river for the traditional 500m dash. The team gained one spot to finish in third -- this time beating Carnegie-Mellon by 5 seconds.

In the Varsity 4+ heat Case finished ahead of Old Dominion and Wittenberg for a place in the final. The crew of Nina Ma (cox), Katie Puttmann (stroke), Margaret Wilkes (3), Jessica Schneider (2), Meg Grady (bow) struggled with the rough water and came back to the dock soaked to the bone after finishing fourth of six. The first three places went to Carnegie-Mellon, Miami and Cleveland State, but the women were able to beat the local team (and varsity program) from the University of Charleston.

The Case women took advantage of the SARA small boat fleet and entered the pair and double events. Katie Puttmann (stroke) and Margaret Wilkes (bow) hot seated from the fours into the pair and finished third against three entries from Carnegie-Mellon. In the 1000m open double event, Sarah Rubin (stroke) and Laura Boucher (bow) took on one team from Carnegie-Mellon and were hanging on the entire race and finished just 4 seconds off the pace.

The men's frosh/novice event was split into two flights and the entry from Case Crew finished a strong second to Carnegie-Mellon while beating crews from Old Dominion and Duquesne. The line up of Matt Moss (stroke), Nick Beese (3), Dan Seery (2), Adam De Guire (bow) and Matt Goldenberg (cox) are a young dedicated group of guys that will form the nucleus of the men's team for the seasons to come.

Race results can be found HERE.

2009 West Virginia Governor's Cup Photo Gallery

Alumni Regatta Results -- New Shells Added to Spartan Navy

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Cleveland reserved the best weather of the spring for the 4th annual spring alumni regatta, and a number of alums showed up to enjoy the fine weather and racing. The students through together a great BBQ after racing. With full stomachs everyone joined to christen some new shells into the Spartan Navy. Before heading home the alumni present held the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for SARA to discuss results from 2008 and plans for the coming year. Then later that evening everyone adjourned to Great Lakes Brewery for some fine brew.

The alumni men weren't present for the coach's and coxswain's meeting, but they thought they heard that the starter's commands were only suggests. The single elimination, bracket-style racing saw the alumni men's 4+ knocked out in the first round even with a healthy couple seat lead off the start. They were then left to contend for third place. The men's pair of Chris Shoemaker and Tom Attenweiler won their two races against the fours to take home the trophy. Tom will be teaming up with freshman Adam De Guire from the 2nd place crew at this year's Dad Vail Regatta and will hopefully contend with the big boys.

Racing on the women's side of the bracket saw three fours contend for the trophy. Alumna Agata Toborek, currently in med school in Louisville, powered her 4+ to a win in the women's event. The winning men's and women's boats each received a trophy. Per tradition the trophy is meant to be passed between crew members througout the year. Passing the trophy serves as a reminder to everyone keeping in touch with boatmates is an important aspect of the sport -- and fosters involvement with SARA.

After racing concluded, Tom Attenweiler fired up the grill and everyone feasted on some tasty hamburgers. Everyone then helped dedicate five new shells to the Spartan Navy: two eights owned by Case Crew and a pair/double and two singles donated to SARA. The students decided to name their two eights after their two recently departed head coaches -- Chris Sheridan and Tim Marcovy. Photos from the dedications can be found in the photo gallery.

The alumni regatta also serves as an opportunity for alumni to learn about SARA during the organization's Annual General Meeting (AGM). At the AGM alumni hear about the last year's results and plans for the coming year. They also elect the board of directors. SARA assets currently stand at about $50,000, which is primarily made up of the four shells we own. Donations for 2008 exceeded $27,000! The next capital campaign priority is a trailer. If you'd like to know more check out the AGM Meeting Minutes.

Full results from this year's alumni regatta can be found HERE.

2009 Alumni Regatta Photo Gallery

Streak Ends for Case Crew at Home Schools Regatta

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The three year winning streak for Case at the Home Schools Regatta ended this year against tough competition from Cleveland State and John Carroll. The pre-season regatta is hosted by Cleveland Rowing Foundation and consists of side-by-side racing along a 1500m bendy part of the Cuyahoga River. The racing schedule is determined every year by the number of boats each team can muster, and the winners of each dual race are awarded a point. Case ultimately took third place this year.

On a day more like winter than spring, racing proved difficult -- temperatures were in the 40's with a fine Cleveland breeze. Case did not win any of the races for points, but won both exhibition events. This year's dominating win for Cleveland State was their first-ever in seven years of the event. As a primarily commuter school their performance hopefully bodes well for the future of that program.

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

2009 Home Schools Photo Gallery

Rough Weather, Tough Competition at URAs

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Case Crew took a number of crews to Butler, PA to race their conference rivals at the 6th annual URAs. The men's pair, rowing the another new SARA shell, placed 5th out of 8 behind perennial Dad Vail finalists from Rochester, WashU and Carnegie-Mellon. The Men's JV four beat the CMU entry to place 5th while the fresh crop of novices in four finished off the pace. The women's team raced in the varsity 8+, Varsity 4+ and Varsity Pair events but finished last in each event. True to form, the early spring event brought with it cold and gusting weather that threatened to cancel the race on a few occasions.

The regatta was formulated as a dual race between Case and the University of Chicago, but it quickly blossomed into the de facto University Athletic Association crew championships. The regatta is organized and run by alumni and coaches. While each team from the UAA has attended the race in the past, the 2009 installment was the first time all eight teams showed up. The depth and size of the regatta continues to increase.

This year's overall winners were Rochester for the women and Emory for the men. The Case men finished 7th overall in the conference, and the women finished 8th. Full results from this year's race can be found HERE.

2009 URA Regatta Photo Album