Tartan Crew Team Newsletter Fall 2009

The Rower’s Oar FALL 2009 | CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY ROWING CLUB | TARTANCREW.ORG

Team shows continual growth into ’09 Carnegie Mellon Crew ended last spring on a high note; we sent a bevy of boats to Dad Vails in Philadelphia, PA – both varsity and novice boats made strong showings, and the womens’ pair of Natalie Weir (MCS ’09) and Judith Vogel (MCS ’09) claimed a bronze medal of their own, a huge success for the team. But now it’s a new year, and one for many new records to come. The team picked up right where it left off: the men built off the success of its lightweight 4+, and the women continued the

What’s in this issue?

development of their 4s and 8s. And it’s resulted in great races in our scrimmages with Pitt and Duquesne, and at the Head of the Ohio. Beyond our racing, we’re also busy being proactive in maintaining our alumni relations, paying our bills via rigorous fundraising, and having fun. These are huge commitments, and they wouldn’t be possible without the most dedicated members. We’re doing a lot, and this newsletter is our little way of showing you that the team you

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Team News 4

Graduated Seniors 7

Donation Information

graduated from is doing just fine. Take a while to browse through the Rower’s Oar and look at team as it exists today. (Because we’re definitely proud of it!) By the time this newsletter reaches you, the team will be at or near the completion of its fall season, but we’ve still got a rigorous winter training season to push through, and into the everthrilling 2Ks and sprint pieces of the Spring season. Given the continual growth we’ve experienced this fall, the upcoming year looks bright. ❖

Visit our website! tartancrew.org Although The Rower’s Oar keeps you updated, there’s no better source than our website!

In Brief Fall racing season coming to a close It’s unbelievable how quickly it passes by. For most of us on the team, we’re only just settling back into classes, and the season already has just one race left in it. But even so far, it’s been a successful season marked by continual progress, an increased sense of a need for personal improvement, and as always, fun. (But that definitely doesn’t count the early mornings.) Current Tartan Crew Board President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Fundraising Chair Publicity Chair Equipment Manager Men’s Team Captain Womens’ Team Capt. Varsity Coach Assistant Varsity Coach Novice Coach

Hillary Smith Jonah Coste Justin Perry Claire Herdemann Emily Lesinski Edward Burns Harold Kim Chris Burchhardt Justin Perry Alyssa Fogel Benjamin Althof Gordon Lubimir Lee Kulina

Varsity looking stronger than ever in new year Justin Perry & Alyssa Fogel Mens’ and Womens’ Team Captains

The men's varsity team for this year has reached a stable size of ten men: nine rowers and two coxswains. The team draws from an even mix of returning varsity, last year's novice, and an experienced freshman. This season, we will primarily be racing a heavy 4+ and a light 4+, which also combine to form the open 8. In addition, we will be racing at least two pairs and one single on a regular basis. Drawing on the success of last season’s lightweight four, the men plan to train aggressively by extensive piecing against Pitt and Duquesne. The women are making waves for themselves as well: at Head of the Ohio,

the Women’s Varsity Team raced well in s p i t e o f w i n d y c o n d i t i o n s. T h e lightweight four took fourth place just fractions of a second behind second and third place, while the Open Eight finished ahead of hometown rival, University of Pittsburgh. For complete results, see the HOTO article on the next page. With the help of Head Coach Ben Althof and our new Assistant Coach Gordon Lubimir, the team is making great progress integrating the new and old varsity with incoming freshman. The women’s team is happy to welcome two experienced freshmen rowers, Isabel Hubbard and Paige Wilson who have become a great addition to the team. With all these dedicated members, Carnegie Mellon Crew is looking forward to an impressive year of rowing. ❖

