Navy Women's Crew
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 November 2003 | October 2003 | September 2003
 

November 2003 Newsletter

Navy Women’s Crew E-Newsletter #3
Fall Wrap-Up

Navy Women’s Crew Completes Fall Season

Syracuse, NY – November 1, 2003. The Varsity Squad traveled up to Syracuse University earlier this month to compete in the second annual Syracuse Smash. This was the last fall race for the Varsity Squad. The Syracuse Smash has a relaxed feeling to it with all the competitors rowing in pairs. More schools were in attendance this year, which means that there is a possibility that the race will grow with more schools competing over the next few years.
     Forty pairs in two flights competed in the Syracuse Smash on Nov 1st. Boston University, the University of Connecticut, Cornell, Navy, Dartmouth and Rutgers were invited to join the Orangewomen in the competition. The pairs competed in a sprint style race with the boats lined up next to one another. The race started in the middle of the lake and the pairs rowed towards the channel. Conditions that morning started out calm but as time went on the wind started to pick up, creating a bit of chop on the lake. Navy faired well against the competition by placing 13^th, 20^th, 28^th, 31^st, and 35^th out of the 36 crews that finished the race. Check out the Official Results at:http://www.suathletics.com/Pdfs/rowing/2003/11/2/smash%20results.pdf 

Princeton, NJ – November 9, 2003. The Novice Squad traveled to Princeton, NJ for their final race of the fall season. The Belly of the Carnegie is an all Novice Head Race with Men’s Heavyweight, Men’s Lightweight, and Women’s Open-weight races. The Belly is a test of how deep a school’s squad is because each school is asked to make their top two boats even in speed. The top two times are averaged and combined with the Men’s and Women’s results from each school. The school with the best overall time is the winner of the Belly Bowl. This year Navy was fifth in the Belly Bowl. The Belly Bowl trophy went to Princeton.

Belly Bowl Overall Results:

1. Princeton
2. Cornell
3. University of Pennsylvania
4. Harvard
5. Navy
6. Georgetown

The Novice women had a tough group of competitors to face that Sunday. Every school they raced that day with the exception of Villanova were EAWRC (Eastern Sprints) schools. Navy will race all of the EAWRC schools in the spring. Out of the thirty crews that raced in the Women’s Eights event Navy placed 8^th, 17^th, and 19^th.
     The crew that placed 8^th was Navy’s “A” Boat with Coxswain Whitney Alvarado (Aurora, CO), Stroke Christine Campbell (Baltimore, MD), 7 Seat Becky Phelps (Scotts Valley, CA), 6 Seat Mary Wootan (Dallas, TX), 5 Seat Elizabeth Tree (Middletown, WI), 4 Seat Bethany Norman (Prior Lake, MN), 3 Seat Jenna Gladem (Littleton, CO), 2 Seat Lindsay Spiese (Quantico, VA), and Bow Beven McWilliams (Denver, CO).
     Navy’s “B” Boat placed 17^th with Coxswain Abby Mennerich (Newburgh, NY), Stroke Melinda Parrish (Powell, OH), 7 Seat Emily Lapp (Redmond, WA), 6 Seat Lizzy Ring (Cary, NC), 5 Seat Ruth Ann Rockwell (Shippensburg, PA), 4 Seat Maggie Hollyfield (DeSoto, TX), 3 Seat Ruth Roberson (Massillon, OH), 2 Seat Madeline Boe (Winchester Bay, OR), and Bow Terra Reber (Temple, PA).
     Navy’s “C” Boat placed 19^th with Coxswain Lanaya Martin (Kewaskum, WI), Stroke Kate Ford (Arlington, TX), 7 Seat Becky Tilton (Annapolis, MD), 6 Seat Diane Cote (Worcester, MA), 5 Seat Daphne Ponce (Carbonale, IL), 4 Seat Christine Sheridan (Chelmsford, MA), 3 Seat Nnenna Igbo (Riverdale, MD), 2 Seat Allison Tyler (Centennial, CO), and Bow Abby Maxwell (Salina, KS).
     Official Results can be found at: http://www.row2k.com/results/resultspage.cfm?UID=165785&cat=2 

The Belly of the Carnegie was a great end to a strong season for Navy’s Novices. After each boat came off the water the women seemed so excited about how great their race was. Navy had strong finishes compared to their Eastern Sprints competitors. The Novices seemed eager for the spring season to have another shot at beating those schools that finished ahead of them in the fall. 

