Men's Crew Prepping For Eastern Sprints
May 16, 2000 | Men's Rowing
The Terrier men's crews are hoping to put a positive note on a challenging season this Sunday (May 21st) when they row in the Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
Boston University 2000 Eastern Sprints Notes
THE SEEDINGS: The following is where the Terriers are seeded in each of the three events in which they are entered in this year's Sprints.
Varsity Heavyweight: 13th. This marks the second straight year the Terriers are seeded 13th. Last year, they finished 6th in the Petites with a time of 6:02.66 This also represents the lowest seeding for a Rodney Pratt-coached Terrier boat. Their highest seeding was two years ago in 1998, when they were eighth. The previous three years, they were seeded 12th. In this year's morning heat, the Terriers will row against top-seeded Brown, sixth-seeded Penn, seventh-seeded Dartmouth, and 12th-seeded Yale.
Second Varsity: 10th: 9th. Last year, the 2V was seeded 9th and finished 5th in the Petites with a time of 6:03.64. The year before they were 8th and finished 6th overall. This year, the Terriers will row in the morning against third-seeded Princeton, fourth-seeded Harvard, and 9th-seeded Penn. There are only four boats entered in this heat since Columbia will not have a 2V boat.
First Freshmen: 11th: A year ago, the freshmen were seeded fifth and finished 2nd in the Petites with a time of 6:06.93. In this year's morning racing, the Terriers will row against second-seeded Princeton, fifth-seeded Syracuse, eighth-seeded Northeastern, and 14th-seeded Dartmouth.
FIRST VARSITY VS. HEAT FIELD: The Terriers, who have an overall record of 2-6 this spring, have rowed against three of their foes in the varsity heavyweight event, and they are 0-3. The only boat they haven't raced against is Penn ... In their second regatta of the season on April 8th, rowing in terrible weather conditions, the Terriers lost to Brown, 7:10.5 to 7:47.8 in the Michaelson Cup. Two weeks later, on April 22nd, in the Bill Cup at Dartmouth, the Terriers finished second to the Big Green, 5:27.5 to 5:34.3. Rutgers was third in 5:37.3 ... Last Saturday, in their final spring regatta, the Terriers hosted Yale. The final margin was just under four seconds as the Elis were timed in 5:55.79 to 5:59.76 for the Terriers.
SECOND VARSITY, FROSH VS HEAT FIELD:
Second Varsity: The second varsity has not rowed against any of its morning heat opponents this year. The boat comes into the Sprints with a 2-4 record this spring.
First Freshmen: The frosh are 1-2 against its morning opponents. Their win was over Dartmouth on April 22nd, while they lost to Syracuse on April 1st in the opening regatta of the spring and to Northeastern on April 15th. Their overall record this spring is identical to the varsity2-6.
SEVEN TO MISS GRADUATION: Seven members of the varsity crew will miss their graduation as the Boston University commencement is scheduled for the same day as the Sprints. Of the seven, three are in the varsity heavyweight boatcaptain Robert Rogers, number-two Gilbert Reese, and cox Peter Szymanski. The other four are in the second varsity boat. They are Michael Ehrman, bow; Kristian Hanelt, number three seat; Brian Barrett, number-five seat; and stroke John McCann ... However, Michael Field, assistant to the provost, is expected to be on hand to present the seven with their diplomas following the morning heats.
O CANADA: Three members of the varsity heavyweight boat are from north of the border, and two of the three hail from Vancouver, BC. They are Michael Strilesky, who is sitting in the number three seat, and Andre Reid, who is at number six. The third Canadian is number-five seat Sean Casavechia, who comes from Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia ... The other six members of the heavyweight boat come from five different states. There are two from Californianumber two Gilbert Reese (Newport Beach) and number seven Daniel Greenberg (San Jose) and one each from Pennsylvania (bow Robert Rogers from Haverford), Florida (number four Kevin Valent from Jacksonville), Virginia (stroke Mitchell Johnson from Woodbridge) and New Jersey (cox Peter Szymanski from South River).
SIZE OF THE BOATS: The eight rowers in the Terriers' varsity heavyweight boat average just over 6-3, 197 pounds. The tallest is number-five seat Sean Casavechia, who stands 6-7, while the heaviest is Daniel Green, who sits in the seven seat and weighs 209 pounds. Casavechia weighs 195, while Greenberg stands 6-6. The lightest rower is Gilbert Reese who weighs 180 pounds and sits in the two seat. The two shortest rowers are Reese and Andre Reid, the number six man, each of whom is 6-1 ... The second varsity boat averages just over 6-0, 176 pounds, while the eight rowers on the first freshman boat averages just over 6-1, 186.
PRATT ON THE SEASON: In summing up the Terriers' season, Coach Pratt said, "It has been a very challenging season for us. I think we have the potential to go fast, but we just haven't gelled yet. The high point was our beating Northeastern in the Arlett Cup. But, since then, we just haven't been consistent. We have had races where we rowed well for the first 1000 meters like Wisconsin, but we just haven't been consistent for the entire 2000 meters. We had a very good practice on Monday (May 15th). Our exams were over on Tuesday (May 16th) so we will see what happens at the Sprints. The key is to have a very fast race in the morning heat and try to make it into the Finals. Against Wisconsin, we put together a new stern pairMitch Johnson at stroke and Dan Greenberg at seven, and I have very much liked how the two have rowed in races against Wisconsin and Yale. "
BREAKDOWN BY CLASS: This year's varsity heavyweight boat features three seniors, a junior and five sophomores. The seniors are Robert Rogers (bow), Gilbert Reese (number two), and Peter Szymanski (cox). The lone junior in the boat is Daniel Greenberg (number seven), while the seven sophomores are Michael Strilesky (number three), Kevin Valent (number four), Sean Casavechia (number five), Andre Reid (number six), and Mitchell Johnson (stroke).
THIRD APPEARANCE FOR ROGERS: Terrier captain Robert Rogers will be making his third appearance in the varsity heavyweight boat at the Sprints. In fact, he is the only Terrier with any Sprints experience in the varsity boat as the other seven rowers along with the coxswain are rowing their first race in the varsity event.
PRATT'S BEST FINISH IN THE HEAVYWEIGHT EVENT: Twice, during his Terrier tenure, Coach Pratt has had heavyweight boats finish 8th. The first time was in 1994, while they repeated their final standing in 1995. Prior to that, his team's best finish had been ninth in 1991. That boat narrowly missed a trip to the Finals when Princeton edged them by less than a foot in the morning heat. The team's lowest finish under Pratt was 12th in 1992, 1993, and 1999. In 1996, they were 10th, while they were 9th in 1997 and 10th in 1998.
NOT SINCE 1990: The last time the Terriers advanced to the Sprints' finals was in 1990, when they finished sixth overall.