Diverse novices have a passion for rowing When asked why he or she joined Crew, any Novice will tell you it’s to “look better naked, of course,” as Christian Reyes (‘13) enthusiastically puts it. However, Crew is much more than a way to achieve that athletic build desired by so many. As we all know, Crew takes an enormous amount of dedication and time. So why do we put ourselves through all the pain? With a bit of interrogation, most of the team members would give at least one of three answers. We are masochists. We enjoy the pain. We look forward to the adrenaline rush, the aches and pains, the sweat and blood. Brendan White (‘13), for instance, makes it clear that there’s no end to how far he will physically challenge himself when he states, “I joined Crew because in high school I ran cross-country, track, and biked. I see crew as another way to push myself.” Like Brendan, many of us are Jessica Lee Novice Womens’ Team

looking for a way to fight against our limits and see how far we can truly go. We crave something different. Forget video games, land sports, and sleeping. For most people on the Novice team who’ve come from a wide variety of places, rowing is a completely new experience. Zach Betka (‘13), for one, states, “I’m from a landlocked state [Colorado], so a riverbased sport sounded fun.” Likewise, Urmila Rosario (‘10), a tennis player from Qatar, also thought that “it would be really cool to learn a new skill that was completely different from traditional racket-oriented sports.” We love the sport and its members. Many of us would agree with Emily

Henderson (‘13) when she says joining Crew was the “best decision I have made thus far.“ Although Crew is extremely time-consuming, just gliding through the water with our own strength and feeling the crisp air brush against our cheeks bring back all the energy academics often suck away. The sport also gives you the opportunity to get in shape and make great, lasting friendships. However, many will still insist, like Zach Betka, that they joined Crew primarily because they “really do want to look better naked,” and there’s no doubt we will. ❖

Head of the Ohio brings together team members with alumni (and medals!)

On the weekend of October 3rd, the team made a strong showing at the Head of the Ohio regatta. Between the mens’ and womens’ teams, Carnegie Mellon Crew won four medals in all. The mens’ pair with Sean Lubner and Ed Burns won gold. Both Claire Herdeman and Alyssa Fogel took silver in their womens’ singles events, and the mens’ light four won bronze. The womens’ lightweight four was an extremely close fourth in their event. We were also joined by an alumni eight in very rough (but very exciting!) waters before the weather took its course on the day’s events (more on that later). The Head of the Ohio, held in downtown Pittsburgh, is one of the most Ila Foley Varsity Womens’ Team

beautiful race courses in the sport; the unique downtown architecture and the nine bridges along the 4.5 kilometer course make it a sight to behold. Because our boathouse is located on Washington’s Landing, we were able to practice the racecourse regularly in the weeks leading up to the regatta, which certainly helped shape our success in our events. Unfortunately, the final events had to be cancelled due to bad weather. Although the day started out beautifully, after about noon the wind began to pick up and the water became very choppy. After white caps began appearing, officials called off the remaining events. Our open womens’ four was unfortunately unable to row. Most of our team however was able to race at least once, if not more. Following the races, the team held its annual Head of the Ohio banquet for its members and alumni. Every year, the banquet gives alumni the chance to reconnect with each other over the sport of rowing, and to see the growth of the our ever-developing team. This year was marked by delicious food, lots of great photos, and tons of great bonding!

Overall, it was a great way to kick off the season. Pittsburgh’s infamously dismal weather managed to stay nice at least for a few hours, but we had a lot of support from alumni and parents. The novice team, who didn’t race at Head of the Ohio, also showed up to provide enthusiasm and extra sets of hands on boats. If the Head of the Ohio is any indication, our team is in for a good year. ❖

Graduated Seniors: Where are they now? We wanted to catch up with last year’s graduated seniors and coaches to see what they’ve been up to since leaving the team. Here’s what we found! Reporting by Hillary Smith President

Natalie Weir graduated this year with a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry. She married David Rice (CIT '06) on July 3, 2009 and is now pursuing a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, in the division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research is focused on synthesizing bioactive triterpenes with medicinal applications. Natalie and David purchased a home in Chapel Hill in May and are loving all of the perks of North Carolina--warm weather, awesome biking, the laid-back atmosphere, and being close to both the beach and the mountains! Brian McGraw is interning for a small political organization in Washington, D.C. He hopes to land a full time position working for a political think tank in the near future and attend a graduate program in the next few years to further his education. While not currently involved with rowing, he hopes to begin coaching for a local high school in the next six months. Elliot Beltzer is currently working in a research lab in New York City. He’s getting ready to take the MCAT in January and busy applying to medical schools for the coming year. Judith Vogel is coaching two rowing teams in Ann Arbor, the Huron High School varsity girls and AARC Masters during her year off. She plans to go to grad school for kinesiology and continue coaching next year. Chris Herlich is currently back in Boston and since the summer he has been working for a lobbying firm, Lynch Associates.  He plans