Winter Training Has Begun 

Annapolis, MD – November 12, 2003. Days after their racing season ended the Navy Women’s Crew put their shells on the rack one last time. As cold weather looms over Annapolis, the Women’s Crew has begun their winter land training. Training has been scaled back by NCAA rules. Coaches are allowed eight hours of practice per week while the team is engaged in their Off Season/Winter Training. The team will begin their Championship/In Season training on January 20.
            During the land training the women are on an organized schedule of Lifting along with Performance Enhancement/Mental Training with Coach Hughes on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. The crew will also do Ergometer Training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The Novice Squad will be mixing things up with running stadium stairs and any other “creative” ideas that Coach Stimpson comes up with over the winter. Success in the spring is based on the effectiveness of Winter Training. With this program along with determination and focus from the athletes and coaches, Navy Women’s Crew will be a force to reckon with in the spring.

 Rowing Terms of the Month 

Ergometer – Commonly referred to as the “Erg”. The Erg is the rowing machine that rowers train on during land training. Ergs are used throughout the season for training and testing the athlete’s strength.

Sprint Race – During the Spring season the races are 2,000 meters long and commonly referred to as Sprints. It takes a women’s crew anywhere from six and a half minutes to eights minutes to complete a 2,000 meter race. The EAWRC Sprints is the Championship for the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges. The races are all 2,000 meters long and are raced in Eights and Fours.

Contact Information:

Head Coach Mike Hughes                    mhughes@usna.edu
Asst. Coach Nicole Stimpson               nwilliam@usna.edu
Volunteer Coach Kari Hughes               kmhughes@usna.edu
Navy Women’s Crew Office Phone:       410-293-2419
Navy Women’s Crew Web Site:           www.NavyWomensCrew.org 

Parents, feel free to contact the coaches with any questions via e-mail or phone.

October 2003 Newsletter

October 14, 2003
Navy Women’s Crew E-Newsletter #2

Strong Season Opener for Navy Women’s Crew 

Philadelphia, PA -  On October 11 at the Navy Day Regatta, the Navy Women’s Crew opened their 2003 -‘04 season with a strong debut. With clear skies and calm winds the women took to the Schuylkill River with force. Navy’s Varsity Eight commanded the field in the Women’s College Eights race. The winning crew was made up of: Coxswain – Shaunnah Wark (Exeter, NH), Stroke – Danielle James (Amityville, NY), 7 Seat – Caroline Scudder (Los Alamos, NM), 6 Seat – Amy Becht (Buffalo, NY), 5 Seat – Katie Mortenson (Arlington, VA), 4 Seat – Melinda Parrish (Powell, OH), 3 Seat – Emily Turton (Bethlehem, PA), 2 Seat – Cat Reppert (Westport Point, MA), and Bow – Margaret Sweeny (Grosse Pointe Farms, MI). The Women’s Varsity Eight won with a time of 14:48.9, next came the University of Pennsylvania in second with a time of 14:49.9, and Rutgers in third with a time of 14:55.8.
* Full listing of results to follow at end of story. 

The Second Varsity also had a victorious row in the Women’s JV Eights race. The winning crew was made up of: Coxswain - Lisbeth DiAntonio (Woodville, MA), Stroke - JoEllen Rose (Whitehouse, OH), 7 Seat - Amber Brookhouse (Fremont, MI), 6 Seat - Lizzy Ring  (Cary, NC), 5 Seat - Jennifer Hammer (Pottsville, PA), 4 Seat - Allison Maas (Bethesda, MD), 3 Seat - Emily Lapp (Redmond, WA), 2 Seat - Sara Nadal (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), and Bow - Camille Collett (Phoenix, AZ). Navy’s JV crossed the finish line with the winning time of 15:22.7, Rutgers came in second with a time of 15:35.4, and Temple in third with a time of 16:30.9. 

            The Navy Women’s College Four placed 11^th out of thirteen crews in their event. The Women’s Four was made up of: Coxswain – Lisa Wang (Ivoryton, CT), Stroke – Rachel LaValley (Leominster, MA), 3 Seat – Meredith Adkins (King and Queen County, VA), 2 Seat – Chastity Lovely (Dallas, TX), and Bow – Danica Adams (Annapolis, MD). Navy’s time of 17:22.9 beat Loyola’s “A” 17:29.7, LaSalle 18:04.9, and Georgetown’s “B” who did not finish. 

