Fall 2018 Orange Oar

FALL 2018

1

INSIDE THE ISSUE 03 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

SARA EXECUTIVE BOARD

04 2019 EVENING AT TEN EYCK

Joseph Paduda ’80 President

06 ROSTERS & SCHEDULES

Paris Daskalakis ’98 Treasurer

10 MAKING AN IMPACT

Gillian Carlucci ’14 Secretary

12 2018 EVENING AT TEN EYCK – MAINTAINING

Josh Stratton ’01 Vice President / Digital Director

A TRADITION

16 Q&A: COACH ELEFANT 20 Q&A: COACH MCGEE 24 OUR ‘TRANSITION’ CLASS MAKES AN EIGHT 30 Q&A: JOSH STRATTON 34 A 4-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE 38 A LOOK INTO THE ENDOWMENT 39 THANK YOU

CREDITS Art Director: Ryan Armstrong ’08 Orange Oar Correspondents: Zack Vlahandreas ’19 Zoe Preston ’19

2

Volume XX // No. 2 // Fall 2018 © 2018 Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association WWW.SARAROWING.COM

DIRECTORS

ADVISORY COUNCIL

William Purdy ’79 Charles Roberts ’61 Martha Mogish Rowe ’81 Paul Dudzick ’67 Donald Plath ’68 Kenneth Hutton ’69 Paul Dierkes ’79 Gerald Henwood ’80 Arthur Sibley ’80 Robert Donabella ’81 Sheila Roock ’85 Colin Goodale ’90 Jason Premo ’98 Adlai Hurt ’04 Erica Mahon Page ’08 Sydney Axson ’10 Ryan Patton ’10 Beth Marks ’83 Ryan Armstrong ’08 Gillian Carlucci ’14 Rebecca Soja ’14 Mark Vyzas ’10 Lena Wang ’99 Joel Harrison ’07 Charles Clark ’83 Hugh Duffy ’80

Paul Irvine ’45 William Hider ’62 Edward Kakas ’64 Thomas Darling ’81 Tracy Brown ’90 James Breuer ’72 Bryan Mahon ’78 Ozzie Street ’80 Jerome Jacobi ’81 Andrew Hobbs ’83 Gordon Hull ’83 Rick Holland ’83 Barry Weiss ’83 Emme Entwistle Aronson ’85 Jeff Pesot ’90 Donald Smith ’90 Kristin Walker Bidwell ’90 Christopher Ludden ’91 Sylvester Rowe ’92 Skye Michiels ’99 Joseph Bufano ’99 Aliza Seeber ’04

NOTE: IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE ORANGE OAR TEAM AS A CORRESPONDENT OR A PHOTOGRAPHER, OR TO HELP WITH PRODUCTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE OO EDITOR. CONTACT US Men’s Head Coach: Dave Reischman - dreischm@syr.edu Women’s Head Coach: Luke McGee - lwmcgee@syr.edu Orange Oar General Editor: Hugh Duffy - duffyfamily7@comcast.net THEORANGE ORANGE OAR THE OAR

DEAR SU ROWING ALUMS After three consecutive NCAA appearances for the women and two consecutive 8th place IRA finishes for the men’s varsity 8 – plus top ten finishes for all men’s eights at the IRA … the boats are going fast. Now, we need to help the boats go faster.

It’s time to revisit SARA’s core mission – ensure there will always be Men’s Crew and Women’s Rowing at Syracuse University, and help the boats go faster. We’ve hit a bit of a plateau, one that many programs would be happy with.

But we aren’t “many programs”, we are Syracuse. We expect to be among the best programs in the country, every boat fighting for a podium spot each year.

It has been far too long since our men’s eights were mentioned in the same breath as UW, Harvard, Cal, and Brown. Our women haven’t been there, but they certainly can be.

Some think this is too far a stretch, too high a goal. Perhaps; we have more than our share of challenges; SU’s admission’s policies, fewer men’s scholarships than most competing programs, weather, the cost of attending SU, facilities that are less glamorous than competing schools, are all obstacles.

If we are to get back onto the podium, we must focus on making the most of what we have, not obsessing over what we don’t.

We DO have terrific coaches. We DO have great water and solid training facilities.

We DO have strong and unwavering support of the Athletic Department and AD John Wildhack.

To get back on that podium, we need more top-level athletes wearing the orange, and our coaches need to spend their time recruiting and coaching those athletes. Our continuing job – your continuing job – is to help make the boats go faster by:

• Helping to upgrade our facilities and support recruiting, • Finding ways to reduce coaches’ workloads, and • S preading the Syracuse rowing message at home and internationally

We all know what it takes to make the boats go fast – commitment, dedication, unwavering focus on the goal. So … your continued ideas, your continued energy, your continued support, and your continued commitment will help us make our boats go faster – and get back on the podium. Bleed Orange!