on continuing to work there, doing nonprofit management, consulting, and advocacy until attending law school. Chris Highley, our previous Assistant Varsity Coach, wrote a personal note: “I sadly left the team at the end of last spring to allow myself to focus on work towards completing studies in the biomedical engineering doctoral program here at CMU.  While at least one recent rowing alum has demonstrated abilities to have success in rowing and research simultaneously [see the piece on Stef], I have found in the past six months that I need nearly all waking hours to focus on research, and that I need to be able to work late into the night and to be in Pittsburgh most weekends.  So if anyone is ever looking for me, chances are you can find me in the basement of Mellon Institute (at least until my lab moves to the PTC).  Ultimately, I hope to end up in academia doing research and working with students again, and also having time for this sport. It is impossible not to think about how much work the team's already done every morning when I wake up, and I dearly miss that experience. Nothing compares to being on the water and working with a crew firing together through the surrounding quiet of the morning, to watching the sky light up over the Allegheny from a vantage that few experience, and to leaving practice energized for the day. (Through exhaustive testing, I've found that no quantity of coffee is as invigorating in the mornings as the launch and the crews.) 

I'm sure many of the Oar's readers identify.   I am grateful to CMURC for the being able to work with such great students and coaches, and I will look forward to continuing to support and pull for the club in the years to come. Best wishes to all, past and present. Georgia Bullen just moved to New York City and started graduate school at Columbia University. She is now rowing at Nereid Boat Club in New Jersey, training for the Charles this fall. Georgia writes, “My goal for next fall is a women's alumni boat at Head of the Ohio. We can't keep letting the guys show us up!! If any female alumni are interested, email me and we'll coordinate!”

New Coaches Gordon Lubimir began rowing in high school at the Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh.  For the following 3 years he rowed for both his high school team and the junior program at Steel City Rowing Club.  After high school Gordon attend and rowed for Tulane University.  Gordon spent his summers coaching rowers of all ages for Steel City.  He graduated from Tulane in 2007, with a BS and has been coaching on and off since, including coaching the University of Pittsburgh and Steel City open rowing program this past summer, which led him to his current position at CMU. The novices also have a new coach of their own: Lee Kulina. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to reach Lee in time for the publishing of the Rower’s O a r, b u t r e s t a s s u r e d h i s unbelievable level of enthusiasm and dedication to the sport are having a positive influence on the novices, who, under Lee’s coaching, have fallen in love with the sport. ❖

Graduated seniors Natalie Weir and Judith Vogel at last season’s Dad Vails, where they won a bronze medal!

Stefanie Sydlik (MCS ’07) represents United States Stef Sydlik began rowing at Car negie Mellon as a lightweight rower. Rowing for CMU “demanded that we do everything ourselves; from fundraising, to rigging, to relying on team mates to show up for practice every day”. Making that transition from CMU crew to Riverside was quite easy for her. Specialized boats such as the Lightweight Quad receive no funding for their trip to the World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland, so Stef and her boat mates had to raise the money themselves. The other lesson she took with her was how to seat race. “We had a mantra: if we all made the same mistake together we win”, a philosophy which has never lost her a seat race. Her ability to adapt to the people in the boat made her a clear asset when Judith Vogel Alumna, MCS ’09

competing for a spot in the Lightweight Quad. Since I met Stef Sydlik four years ago, she had her mind set on making the National Team and competing in the Olympics. This past summer Stef realized one of those goals, earning a t r i p t o t h e Wo r l d Championships in the L i g h t we i g h t Wo m e n’s Quad. When asked to describe the experience, she immediately summed it up in one word“AMAZING!” This year Don Parker created a composite boat consisting of a group of rowers from all over the country. “It was an incredible experience to row with the best people in the country, since it was a composite quad… instead of

there being a Ve s p e r q u a d competing against a Pockock quad, competing against a Riverside quad,” Stef says. While she was training in Princeton she was able to interact with other National Team members which really gave her a “feeling of being part of the team”. In the final the USA quad came from 5th place to squeeze out Canada for the bronze medal. ❖

Summer Results This summer, many of our team members stayed in Pittsburgh. While working at a variety of jobs on and off campus, participating in research, or taking classes, many of us found time to row at a joint program offered between the University of Pittsburgh and the Steel City Rowing Claire Herdeman Secretary

Jonah Coste (MCS ’11) was among several rowers who spent their summer in PGH.

