Franz Wins E. Ray Speare Award
April 25, 2014 | Men's Rowing
April 25, 2014
Moritz Franz, senior co-captain of the men’s rowing team, was awarded the E. Ray Speare Award on April 23rd at Boston University's annual student-athletes awards banquet.
The Speare Award is given annually to the senior who is chosen as the top male scholar-athlete, combining academic achievement and athletic ability. The award is named for an outstanding all-around athlete who was captain of the 1892 and 1893 Terrier football teams and is a member of Boston University’s Hall of Fame.
Franz will graduate suma cum laude from the School of Management in May with a 3.84 GPA. As a sophomore and junior he was in the rowing team’s top varsity boat that compiled an 8-4 dual record and has a 14-4 overall record in his 3 years. Moritz rowed in 2 Eastern Sprint and 2 IRA National Championship finals. As a freshman, Moritz stroked the freshman eight boat to an undefeated duel season and to a program best 4th place at the IRA National Championships.
During his time at BU, Moritz was also an extremely motivated individual when he was out of the boat. During the fall of his senior year, Moritz was not able to row due to a nerve injury in his arm and was not able to spend time in the boat or on the rowing machine. His conditioning was comprised of cross training, biking, swimming and time on the air dyne bike. When Moritz was tested on the air dyne bike for the 7 mile test, he not only broke the rowing team record but also the school record.
While battling injury, also Moritz spent his time working with the team’s novice rowers. Although not able to row with the team, Moritz came to every practice with a smile on his face and the attitude of getting better while making all those around him better.
Men’s rowing head coach Thomas Bohrer presented Moritz with the award, telling the crowd what Moritz has meant to the program both on and off the water.
“Rowing is a sport where we don’t have a lot of stats,” Bohrer said. “There is no player of the game or number for points scored. It is a sport where if the boat wins, the whole boat wins. Moritz is a hard worker and wants to win but wants everyone else to win around him. Since I have known him he has always put his teammates ahead of himself. He was voted as team captain as a sophomore and been leading our team for the last three years.”
“He is someone that I can count on all the time,” Bohrer continued. “If I needed to talk about an issue on the team, I have always trusted his input because he is never thinking about himself but what is best for the squad.”
Bohrer then addressed Franz before presenting the award.
“I am going to miss you when you go,’ Bohrer said. “You have really left an impression on our team. You have elevated our squads from a program that was in the back of the pack to one of the top in the country. Congratulations.”
After accepting the Speare Award from coach Bohrer, Franz addressed his fellow senior student-athletes about his time at Boston University.
“Before I came to BU, I was really quite clueless about what I was getting into,” Franz said during his acceptance speech. “I remember landing here for the first time and thinking: “Wow, this will be my home for the next four years.” Of course it was pouring rain. There were three things that I wanted to accomplish during that very first semester: A. Call my mom at least once a week. B. Adjust to the rowing team and hopefully stick out. C. Not be too far below the average academically. But I quickly realized that BU would inspire me to go well beyond my own expectations. It was really during my time at BU and on the rowing team that I started understanding that being happy and successful in life is almost entirely a function of those you are surrounded by. If we look back at our four years and at what we accomplished as athletes and as students, we’ll see that it is truly amazing how many people we interacted with that contributed to the outcome of everything we have done here.”
After thanking the people who helped him during his time at BU including coaches, teammates, parents and even the doctors who treated him during his injury, Franz concluded his acceptance speech eloquently.
“Now looking at all these people, I don’t see myself as outstanding or special by nature. But I do see myself as the product of an outstanding environment. Thank you and Go BU!”
Upon graduating this May, Moritz will look to continue his work in finance in the U.S. If his work schedule allows, Moritz will continue to row and train as much as possible, while perusing his ultimate goal of earning his masters at either the prestigious Oxford or Cambridge University in the UK and be part of the famous Oxford vs. Cambridge boat race.