Joe Paduda ’80 SARA President FALL 2018

3

KEN HUTTON

2019

EVENING AT TEN EYCK SARA’s Signature Alumni Gathering

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2019

4 4

THEORANGE ORANGE OAR THE OAR

THE SARA BOARD HAS SET THE DATE FOR ALL FUTURE EVENINGS AT TEN EYCK AS THE 3RD SATURDAY (& WEEKEND) OF SEPTEMBER, REGARDLESS OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM’S SCHEDULE. MARK YOUR 2019 CALENDAR NOW FOR THE WEEKEND OF SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2019.

Building on the vibe felt at The Ten Eyck Boathouse over the weekend of September 15, 2018, you are encouraged to plan on reconnecting with your SU rowing / crew teammates next year for the 7th Annual Evening at Ten Eyck. Reunion crews will gather Friday night the 20th.

WHILE IN SYRACUSE ...

• Experience the transformation of Archbold Gymnasium into a state-of-the-art health, recreation and wellness complex, including a remodeled tank room.

• Reconnect with your teammates for the day … or over the weekend at a lake cottage on the water as several alums did in 2018.

• Celebrate those honored as Hall of Fame inductees.

• Dip the oar again either for a gentle row with teammates or experience the thrill of a 500-meter sprint against your colleagues.

• Applaud those who have given back to SU Rowing as new boats are christened in their honor.

More details with be forthcoming after January’s SARA Board meeting in Syracuse. Contact Ken Hutton with questions and to volunteer to help with future Evenings at Ten Eyck at khutton13@me.com.

OO

FALL 2018

5

2019 - MEN’S RACING SCHEDULE FALL SEASON (2018) NOVEMBER 3 (SAT) | CORNELL HEAD RACE | ITHACA, NY TRAINING TRIPS JANUARY 4-12 | WINTER TRAINING CAMP | PALM COAST, FL MARCH 8-16 | SPRING TRAINING CAMP | CLEMSON, SC SPRING RACING SEASON (2019) APRIL 6 (SAT | WISCONSIN DUAL | CHICAGO, IL APRIL 20 (SAT) | GOES TROPHY (NAVY, CORNELL) | ANNAPOLIS, MD APRIL 27 (SAT) | CONLAN CUP (BU, COLUMBIA) | OVERPECK, NJ APRIL 28 (SUN) | PACKARD CUP (DARTMOUTH) | SYRACUSE, NY MAY 19 (SUN) | EASTERN SPRINTS | WORCESTER, MA MAY 31 – JUNE 2 (FRI – SUN) | I.R.A. REGATTA | SACRAMENTO, CA

6 6

(MUST QUALIFY)

THE ORANGE OAR

MEN’S CLASS OF 2022 ROSTER GEORGE ALOIA – BOCA RATON, FL (PINE CREST SCHOOL) JACOPO BERTONE – CASTIGLIONE OLONA, ITALY (LICEO LINGUISTICO VARESE) ADAM BLOOM – HEATH, OH (NEWARK CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL) FINN CONLON – CHICAGO, IL (UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LABORATORY SCHOOLS) JOSH COSTOLNICK – GRAND ISLAND, NY (ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE) LAURENCE JOSS – LONDON, ENGLAND (CARDINAL VAUGHAN MEMORIAL SCHOOL) JACK KIELY – CLERMONT, FL (WINDERMERE PREPARATORY SCHOOL) EVAN KINTER – HAMILTON, NJ (STEINERT HIGH SCHOOL) JASON KIRK – EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ (ST. AUGUSTINE PREPARATORY SCHOOL) CHASE LERNER – MONTCLAIR, NJ (ST. PETER’S PREP) MAX MOLTZAN – LONGWOOD, FL (LAKE BRANTLEY HIGH SCHOOL) PEYTON RICE – SUFFERN, NY (DON BOSCO PREP) KATHERINE RYAN – LIVERPOOL, NY (LIVERPOOL HIGH SCHOOL) KYLE SLUSARCZYK – VINELAND, NJ (VINELAND HIGH SCHOOL) ANSON SMITH – DALLAS, TX (BISHOP LYNCH HIGH SCHOOL) MITCHELL STROUD – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (HARDING CHARTER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL) JOHN TOMSEN – BRONX, NY (FORDHAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL) MASON TOOLEY – SANTA ROSA, CA (PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL) NICOLAY YNGSDAL – OSLO, NORWAY (WANG TOPPIDRETT)

FALL 2018

7 7

LIVE

2019 - WOMEN’S BROADCASTING RACING SCHEDULE FALL SEASON (2018) OCTOBER 6 | HEAD OF THE HOUSATONIC | SHELTON, CT OCTOBER 20, 21 | HEAD OF THE CHARLES | CAMBRIDGE, MA NOVEMBER 3 | CORNELL FALL CLASSIC | THACA, NY SPRING RACING SEASON (2019) MARCH 30 (SAT) | DOC HOSEA INVITE | CHERRY HILL, NJ APRIL 6 (SAT) | DUKE, MICHIGAN, OHIO STATE | LAKE MONTICELLO, VA APRIL 19, 20 (FRI, SAT) | CLEMSON INVITE | CLEMSON, CS APRIL 27 / 28 (SAT / SUN) | CURRENTLY OPEN DATES MAY 4 (SAT) | PRINCETON, (TRI RACE) | PRINCETON, NJ MAY 17, 18 (FRI, SAT) | ACC’S | CLEMSON, SC MAY 31 - JUNE 2 | NCAA’S | INDIANAPOLIS, IN