Club. It was a great opportunity to work with new and different coaches, and to meet other young and collegiate rowers from the Pittsburgh area. The emphasis at both Pitt and SCRC was on sculling, and since boats were generally small we were afforded a lot of individual attention. Through SCRC, several of our rowers competed at the Club Nationals Regatta on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge,

TN. Alumnus Danielle Millett and senior Alyssa Fogel raced a double as well as singles, and junior Jonah Coste rowed a single and a double with a rower from SCRC. As new scullers our rowers put up a valiant effort against clubs from all over the country, and look forward to facing fierce competition again in the future. ❖

Putting the Fun in Fundraising! As many of you know, fundraising is an integral part of our team.  In addition to alumni donations and student funding, our revenue primarily consists of fundraising events we host throughout the semester. This year, in addition to our traditional Rent-a-Rower program, we will be working concession stands at Pitt and Steelers football games. Although flipping burgers is not high on a CMU student’s list of life goals, these games allow us the opportunity to work together as a team off the water while ensuring the future of our team. Plus, who doesn’t want to witness black and gold fever up close? So far this year we have worked at several Steelers’ games, raising approximately $3000. The most recent addition to our fundraising efforts is an online shopping mall. The website includes a multitude of stores that donate a portion of the profits back to the team. Many brand name companies are included in this deal. Check it out at www.visitourmall.com/ CarnegieMellonRowingClub. We hope to post a link to our primary website to encourage family, alumni, and fans to contribute to our success off the water. Despite these new additions to the fundraising family, we are keeping up with our classic events such as Rent-a-Rowers and Valentine’s Day Rose Sale. Over the summer, many rowers worked diligently to move furniture and mow lawns in traditional RAR style. We have worked for many members of the CMU community including professors, old and new, who are always happy to help our organization and spread the word amongst their colleagues. Coming up in February, we will be hosting our annual rose sale. In the past, this has been extremely successful, usually overlapping with other Emily Lesinski Fundraising Co-Chair

campus events such as Valentine’s Day dances and Lunar Gala. Typically we sell dozens, half-dozens, and single roses but more recently we have even sold bags of petals and thorns: yes, some people are still bitter in February. Last year we managed to sell out of all inventory, an accomplishment we hope to repeat in 2010. Our team has shown extreme dedication both on and off the water, working towards keeping the boat and our budget afloat. The fundraising done throughout the year helps to cover race fees, bay rentals, boat insurance, equipment upgrades, and transportation. We hope to continue adding new fundraisers that help to bond our team as well as fund it. If you find yourself at a Steelers’ game, be sure to look us up! ❖

With Steelers games, an online store, and our annual rose sale, we’ve got as much work to do off the water as we do on the water!

We’re getting wired up Communication is vital in an organization the depends on alumni interaction, especially when the number of alumni grows every year. Although our Vice President is doing a great job working with the Alumni house to maintain contact via official emails, the University hasn’t moved into the 21st century yet. New m e t h o d s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n h av e developed, and Tartan Crew has finally adopted two of those methods this year. We’re happy to introduce our very own Facebook and Twitter pages.

