2013 Fordham Duel Race Preview

In 2010, Fordham University found respite from the cold New York winters by visiting WMRC’s rowing site on their spring break. That year, a friendly 2000 meter exhibition race was held between the two clubs. Pleased with their hosts, Fordham has returned every year and the duel between the clubs remains a fixture on both schedules.

Fordham University is a private, Jesuit University in New York City. Despite its small size, this school has a rich tradition as a rowing powerhouse. Recently, Fordham’s Varsity Men have medaled at Dad Vails in 2007 (ML4), 2008 (ML8) and 2009 (MV8) and at the USRowing Championships in 2010 (MV4). Both squads have only just begun “on-the-water” practice in the past two weeks so a little rust is expected. However, this race can show the gains made through winter training and serve as an early indicator of this season’s success.

Novice Women:

This scrimmage will be the first time the novice (by definition collegiate rowers with less than one year experience) get to race in the shorter sprint distance. As such, it should be a huge learning experience. The women’s novice squad will race two eights, though one will be a “mixed eight” that contains 4 Fordham rowers and a WM contingent of Emily Flam, Kiara Earle, Annabel Cater, and Amber Bryant. This is an unusual arrangement in rowing, but because of the strong relationship between the two programs is feasible at this regatta. The newest WMRC member, coxswain Ziwei Li, will use this event as a chance to soak it all in from the sidelines before participating later in the season.

WM’s Women’s Novice 8

Coxswain: Mairin Haley

8: Claire Goydan

7: Jessie Viss

6: Kate Mott

5: Kelsey Mix

4: Arielle Galston

3: Camila Fishtahler

2: Lauren Piulson

1: Alex Coffey

Novice Men:

After a long winter of erging and, when weather permitted, weekend practices on the water, the novice men are fired up for a highly competitive spring. With a large squad, they can more than fill an 8 and so will be shuffling their lineup through the many race pieces this weekend. The starting lineup on Saturday is as follows:

Men’s Novice 8

Cox: Katie Oberg ’16

Stroke: Will Emmons ’16

7: Adam Mullet ’15

6: Marshall Irby ’16

5: Scott Klein ’15

4: Will Plews-Ogan ’15

3: David Heras ’14

2: Jamal Usmani ’16

Bow: Jack Bramley ’15

Rower Martin Liu ’16 and coxswain Nic Querolo ’16 will be substituted in during some of the later pieces.

Varsity Women:
The women will be rowing an eight against the Rams. Unfortunately Emma Rudebusch will be sitting this race out due to a back injury. Hopefully rest early in the season will allow her to return and contribute later on. Charlotte Dobry (winner at the Colonial Erg Sprints) is transitioning to her new role as coxswain and will be watching and learning the finer points of that position from the launch.

Women’s Varsity 8:
Cox: Cathy Merrit
Stroke: Ashley Koontz
7: Christine Laroche
6: Erin Brown
5: Kate Nolan
4: Jessica Beckett
3: Tiara Jackson
2: Kalan Brehm
1: Kate Kalaris

Varsity Men:
The men will be rowing an eight and a four against their Fordham counter parts. The eight will be comprised almost exclusively of lightweight rowers. However, with multiple rowers having personal best 2k times below 6:40, this crew still packs a heavyweight punch. The heavy four comprised of juniors will also compete, giving freshman coxswain Emma Cleary her first introduction to collegiate sprint racing. Lone underclassman and WMRC president, Logan Ferrell, will serve as the spare.

Men’s Varsity 8:
Cox: Olivia Walton
8: Bryan Monroe (Jr)
7: Jamie Lewis (Sr)
6: Ryan Fliss (Sr)
5: Connor Finch (Sr)
4: Alex Sullivan (Sr)
3: Bryan Smith (Sr)
2: Matt Everett (Jr)
1: Connor Kee (Jr)

Men’s Varsity 4:
Cox: Emma Cleary (Fr)
4: David Wasserstein (Jr)
3: Danny Otto (Jr)
2: Chris Stephens (Jr)
1: David Barnisin (Jr)