8 8

THE ORANGEOAR OAR THE ORANGE

WOMEN’S CLASS OF 2022 ROSTER GRACE ASCH – ALEXANDRIA, VA. (T.C. WILLIAMS HIGH SCHOOL) EMMA BRAUN – PHILADELPHIA, PA. (MERION MERCY ACADEMY) SOPHIE BROWN – SUDBURY, MA. (PHILLIPS ACADEMY) BELLA FOX – WILTON, CT. (WILTON HIGH SCHOOL) EMMA GOSSMAN – NORTH ANDOVER, MA. (NORTH ANDOVER HIGH SCHOOL) SYDNEY KLOTZ – SARATOGO SPRINGS, NY (SARATOGA SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL) ALLIE MCCALE – SAN JOSE, CA. (PRESENTATION HIGH SCHOOL) SYDNEY MICHALAK – PETERSBOROUGH, NY (UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE) TESSA MURRAY – MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (FAIRBANK GRAMMAR) RACHEL PIERCE – HADDONFIELD, NJ (DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY) KATHERINE RYAN – EAST HADDAM, CT. (NATHAN HALE-RAY HIGH SCHOOL) LAUREN SNIFFEN – APOPKA, FLA. (LAKE BRANTLEY HIGH SCHOOL) ELIZA YAGER – BOULDER, CO. (NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMAN HIGH SCHOOL)

FALL 20182015 MARCH

9 9

JOE KIEFFER

SARA MEMBERS’ GENEROSITY:

MAKING AN IMPACT MEN’S CREW ’CUSEFUNDER EXCEEDS GOAL FOR 2ND YEAR Thank you to the 199 generous donors, and their spouses, whom made a gift to the Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund last season. Many of these gifts were made during the second annual ’CUSEFUNDER campaign for Men’s Crew. As a result of the Orange Club tallying gifts throughout the 2017-18 academic year, alumni, parents, friends, and a generous distribution from the SARA Endowment, combined to contribute $112,486 to the Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund!

10

THE ORANGE OAR

MAKE A YEAR-END IMPACT Whether making a gift as part of #GivingTuesday (November 27) or as part of a tax-wise strategy, you have impact options:

SU HEAD COACH’S FUNDS Year-end charitable gifts to either the Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund or the Women’s Rowing Head Coach’s Fund catalyze a process of impact upon the immediate priorities and funding gaps of the varsity programs, driving performance-oriented outcomes on the water. Visit https://cuse.com/ or send check payable to Syracuse University (memo fund) to: SU Orange Club Manley Field House 1301 E. Colvin Street Syracuse, NY 13244 SARA ENDOWMENT WITHIN THE CENTRAL NEW YORK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SARA’s endowment to support and promote the sport of rowing in Syracuse provides a resource base from which SARA, over the long-term, can impact rowing at Syracuse. Grants, which must be approved by the SARA Endowment Board, may support future strategic priorities and capital projects.

Visit https://cnycf.org/sara or send check payable to Central New York Community Foundation (memo SARA Endowment) to: The Central New York Community Foundation 431 E. Fayette Street, Suite 100 Syracuse, NY 13202 CHARITABLE IRA ROLLOVERS VIA QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS (QCDS) If you are 70-1/2 years old or older, IRS rules require you to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) each year from your tax-deferred retirement accounts; however, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit the Men’s Crew Head Coach’s Fund, the Women’s Rowing Head Coach’s Fund, or the SARA Endowment and receive potential tax benefits in return. You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as Syracuse University or the Central New York Community Foundation without having to pay income taxes on the money.*

*This information is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor.

References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results.

SU Contact re: Charitable IRA Rollovers: CNYCF Contact re: Charitable IRA Rollovers April Mazza Thomas Griffith Director of Gift Planning Director of Gift Planning 315.443.4414 315.422.9538 aamaw@syr.edu tgriffith@cnycf.org

FALL 2018

11

12 12

THE ORANGE OAR

KEN HUTTON

MAINTAINING A TRADITION Reflections on the 2018 Evening at Ten Eyck

FALL 2018

13 13

What began in September 2013 as a concept to reconnect SU rowing alumni with one another while supporting the current crew student-athletes, has become a first class event. Over 80 men and almost 40 women who pulled an oar, coxed, and / or coached at SU plus more than 60 of their spouses and companions gathered at the historic Ten Eyck Boathouse for a weekend of memories in September.

Each year since 2013 has been different, but the spirit exhibited by all participants year after year is unparalleled.

That SU pride is the common bond connecting us all.

Each evening after dinner, three to five alumni or crews are celebrated for their contributions to the rowing community during their times at SU or after as part of national and Olympic teams.