Our Facebook page can be found simply by searching for “Tartan Crew” on Facebook. We already have a healthy following of 75 members on the site, who can access quick updates and media (videos, photos) of our races right from their computers. Becoming a “fan” of our page gives you access to these exclusive features, and keeps you more involved in the ongoings of the team. Secondly, we’ve set up a Twitter page (twitter.com/tartancrew), which provides readers with quick blurbs of team

happenings –you could read about our race results as they happen! Both of these new services are set up for team members and alumni. The team is very interested in maintaining tight communication, and we highly encourage you to take advantage of these two exciting new technologies. ❖

Provide a lending hand to our success In early September, Jonah Coste Carnegie Mellon Vice President Crew launched online auction for the right to name its new Hudson 8+ boat. We have received several generous bids. The auction will remain open until Saturday November 7th at 11:59 PM EST. This coincides with the end of our fall racing season. To participate in the auction please go to the website at http://www.tartancrew.org/8campaign, where you will find information about the boat, the current team, as well as instructions for placing a bid. You can also donate to the team directly at any time through the university’s donation website at https:// www.cmu.edu/campaign/ways/ online.html Once you arrive, fill out the preliminary information. On the ‘Your Gift’ page, under the ‘Designation’ section, please select ‘Other’ and enter “University Rowing Club”. This will ensure your donations go to the right organization (us!). Don’t forget, your donations are tax deductible and many companies sponsor matching programs as well. Online donations will be processed to our account within just a few business days and you will receive a tax receipt in that time frame as well. You should have received several emails this fall from the crew team. If you have not been receiving these emails please contact the Alumni House at [email protected] to have them update your email and mailing addresses. Make sure you tell them your interested in receiving updates from crew! Also please note that our emails say they are from the Alumni Office and therefore may be lost in your inbox or spam folders. We will try to include Carnegie Mellon Crew in the subject line of all future emails. ❖

Where do we get our money from?

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Fundraising Dues Joint Funding Committee (i.e. Student Activities Fee) Contributions & Donations Athletic Department

LIST OF EXPENSES

EXPLANATION

Bay Rental

Lease for our boathouse space

Regatta Entry Fees

Entry fees per boat per race

Equipment Maintenance

Repairs, spare parts, quick fixes, etc.

Coaches

Compensation for their hard work!

Regatta Transportation

Truck rentals, gas for trailers - not including rowers

Instructional Supplies

Indoor tank rentals, oil and gas for launches

Other

Alumni correspondence, website, oar wrap, shirts, etc.

Equipment Wish List Currently the team is lacking on some important equipment, and this is what’s on our shopping list. The team’s always in need of some help, and you could be our generous donor! If you’re interested in helping us out with something on our wish list, email [email protected], which will put you in contact with Hillary Smith.

1. White Lights / Bow Lights (required as a way for boats to be seen in the dark) 2. Speed Coach (gives feedback to the coxswain on speed) 3. Replacement Oar (one was shattered in an awe-inspiring display of power)

Want to wear team pride? Buy this year’s team shirt! Name Address

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Sizes are Adult’s/Men’s. $13 if shipped, $8 for pickup in Pittsburgh. Checks made out to Carnegie Mellon University CUT ALONG LINE AND MAIL THIS SLIP IN WITH A CHECK

Carnegie Mellon Crew wants you to be a part of our success! We’re making waves, and we want you to be there with us. The fall racing season is coming to close, but there’s still far more of the year coming up – our winter training season and the thrilling spring racing season – not to mention we have done pretty well for ourselves this season. Once you open up this newsletter, you’ll find more about the team’s successes and how we’ve grown even closer together as a team. It’s also important for the team to establish a strong relationship with its alumni. We’ve committed to making the team website (www.tartancrew.org) more informative and up-to-date with frequent news updates and pictures from our regattas. We encourage you to update

your profile to let others know what you’re up to. We want to create an tight network of Carnegie Mellon rowing enthusiasts comprised of parents, alumni, and friends. Email us with updates and your ideas for how we can improve alumni-team relations or fundraising - we want you to be an integral part of our successes. So as we head into the next two seasons, we hope you’ll be there to support us and be part of our successes. Even if you can’t show up, consider helping us by donating to the team. The university has set up a very convenient online donating system, which is covered inside the newsletter. From everyone on the team, we hope you enjoy this newsletter and the great progress we’ve been making. See you soon! ❖

Carnegie Mellon Crew UC Box 129 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15289 www.tartancrew.org

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Come support us at our last race of the Fall: Head of the Occoquan, in Prince William, Virginia. Dropping by? Email [email protected] to let us know you’ll be coming. Also, keep up with any changes to race details on our website!