Navy’s Novice Crews produced a strong showing in their inaugural race. Two novice eights represented Navy at the Navy Day Regatta. They found their toughest competition to be the University of Pennsylvania. In the College Novice Women’s event, Navy came in third and fourth behind Penn’s first and second Novice Eights. The Novices are now hungry for another race against Penn at the Head of the Schuylkill on October 25. The Novice “A” crew who came in third was made up of: Coxswain – Whitney Alvarado (Aurora, CO), Stroke – Christine Campbell (Bethesda, MD), 7 Seat – Becky Phelps (Scotts Valley, CA), 6 Seat - Mary Wootan (Dallas, TX), 5 Seat – Ruth Rockwell (Shippensburg, PA), 4 Seat Bethany Norman (Prior Lake, MN), 3 Seat – Jenna Gladem (Littleton, CO), 2 Seat – Ruth Roberson (Massillon, OH), and Bow – Elizabeth Tree (Middleton, WI).  

The Novice “B” crew who came in fourth was made up of: Coxswain – Abby Mennerich (Newburgh, NY), Stroke – Diane Cote (Worcester, MA), 7 Seat – Samantha Foxton (Belmar, NJ), 6 Seat – Maggie Hollyfield (DeSoto, TX), 5 Seat – Terra Reber (Temple, PA), 4 Seat – Madeline Boe (Winchester Bay, OR), 3 Seat – Abby Maxwell (Salina, KS), 2 Seat – Lindsay Spiese (Quantico, VA), and Bow – Rachel Evan (Warwickshire, England). 

Women’s College Eights
Navy                14:48.9
Penn                 14:49.9
Rutgers            14:55.8
St. Joseph’s      14:58.6
Lehigh              15:03.3
Penn “B”          15:15.3
LaSalle              15:24.9
Penn “C”          15:36.6
Army                15:39.1
Rutgers “B”      15:53.0
Drexel              24:25.3

Women’s JV College Eights
Navy                15:22.7
Rutgers             15:35.4

Temple             16:30.9

Rutgers “B”      16:39.6
Drexel              16:45.2
Lehigh              17:23.1

Women’s College Fours
Penn “B”          15:07.3
St. Joseph’s      16:40.5
Rutgers “A”      16:44.9
Penn “C”          16:48.6
Georgetown “A” 16:50.1
Loyola “B”       16:58.4
Temple “A”      17:01.6
Rutgers “B”      17:06.0
Penn “A”          17:12.3
Temple “B”      17:17.0
Navy                17:22.9
Loyola “A”       17:29.7
LaSalle 18:04.9
Georgetown “B”   Did not finish
 

Women’s College Freshman Eights
Penn “B”          15:02

Penn “A”          15:23
Navy “A”         16:27.5

Navy “B”         16:49.1
St. Joseph’s      17:13
Eustace Prep    17:16
Bryn Mawr       18:23

             With such strong performances under their belt the women are now focused on gearing up for the rest of the upcoming races this fall. This week the Varsity Eight will prepare for the Head of the Charles. The Head Of The Charles Regatta, the world's largest two-day rowing event, was first held on October 16, 1965. Over the past 38 years, the Head Of The Charles regatta has grown tremendously. Today, more than 7,000 athletes from around the world compete in 21 different race events. The Regatta grew to a two-day event in 1997 and now attracts up to 300,000 spectators during the October weekend.
Source: www.hocr.org - history 

            Entrance into the Charles is based on the previous year’s results as well as a lottery system. This year Navy Women’s Crew has a spot in the Women’s Championship Eights. The Women’s Championship Eights race is held on Sunday, October 19 and is the last race of the two-day competition.  

 Parents
Need directions to upcoming races? Visit the Navy Women’s Crew website (www.NavyWomensCrew.org), click on “Schedule”, and go to the “’03-’04 Schedule”. Directions are listed next to each Regatta. 

The coaching staff has received questions about donating money to the rowing program. There are three ways to go about donating:

1. You can donate money to the Navy Crew Endowment at the Foundation. Money will go to support the Men’s Heavyweight, Men’s Lightweight, and Women’s Programs.

2. You can give money to the Foundation and have it earmarked for Navy Women’s Crew

3. You can give money to the Women’s Crew Improvement Fund at the Naval Academy Athletic Association.

If you have any questions please give us a call.

 Rowing Terms of the Month:
Regatta – Term used for a rowing race.

"Head" Races - a class of regattas, are generally three miles long - boats race against each other and the clock, starting sequentially approximately fifteen seconds apart. 