This year the festivities started Friday night on two fronts. Those associated with the 1978 IRA Varsity Championship crew gathered for the first time since that momentous achievement. Many of the women returning to celebrate 40 years of women’s rowing at SU gathered at rented lake homes and reconnected with each other. On both fronts, the common refrain was “Why did we wait so long to gather together? Let’s do this again next year with even more participating.”

On Saturday morning some alumni gathered at the Boathouse to hear from a senior representative at the SU Athletic Department discuss capital investment plans on campus and elsewhere involving all the athletic facilities. There were some informal updates also shared by the SARA leadership on what to expect in the months and years ahead. Afterwards, people wandered up to what had been the front porch at the Boathouse and marveled at what is now a showcase of SU rowing milestones over the past century plus, the Ten Eyck Museum. Following the trashing of Florida State by the SU football team in The Dome, the Evening began in earnest. Many enjoyed getting back into a shell and pulling the oar with their teammates.

Those Hall of Fame celebrations are always unique and memorable, as was the case again. In addition, this year two coaches and four women discussed their recollections about the importance and changes in women’s rowing at SU over 40 years; it was inspiring.

Over the past six years, the SU spirit and pride displayed during these Evenings at Ten Eyck has made each one special and an event unto its own!

Please join us at future Evenings at Ten Eyck and help us maintain the strong tradition that is Syracuse University Rowing. OO

Others were still willing to subject themselves to one 500 meter sprint with three shells of eight dueling each other in side-by-side racing on the canal. Those racing included two members from the Class of 1968 – Drew Harrison and Dick “Pappy” Yochum – who returned to celebrate their 50th anniversary as SU crew alumni! Before dinner, a women’s eight and a men’s four were christened in honor of two people who have made a difference in the lives of folks connected with SU Rowing.

> 1978 IRA Men’s V8 Championship Crew.

14

THE ORANGE OAR

FALL 2018

15

QUESTIONS AND

ANSWERS WITH COACH ELEFANT

16 16

THE ORANGE OAR

OO: Seems that this past summer was a busy one for Syracuse representation overseas. Tell us about SU’s trip to Henley.

JE: This past summer was another great example of our guys representing the Orange on the global stage. As many of you know, we decided to take a select group of athletes overseas to the Henley Royal Regatta. All credit goes to Coach Justin Stangel for organizing, training, and executing the trip, Syracuse’s first time back since 2007. This year’s Henley crew – comprised of seven athletes from the 1V and two athletes from the 2V – advanced to the Friday quarterfinals of the Temple Challenge Cup, knocking off Cornell and Trinity College of Dublin before falling by a length to the home favorites, Oxford Brookes. Aside from the fierce racing and unforgettable experience – especially for the five seniors who took part – the Henley trip was a massive boost to Syracuse’s profile overseas. I think we are still seeing benefits of the trip long after we returned to the US. The returning athletes from the Henley trip have all hit the ground running this fall, and from a recruiting standpoint, our stock has risen dramatically both domestically and internationally. Recruits want to know that if they work hard and earn a seat, they will have an opportunity to represent their university at the most famous regatta in the world. That’s a big deal!

Trips like Henley certainly aren’t cheap, so if we want to make Henley a more regular fixture on the Syracuse calendar (and attract new talent), we’ll be relying on the continued financial support of SARA as we head into the next decade.

OO: Aside from Henley, tell us about the Orange who represented Syracuse at the World Championships this summer.

JE: We had four more athletes competing for their home countries at both the Under 23 and Junior (Under 19) World Championships, three of whom were incoming freshmen. At the U23 Worlds in Poznan, Poland, Nick Tavares ’19 had the strongest result, placing 5th for Team Canada in the men’s eight. Incoming Italian freshman Jacopo Bertone ’22 won the B final in that same event, good for 7th overall. Nicolay Yngsdal ’22 of Norway placed 15th in the men’s coxless four to round out the Orange at Under 23s. Later in the summer, FALL 2018

incoming freshman Laurence Joss ’22 represented Great Britain in the men’s double sculls at Junior Worlds in Racice, Czech Republic. The double is one of the most heavily subscribed and competitive events at the junior level, and GB did well to place 14th overall to cap off a long summer’s worth of training.

OO: What have the coaches been working on this fall season in particular?

JE: The emphasis this fall has been developing power per stroke and challenging the athletes to row with good intensity during longer steady state rows. We’ve been utilizing mixed lineups in the eights to create competitive environments in practice, as well as to allow guys to make individual technical changes. Some of the technical concepts we’ve been working on recently are opening the puddle at the catch in time with one other and keeping pressure on the blade all the way to the finish. A typical full squad practice will have Coach Reischman working with the top 16 athletes competing for seats in the 1V / 2V, myself and Coach Hoskins with athletes in the 3V / 4V mix, and Volunteer Assistant Coach (and all-around All-Star) Larry Laszlo with a development group of athletes, including a few novices and walk-ons. The groupings are fairly fluid at this time of year, with athletes on the borders of each group moving back and forth depending on how they perform in practice and on the erg.

