The Independent Rowing News

So Clemson executed a big win in one of the hotter contests of the day at the Hooch. The 30 other boats on the water played hard, but with Texas 13 seconds back from 3^rd, there was a sense that the top-three crews had already figured out the pre-season, and the others were still building toward greater things in the spring. Some of the trailing crews looked strong but may have been taken by the unique conditions.

The conditions (see Testing the Water) were a puzzle. The current was strong making precise blade work imperative. The headwind/occasional crosswind that blew in after the first mile or more also made effective connection at the catch, fast leg drive and strong finishes critical as well.  Yes, this is just good rowing, but crews and coxswains had to be flexible and adapt when the wind surprised them—this wasn’t on the menu.

“He (Coach Richard Ruggieri) just said it was going to be really important to be connected at the catch…that if we didn’t get the blade in quickly and connect we’d miss part of our strokes,” said Mairi Trimboli senior captain of Clemson and bow seat in the Eight. (see how they did below, from about the 1.5 mile mark on the course-shot into the sun, sorry)

Senior stroke of the boat Kelly Murphy, a Conestoga High School grad (a Philly, PA suburb) is one of four experienced rowers in the Varsity 8. The boat also has four seniors (not sure the cross-over on these groups). Murphy was in the Varsity Four that won at the NCAA Championships at the Cooper River in May, a result the crew wants to build on.  Coach Ruggieri would like to improve on the team’s 12^th place finish at NCAAs in 2009; the team athletes covet a top-five team finish.

This Southern crew of Andrea Belbusti, Kelly Murphy, Liz Robb, Michelle Nance, Jessica Gaul, Sarah Daanen, Brittany Cummings, Grace Wolff and Mairi Trimboli hail from all over the country: Pennsylvania, Idaho, Minnesota, Virginia, Vermont, Georgia and South Carolina. If Asst Coach Robbie Tannenbaum has anything to do with it, the recruiting reach will continue to grow. Clemson has something up their sleeves, and it may be a big International hug with their long recruiting arms. (Purely reporter speculation) Clemson has 20 scholarships, a supportive Women’s Athletic Director in Barbara Kennedy Dixon and the resources of a big SEC school. Most northern crews who suffer through the dreadful fall weather of 2009 would be colored even darker green with envy by one other boon of big-school bucks: a trainer who travels with the team. Who has that?

“Every year we hit another milestone,” says three-year coach Ruggieri. “My first year we took a boat to the NCAAs, the next year we took a team, this year we are just trying to get deeper and stronger.”

“We came on the map pretty fast, now we are working on consistency,” says Ruggieri, who wasn’t completely taken with the Eights (all three as a group) performance. He feels there is an opportunity to learn from the race, whether from first place, seventh or twentieth. (Clemson’s finishes here)

So far it looks like third-year goals are shaping up.  After the win in the Eight, Clemson also took first, fourth and fifth in the Championship Fours.  The freshman novice four won, and the eight came in second—all results that spell D-E-P-T-H.  The team has approximately 65 oarswomen, all driven to make an impact in the spring.  The teams comes back tomorrow in the Open Eights, and Michelle Nance and Sarah Daanen are taking on the rushing water in a pair.

Now…about the Delta Queen.  Rumored to be haunted, the team is staying at the riverboat hotel for the adventure. Right now the biggest adventure for the Clemson girls is the cold water showers and tricky bathroom door locks. No howling at night, but they do use a buddy system!

More from the Head of the Hooch over the next two days, including Masters and High School racing.

by Janit Stahl