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    Latitude 35 for the Win

    Latitude 35, a composite British-American crew, has set a new trans-Atlantic rowing record. The team outlasted 11 others to take this year’s Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000-mile open-water race between the Canary Islands and Antigua, in 35 days, 14 hours, and three minutes. Impressively, the team—Americans Jason Caldwell and Matthew Brown and Angus Collins and Alex Simpson of the United Kingdom—managed to keep things drama-free during what’s known as “the world’s toughest row.” Said Simpson: “We put any differences aside.”

    The Single Life

    I learned to scull out of necessity. It was 1991, and the attrition from junior to senior that year was particularly bad. If I wanted to keep rowing, it would have to be on my own. It wasn’t pretty at first—it still isn’t, my ever-changing release continuing to mess with my set—but I stayed upright long enough to eventually learn how to move the boat.

    The single is a great teacher, and I learned other things too that year—how to properly apply power, how to relax and let the boat do the work. But more than anything, I learned how to race. Sure, I’d been down the race course plenty of times before, in pairs, fours, and eights. But there’s nothing like having to make that trip on your own, with just your race plan and that voice in your head keeping you company. It’s a cliché, but there really is no hiding in the single.

    I didn’t stay exposed for too long. All told, I spent only a couple years as a sculler, but nearly everything I learned—about technique and about myself—I was able to apply to crew boats. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t work the other way around.

    This is just one of the reasons why I recommend that people, newcomers especially, learn to scull. Writer Connor Walters offers many more in our cover feature this issue, “Balance is Beautiful” (page 38), along with a road map for how to get there.

    Walters talked to some of the most accomplished sculling coaches and athletes in the country for his piece, including Olympic singles silver medalists Michelle Guerette (Beijing) and Gevvie Stone (Rio). Both made the switch to sculling after years in sweep and reached the pinnacle of our sport.

    Here’s to more doing the same.

    Stanford Lead USRowing’s Fifth Coaches Poll

    PRINCETON, N.J. — Defending national champion the University of California, Berkeley came out of the Cal-UW dual victorious to unanimously earn the first-place spot in the fifth regular season USRowing Coaches Poll.
    With all 19 first-place votes, the Cal Bears maintained the top spot in the polls after winning the men’s freshman and varsity eights. In second place was the University of Washington who will face Washington State University on the Snake River in Idaho this weekend.
    Yale University was ranked third. Harvard University and Princeton University were fourth and fifth respectively. Making the largest jump in the Coaches Poll was Syracuse University, moving from 15th to seventh place. For the first time since 2012, the Syracuse men’s varsity eight brought home the Conlan Cup when it defeated Boston University and Columbia on Saturday, April 22, on the Onondaga Lake Outlet.
    In the lightweight men’s poll, Yale University claimed the top spot after a successful day on the Housatonic Saturday morning with a complete three-race sweep of Dartmouth College. The Bulldogs took nine first-place votes.
    In second was Cornell University with one first-place vote. The No. 2 Cornell men’s lightweight rowing team swept all four races against Columbia and MIT on Saturday, April 22, taking home the Geiger Cup for the 12th time in the last 15 seasons. Harvard University lightweights were ranked third, with Princeton University finishing fourth. The United States Naval Academy rounded out the top five.
    Stanford University’s No.1-ranked lightweight women spent last weekend training and preparing for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta which will be held on Lake Natoma in California, April 29-30, 2017. The Stanford women held five first-place votes, continuing their reign of the lightweight women’s poll.
    Earning two first-place votes was Boston University in second place. The Boston Terriers, along with the top four lightweight women’s crews, will take on Eastern Sprints on April 30, 2017, in Worcester, Mass. Watch the races live here.
    In third was Harvard-Radcliffe. Fourth and fifth were Princeton University and the University of Tulsa, respectively. Joining the lightweight women’s polls this week were two previously unranked crews, Clemson University and Washington State University.