OO: Tell our audience about the Men’s Crew Class of 2022?

JE: We have a huge group of freshmen this year and we are really excited to get to work with them. In total, they count 16 rowers and 3 coxswains. The Class of 2022 is very geographically diverse. We have athletes from California, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and Oklahoma, as well as our usual recruiting bases of New Jersey, New York, and the Northeast. We have athletes from places as far away as Italy, England, and Norway, but we also have athletes come from as close as Liverpool High School just down the road! Despite the larger than usual number of recruits, this class is what we would consider somewhat typical as far as talent composition.

We always strive for 2-3 freshmen who can step in and make an immediate contribution to the “Top 16”, meaning they have the potential to row in the 1V or 17 17

be in the 3V / 4V mix their first year, which is normal for a freshman making the step up from high school training to college-level training. It isn’t possible to truly qualify how successful a recruiting class is until they’ve had the chance to make contributions over their four years, so I’ll get back to you on that in 2022.

Early indications, though, seem positive.

OO: Briefly describe each class year, are there any emerging leaders?

JE: We’re lucky to have a really good group of sophomores and upperclassmen to help support and guide the incoming freshmen. The outgoing seniors of the Class of 2018 did a great job of building leadership among the squad, and so it is up to the current seniors (Class of 2019) to make sure that they emphasize the team culture and hold the team accountable for their success.

As far as on the water, our top group is heavily populated with juniors and seniors, which is where you hope athletes are after a few years of development.

Our upperclassmen are a huge testament to the improvements that can be made with a consistent work ethic and careful preparation. Many of these athletes weren’t highly regarded coming out of high school, but they bought in to the training plan and started to see some significant improvements. It’s about this time (end of sophomore year / beginning of junior year) that most athletes are able to take that “next step” and start contributing at an even higher level for the remainder of their rowing career.

OO: How do you feel about the success of last year’s crews and how that bodes for this year’s crews? How many 1st or 2nd boaters returned, for example?

JE: We were really proud of the racing season that our guys put together last year. The team had made it a goal to improve their depth and to place all three eights in the National Top-10 at IRAs. We ultimately achieved that goal, with the 1V, 2V, and 3V finishing 8th, 9th, and 10th, respectively. In 2019, our challenge is figuring out how to turn some of those Petite Finals at Sprints and IRAs into Grand Finals. The team was 9th overall as a unit at IRAs last year. Can we push that to 18

6th or 7th overall? That will require us making some Grand Finals and challenging the perennial powers this year. Put bluntly, we don’t (yet!) have the top-to-bottom talent to match the very best teams in the country. But we certainly have enough talent and depth to make a run at some of those teams. We are returning all but the 5 senior rowers who graduated last May. The challenge is to have the sort of consistent, purposeful practices all year to make good on our potential.

OO: Where do you see challenges in the 2019 dual race season, in the Sprints or IRAs? JE: Our dual race season is challenging every year, and that’s by design. Nothing prepares you for the rigors of the IRA National Championship better than racing top teams every weekend during the spring. This year in particular will be a good test for our athletes as we have quite a bit of travel involved. We’ll be out in Chicago in early April to race Wisconsin on the Skokie Canal, then two weeks later head down to Annapolis for the annual Goes Trophy showdown against Navy and Cornell. Then we add another road trip to Leonia, NJ for the Conlan Cup against Boston and Columbia for good measure.

Oh, and our one and only home race this year will be that next day on Sunday as we host Dartmouth to defend the Packard Trophy. In short – it will be an exciting racing season like always! Hopefully, being battletested “road warriors” will serve our athletes well as they look towards the IRA Championships, which will be held out in Sacramento, California this year.

OO: Describe any changes in responsibilities for the Men’s Coaches.

JE: This past summer saw the departure of Associate Head Coach Justin Stangel ’07. Coach Stangel’s involvement with Syracuse Rowing goes back to the fall of his freshman year in 2003 all the way up to coaching a crew at Henley in 2018, with only brief interruptions to study at Oxford and train for the US Senior National Team. The man bleeds Orange, through and through, and he poured a tremendous amount of effort into making Syracuse great as an undergraduate oarsmen and then again as a coach. We will miss him dearly (as well as his cooking!).

THE ORANGE OAR

Following Coach Stangel’s departure this summer, I transitioned into the role of recruiting coordinator to lead the search for the next generation of Orange oarsmen. To fill the remaining coaching vacancy, we brought back another former Syracuse oarsman in Stephen Hoskins ’15. A former walk-on athlete, Coach Hoskins spent the last few years in an assistant coach role at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. We’re thrilled to have him on our staff and he is equally as excited to return to his alma mater in a coaching role.

No coaching announcement would be complete without mentioning Volunteer Assistant Coach Larry Laszlo. Some of you may remember Coach Laszlo from his first stint as a Syracuse coach in the 80s, when he served as Bill Sanford’s Freshman Coach. Nowadays, Coach Laszlo spends his afternoons and Saturday mornings assisting the full-time coaching staff with athlete development, boat maintenance and repair, and oftentimes a much needed injection of levity into any situation. We count ourselves lucky to have him on our staff.