“Catching A Crab” – When a rowers blade becomes stuck in the water at the end of the stroke. In most cases the handle goes over the rowers head and forces them to stop rowing.

“Way Enough” – Commonly pronounced as, “way-nuf” is the command to Stop.

Contact Information:
Head Coach Mike Hughes                    mhughes@usna.edu
Asst. Coach Nicole Stimpson               nwilliam@usna.edu
Volunteer Coach Kari Hughes               kmhughes@usna.edu
Navy Women’s Crew Office Phone:     410-293-2419
Navy Women’s Crew Web Site:           www.NavyWomensCrew.org 

Parents, feel free to contact the coaches with any questions via e-mail or phone.

September 2003 Newsletter

September 10, 2003 

Parents,

Welcome to the first installment of the Navy Women’s Crew E-Newsletter! The coaching staff would like to welcome you to the 2003-’04 season. This newsletter will be sent out on a regular basis to keep you up to speed on your daughters’ rowing experience here at Navy.

We begin the season with a young group returning to the Varsity Squad. Seven seniors and our Captain 1/C Lisbeth Diantonio lead the Women’s Crew. In addition to our returning Varsity members we have a large group of Plebe/Novice women who are eager to get out on the water and begin their rowing careers. Not only have the Plebes joined the largest Women’s Varsity sport on the Yard but they have also joined the smartest team on the Yard. In May 2003 the Navy Women’s Crew was awarded the Dean’s Academic Excellence Award for achieving the highest average Quality Point Rating (3.17) of all varsity athletic teams over both regular seasons of the 2002-2003 Academic Year. The Women’s Crew hopes to continue its hard work on the water and in the classroom throughout this upcoming year as well.  

The Navy Women’s Crew has been a member of the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges (EAWRC) since 1996. Today the EAWRC is comprised of some of the most talented and competitive Division I schools in the nation. Members of the EAWRC consist of: Boston University, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard-Radcliffe (2003 NCAA National Champs), MIT, Northeastern, Princeton, Rutgers, Syracuse, USNA, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin, and Yale. 

The ultimate goal for many crews is to receive an invitation to the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships. Women’s Rowing held their first NCAA Championships in 1997. The team championship is comprised of 12 teams, and each team is required to field two boats of eight rowers each and one boat of four rowers. In addition, four eight-women boats from institutions not represented in the team competition are selected. These schools are commonly known as the “at large bids”.  

Teams that received an invite to the 2003 NCAA Rowing Championships were:
Brown (EAWRC)
California
Harvard (EAWRC)
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Princeton (EAWRC)
Stanford
Virginia
Washington
Washington State
Yale (EAWRC) 

At-Large Teams:
Boston University (EAWRC)
University of Southern California
Tennessee
Texas

One of the goals for Navy Women’s Crew is to receive an invite to the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships. This lofty goal can be achieved with hard work and dedication from the athletes and coaches. Parents, we need your support too! You are invited to cheer on the crew at all of their races this year. Below is the schedule for the ’03-’04 season.    

Navy Women’s Crew Schedule
2003-2004 (click for complete schedule)

Rowing terms of the month: 

Shell
Common name for the rowing boat. In most sweep shells (when rowers have one oar) these shells can have a coxswain---a person who steers the shell (using a rudder) and urges the rowers on. 

Seat
The sliding seat that the rower sits on. The term "seat" also refers to the rowers place in the boat; the convention is to number the seats from bow to stern, i.e. the rower closest to the front of the boat is "1-seat" the next, "2-seat", et c. The 1-seat is also commonly referred to as "bowseat" or just "bow" while the sternmost (rear) seat is referred to as "stroke seat" or just "stroke".

Oarlock
A U-shaped swivel, which holds the oar in place. It's mounted at the end of the rigger and rotates around a metal pin. A gate closes across the top to keep the oar in.

Rigger
The device that connects the oarlock to the shell and is bolted to the body of the shell. On sweep boats, riggers are typically alternating from side to the other on adjacent seats.

Contact Information:
Head Coach Mike Hughes                    mhughes@usna.edu
Asst. Coach Nicole Stimpson               nwilliam@usna.edu
Volunteer Coach Kari Hughes               kmhughes@usna.edu
Navy Women’s Crew Office Phone:       410-293-2419
Navy Women’s Crew Web Site:            www.NavyWomensCrew.org

Parents, feel free to contact the coaches with any questions via e-mail or phone.