    Men’s Heavyweight Eight

    Rank Team Previous Rank
    1 University of California, Berkeley (13) 1
    2 University of Washington 2
    3 Yale University 4
    4 Harvard University 3
    5 Princeton University 4
    6 Dartmouth University 7
    7 Syracuse University 15
    8 Boston University 6
    9 Northeastern University 8
    10 University of Pennsylvania 10
    11 Stanford University 12
    12 Brown University 9
    13 University of Wisconsin 11
    14 United States Naval Academy 13
    15 George Washington University 14
    16 Georgetown University 16
    17 Columbia University 18
    18 Cornell University 17
    19 Oregon State University 19
    20 Florida Institute of Tech. 20

    Others receiving votes: Saint Joseph’s University, Santa Clara University, College of the Holy Cross, Hobart College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Drexel University, Gonzaga University
    Participating Coaches: Scott Alwin (Columbia), Todd Kennett (Cornell), Geoff Bond (Penn), Rob Friedrich (Navy), Philip Schmehl (Marietta), Mark Davis (George Washington), Charley Butt (Harvard), Paul Cooke (Brown), Stephen Gladstone (Yale), Jim Granger (Florida Tech), Gabe Winkler (Oregon State), Jim Barr (Holy Cross), Greg Hughes (Princeton), Tom Sanford (Marist), Wyatt Allen (Dartmouth), Mike Irwin (Saint Joseph’s)


    Lightweight Men’s Eight

    Rank Team Previous Rank
    1 Yale University (9) 2
    2 Cornell University (1) 1
    3 Harvard University 4
    4 Princeton University 3
    5 United States Naval Academy 5
    6 University of Pennsylvania 6
    7 University of Delaware 8
    8 Columbia University 7
    9 Georgetown University 10
    10 Dartmouth University 9
    11 MIT 11
    12 Mercyhurst University 12
    13 Temple University 13
    14 Purdue University 14
    15 University of California, Berkeley 15

    Others Receiving Votes: University of California Maritime, Saint Joseph’s University, University of California Santa Barbara, Sonoma State University, Washington State University, University of Pittsburgh
    Voting Coaches: Lee Rumpf (Georgetown), Andrew Card (Yale), Marty Crotty (Princeton), Shawn Bagnell (Navy), Nice Lee Parker (Columbia), William Boyce (Harvard), Colin Farrell (Penn), Sean Healey (Dartmouth), Sean McKenna (Temple), Chris Kerber (Cornell)


    Lightweight Women’s Eight

    Rank Team Previous Rank
    1 Stanford University (5) 1
    2 Boston Unversity (2) 2
    3 Harvard-Radcliffe 5
    4 Princeton University 3
    5 University of Tulsa 4
    6 University of Wisconsin 6
    7 Georgetown University 8
    8 MIT 7
    9 University of California, Berkeley 10
    10 Bucknell University 9
    11 Purdue University 11
    12 Villanova University 14
    13 Oklahoma State 13
    14 Clemson University NR
    15 Washington State University NR

    Others Receiving Votes: Lasalle University, University of Oregon, Penn State
    Voting Coaches: Dusty Mattison (Wisconsin), Stephen Full (Georgetown), Claire Martin-Doyle (MIT), Paul Rassam (Princeton), Kate Bertko (Stanford), Sarah Baker (Harvard-Radcliffe), Malcolm Doldron (BU)