OO: Reflections on the 2018 Evening at Ten Eyck?

JE: The 2018 Evening at Ten Eyck was by far the bestattended and one of the most significant ceremonies since the event’s inception. The celebration of 40 years of women’s rowing was flat-out inspiring. Hearing the stories of the women’s early years really brought into context how many strides we’ve made towards gender equity in sports – and how much work is still left to be done. The rise of women’s rowing at Syracuse – as well as across the nation – has had an undeniably positive impact on men’s rowing. We’re pretty lucky to share The Ten Eyck Boathouse as well as our facilities with some really talented and driven women. I know that our male athletes’ experience is enriched and enhanced by having a competitive women’s team standing shoulder to shoulder with them, wearing Orange.

FALL 2018

In the same vein, the opportunity to celebrate the 1978 IRA Champions – and to gather the entire crew and coaching staff in one room – was deeply impactful for our athletes to witness. A really cool part of the evening was watching the TV coverage of the ’78 guys as they prepared for the championships, and seeing that these larger-than-life legends were once just ordinary college guys themselves. That sort of thing really motivates our athletes to realize that they, too, are capable of greatness, and that the daily challenges they face in 2018 (academics, friendships, social lives, etc.) are pretty similar to what the guys dealt with back in 1978.

In 40 years, much has changed in the sport of rowing, but at the core, it still requires 9 athletes in a boat working together towards a common goal and supporting each other off the water. It was great to see.

OO: Describe the importance the SARA Community’s support during the racing season.

JE: Alumni, parents, and SARA supporters alike – every single person makes a difference when it comes to showing up at races. We know that rowing is not always the most spectator-friendly sport, but having a big crowd at home races (as well as away contests) is a massive boost for the athletes. Rowing is a sport where the balance of training vs. competition is heavily skewed to the training side. In particular, college-level racing offers fewer opportunities than what kids might be used to from their high school programs. With only a few opportunities each year to line up, our athletes take an exceptional amount of pride in being able to wear the Orange racing tank and put their years’ worth of training on display for a six-minute race. Being present at races to recognize their commitment is one of the best ways to support our guys. The athletes and coaches certainly enjoy the post-race food spreads, as well. OO

19

QUESTIONS AND

ANSWERS

WITH COACH LUKE MCGEE

20 20

THE ORANGE OAR

OO: How fit did the women return from the summer break?

OO: What have you been working on this fall in particular?

LM:The end of summer break was a bit of a mad dash to get started. I completed my family’s move to Syracuse on August 25th and we held our first team meeting on the 27th. The team was excited to get started and we opened the year with a mix of technical rows and post-row erg workouts. The team performed well on an opening 30-min erg test and continued to build strength and speed throughout the fall.

LM: The fall has been a great opportunity to log some long miles on the canal in eights. Our focus has been on building fitness through hard work while also taking time to work on the technical aspects of what moves a boat. Initially, we spoke a lot about taking long, hard strokes and then worked to translate that length to higher ratings for races. We still have work to do but I have been pleased with their ability to adapt to a new training program, especially the older athletes.

Everyone has been open to making changes on the water and taking risks on the erg.

OO: Did any of the women participate in international events in the summer of 2018?

LM: We had an exciting summer with recent graduate Hattie Taylor (SU ’17) representing Great Britain at the Senior World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and four of our women racing at the Under-23 World Championships in Poznan, Poland. Hattie had an impressive summer by earning a silver and a bronze medal at World Cup 1 and 2 and capping her year by competing in the Women’s 2- for Great Britain at the Senior World Championships. In a tough event, Hattie won the “B” final and finished 7th in the World. This was a big step in Hattie’s career and we are excited to watch her compete for a seat at the Tokyo Olympics.

At the Under-23 World Championships, one of our senior captains Arianna Lee rowed in the bow seat of the USA Women’s 4x that finished 6th. Sydney Michalak, a graduate transfer to Syracuse, rowed in the USA Women’s 2x with recent graduate Ashley Johnson (SU ’18). And junior Lucy Pearce represented Australia in the five seat of the Women’s 8+ that finished in 6th place.

It was great to see so many of our SU athletes rowing on the international stage and we hope that number continues to grow as we support their efforts to row at the highest level.

FALL 2018

OO: What is your outlook for 2019? Do you see any emerging trends, women stepping up, lineups being shaken up?

LM: It has been fun for me to join the team and shake up line-ups and put people in seats where they do not normally sit in the boat. We have a lot of strokes to take between now and when we get out on the race course this spring, but the women are embracing the hard work and I am excited to watch the team compete in 2019.

OO: Talk about your freshmen.

LM: The freshmen group is a strong bunch with a good number of them already stepping up into boats that raced this fall at the Head of the Charles. There is a big learning curve when freshmen arrive on campus in the fall. They are asked to perform academically and athletically and we are lucky to have great studentathlete support from our coaching staff, academic advisors, athletic trainers, nutritionists, etc., that help with the transition. I have enjoyed watching them slot into the team this fall and am excited to see how far they can go this year and throughout their career at Syracuse.

21 21

OO: Talk about your senior class.

LM: The senior group is a mature bunch of athletes who provide a lot of positive leadership across all boats. They understand the value of hard work but also the necessity of having fun. I think now that the fall semester is coming to a close they are starting to realize that this is their last racing season at Syracuse and I can already see how we are going to miss them next year. Being that it is their last racing season, there will be a natural sense of urgency that should translate to the team as we head indoors for the next couple of months.

OO: What is in store for the 2019 season?

OO: I hear you have an open launch policy during practices.

LM: Yes, I have an open launch policy here at Syracuse.

Everyone is welcome to come back and watch the team train and race. So far we have had a number of alums and parents take me up on the offer and I sincerely hope that the number continues to grow. I think it is great for the team to see so many people who are invested in their success and I would encourage all alums to come see us in action. Your help and support is greatly appreciated and we are looking forward to representing Syracuse on the race course this spring!

OO

LM: We have an early race circled on our calendar. We head down to Virginia to face UVA, Duke, Ohio State and Michigan on April 6th on Lake Monticello and it will be a great test for our squad against some of the top teams in the country. The opportunity to see some real speed early in the season will pay dividends later in the year.

OO: Special memories and moments from the 2018 Evening at Ten Eyck?

LM: Evening At Ten Eyck was a great opportunity to celebrate the 40 years of Women’s Rowing at Syracuse and to meet so many of our alums. I had a great chat with Mark Lyvers and enjoyed hearing his coaching stories and seeing his interaction with his former athletes. But the standout moment for me was Marcia Furlonge’s boat dedication of the “Connie” in honor of her mother. It was an emotional dedication and a great moment for our current athletes to see the positive impact that this program has had upon others.

22

THE ORANGE OAR

Let’s Get Social...

World Championships, Sarasota, Florida September 24 – October 1, 2017

ONE OF SARA’S MEMBERSHIP GOALS FOR 2018 IS TO INCREASE THEIR PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. SARA’s primary communication goal is to increase our presence on social media. Our emerging generation of athletes and their families, as well as friends and supporters of Syracuse Rowing are connecting on social media more and more.

SARA’s presence there will help us achieve our membership theme of “staying connected, reconnecting … and cherishing memories!”

You can connect with SARA on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to receive timely information such as getting directions to races, race reports and host tent information.

You can also make connections with your teammates in advance of your attendance at a race or a SARA-hosted event. And you can make professional connections on LinkedIn. See you there!

FALL 2018

23

24 24

THE ORANGE OAR

ZOE PRESTON

Our ‘Transition’ Class Makes An Eight The first race of the season is always an exciting one.

Our nerves as we stepped off the bus in New Haven, Connecticut, were evident. Not only had we never faced Brown and Yale in a head race before, but returners were used to opening their season with a small pairs regatta in New Jersey. The echoes of “Go ’Cuse!” shouted between the four eights on the water showed our nervous excitement.

This experience was emblematic of the start of the season with our new head coach, Luke McGee. The energy of doing something new and different has powered us through workouts we never thought we would be doing, including our first 6km erg test, partner 10 by 1kms and grueling 20 minute pieces. From the start, it was clear we will be working harder than we ever have before. But the entire team, especially the senior class, has embraced the change.

Our senior class makes an eight. We all have very different backgrounds and personalities, but we have always considered ourselves close friends. For the past three years we’ve learned to support each other both athletically and academically, while paving a way for those below to succeed when we leave. But being seniors has changed our perceptions of what it is to be a rower, an athlete, and a teammate.

The varsity coxswain, Rebecca Spraggins, has a talent of drawing people together and making them work as a team or boat. For her, the biggest challenge we

MAY 2018 FALL

25

has been extremely focused and dedicated, competing in the 1V for three of her four years.

Coming to Syracuse was the best choice I have ever made. While I’m very far from home and it has not always been easy, everyday I am thankful that I chose this school.

My teammates and coaches are incredible and have made everyday of training worthwhile. And being exposed to a different culture, community and climate has completely changed my perspective.

The culture of this team in particular has changed who I am today. It has encouraged me and many others to work hard at being the best version of myself that I possibly can be and to always bring pride.

Ultimately, when I’m back in Australia and reflecting on my time here, I will always be grateful that I had the opportunity to come to this different part of the world and meet some of the people who will remain my lifelong friends.

– Zoe have overcome was when we thought we weren’t going to NCAAs last year. “It placed a lot of pressure on us to perform heading into ACCs, which we ultimately did when both the 1V and 2V came second.” This experience has motivated her leadership this year to push us towards our best finish yet.

One of the most persistent of the bunch is Christine Habjan, whose 5’5” frame has motivated her to prove that she is just as powerful as any of our taller oarswomen.