    The River Beckons

    Andrew Triggs Hodge is hanging up his oar. It will go nicely with his four world championships and three consecutive Olympic gold medals he collected during his international rowing career for Great Britain.
    “The parts I enjoyed most about rowing was the rowing itself. Competition served as milestones for training and also it shone the light on the part I intrinsically enjoyed, the hard work and training,” he said in his retirement announcement.
    Hodge will go down as one of the United Kingdom’s most accomplished oarsmen, with his career culminating last August as part of the Olympic gold-medal-winning eight in Rio. That marked three consecutive Olympic titles, following victories in the men’s four in London and Beijing. His world championship victories came in the four in 2005 and 2006, and the eight in 2013 and 2014. All told, Hodge raced in 14 different world or Olympic championships.
    Although he wraps up his career on top, Hodge did not find immediate success when he began on the international circuit. His eight finished sixth at his first world championship in 2002, and when they placed ninth at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he said it “seeded an anger and a ruthless desire to prove myself.”
    In his announcement, Hodge said he’s looking forward to both family and professional opportunities that await him now. “With the impending delivery of our second child, the security of an exciting job, and the feeling that my body was getting to the end of its athletic life, Rio was a fitting way to complete my Olympic journey and end my career in rowing.”
    Now the Oxford resident will turn his attention to assisting rowing startups in the U.K. and improving the environmental quality of a river he knows quite well: the Thames. He will put his master’s in environmental science to use on the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a project to direct sewage away from London’s famous river.
    “As I leave the oar behind, rowing stays with me. I have been on the receiving end of so many volunteer hours to help me to where I am now, I aim to give that back.”  Connor walters

    McGee Out at USRowing

    The medal-free performance of the U.S. men in Rio has claimed its first casualty on the coaching side. In a tersely-worded statement on March 8, USRowing announced that men’s eight coach Luke McGee had stepped down and that a search was starting for a new senior men’s coach. Bryan Volpenhein, who guided the men’s four to a seventh-place finish in Brazil, remains employed with the national federation. “Luke has brought tremendous enthusiasm and dedication to his time with the men, and we wish him the best going forward,” said USRowing High Performance Director Matt Imes in an announcement.

    Bishops in Boats

     Although Ohio has seen more young women rowing in recent years, its in-state opportunities for continuing into college have been limited. The Ohio State University and the University of Dayton are the only Division I varsity programs for women’s rowing in the state, and Marietta College is the only other women’s varsity team in Ohio—until now.
    Ohio Wesleyan University, a Division III college north of Columbus, announced in late February that it will add women’s rowing to its sport offerings. The program will operate as a club for the 2017-18 school year before the Battling Bishops crew receives varsity status the following year.
    “We have a lot of people who have reached out,” OWU Athletic Director Roger Ingles said. “The first day…the phone was ringing like crazy.”
    “It’s going to be something that will be well-received, both by the campus and prospective students. Hopefully it helps the sport to continue to grow.”
    Primary among the tasks Ingles is busy with currently is hiring a head coach. Once that person is in place, decisions will be made regarding which equipment to purchase, in which conference to compete, and where to row.
    “We’re really surrounded by a lot of different waterways,” Ingles said. “Right now, the Scioto River option is probably a good one for us.”
    OWU is the first school in the North Coast Athletic Conference to add women’s rowing. Its Ohio DIII counterpart, Marietta, races in the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference, which is a potential option for qualification for the NCAA championships.
    By adding women’s rowing, OWU can attract young rowers from places like Cleveland, Columbus, and other smaller rowing hubs that have popped up across the state. Ingles said it also makes the university an attractive option for students from New England, from where the school has traditionally drawn students.
    Ingles said Mark Williams, head coach of Ohio State’s club rowing program, was instrumental in helping him understand what he needed to do to launch rowing at the university. He added that all NCAC schools are located within close proximity to a body of water, meaning more collegiate programs may be on the horizon.

    World Indoor Sprints

    Put this man in a boat. Texas state trooper Derek Peterson turned in a mind-blowing 1,000-meter time of 2:43.8—that’s an average split of 1:21.9—to finish first in the open men’s category in the World Rowing Indoor Sprints, a virtual indoor rowing contest run by Concept2 and World Rowing. Jordan Falcone of CrossFit Weddington put up the biggest numbers on the women’s side, covering the distance in a brisk 3:19.7. Modeled after the SkiErg world championships, the World Rowing Indoor Sprints saw competitors performing a 1,000-meter piece on the ergometer between March 10-12.