When recalling her past three years at Syracuse, she said she was particularly proud of the fact that “… the team has been to NCAAs every year that we have been here.” Christine will pursue rowing at Cambridge after graduation, as is our team captain, Arianna Lee, who 26

Grad student, Sydney Michalak is new to the program this year, her classmates have been “… in awe of how quickly she fell into the standards and culture of Syracuse Rowing” (Emily Andolfatto). She has not just fit in to our team, she has excelled, putting up some of the team’s best scores on the erg. This past summer both Arianna and Sydney represented the United States at U23 Worlds.

Our only walk-on, Taylor Rogers, is extremely hard working and personifies how you don’t need to be at the top to be passionate about something. Her persistence can be seen on her sneakers, where she has “commit to your teammates” written on the sole in sharpie. Similarly, Isabelle Rodgers is relentlessly selfless and would do anything to help her friends and teammates. She shows her dedication by nurturing our underclassmen during their transition into a challenging Division I program.

Lauren Richards is a leader by example. Her strong presence on the erg and in the 1V shows our underclassmen just how far you can get with hard work.

Her fiery attitude always ignites the erg room or the boat to go that extra meter or split. Likewise, Emily Andolfatto is a leader, but she leads in energy. She is responsible for always ‘bringing the fun,’ whether it be 6 a.m. on a Monday or at a Friday afternoon practice in the rain.

Over the past three years we have been through all the usual highs and lows of collegiate rowing. But what we couldn’t have predicted was the departure of Coach Justin Moore and that we would get a new head coach.

There was some nervousness among the team, which made us grateful that we got to be seniors during the transition, as we knew our strength as a class could ensure everyone adapted to new leadership. And now, we are honored that we get to be the seniors during Luke’s first year.

We have all fully invested in working as hard as possible and believe that his commitment to moving us forward as a group is going to amount to great things at the end of the year.

THE ORANGE OAR

For the last time, we are experiencing the beautiful fall mornings on the river that have carried us past the Belgian Bridge and the Railroad Bridge, as well as the exciting but chaotic head racing against some of our NCAA rivals. As the weather changes we know that our time at Syracuse is coming closer to its end. But as Emily said, “Knowing it’s our last year and wanting to leave SU Women’s Rowing better than we found it makes all of the difference.” OO

Our home is very quiet without Zoe! We have one other daughter, Anna who misses her big sister terribly. We feel Zoe is very lucky to have been given the amazing opportunity to study and compete at / with Syracuse University. We are proud of her achievements and appreciate the influence Syracuse University and associated experiences is having on her development. Social media has made it a lot easier to follow Zoe’s adventures, as such we are grateful for the excellent wonders of modern communications.

We miss Zoe very much. Although it is a challenge to co-ordinate with the time difference here down under in Oz, we appreciate our FaceTime with Zoe perhaps more that if we were in the same room.

We believe that Zoe is making the most of this wonderful opportunity she has been given. We understand she is striving for excellence in her grades and in the training sheds. Zoe has matured and grown as a person. It has given her invaluable life experience, not to mention an excellent education. I am very excited about attending Zoe’s graduation in 2019.

– Lee Preston, Melbourne Australia

FALL 2018

27

COACH REISCHMAN

THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE

TEN EYCK MUSEUM For several years we had been trying to locate someone within SARA that had the time and energy to “freshen up” the porch area of the boathouse. It think the pictures that were there had been in place since the remodel in 1987. This was going to be a major undertaking and we struggled to find someone that had the time to take it on. We had several boxes of “stuff”, and I do mean several, in the attic of the boathouse and we just needed someone to make sense of it all. The Chancellor has been encouraging collaboration between athletics and academic programs so, Morey Mossovitz, our Associate Athletic Director of Facilities, had the idea of asking the Museum Studies graduate program if they were interested. As luck would have it they were looking for a project for their “Historic Curatorship” and “Museum Graphics and Communication” classes. The students and professors were awesome! They spent most of last spring climbing through the attic and combing through university archives to learn the history of the program and look for photos, old letters, and other artifacts.

Our goal was to create a space that alumni could certainly wander through and reminisce but also to give visiting recruits (and current athletes) a sense of the awesome history of the program. What people saw at the Evening at Ten Eyck was the porch area about 75% finished. When the students started digging in to the available information it was apparent that we could do a whole room on the Ten Eyck’s alone. Most visitors enter the boathouse through the downstairs lobby so it seemed appropriate that they walk into an area honoring James Ten Eyck. That project will be completed later this fall along with the finishing touches upstairs on the porch.

The biggest challenge for the students was to decide what items to leave out. We had a lot of really cool stuff and I wish we had more space to include everything that was worthy. We decided to not query the alums for memorabilia because we already had a lot of material and we really have no way to properly store the stuff we were not using.

All the credit for the display goes to Professor’s Andrew Salutti and Emily Stokes-Rees and their students. They were fantastic to work with! OO

28

THE ORANGE OAR

Here is the story from the University’s News Staff (October 17, 2018) on the Collaboration of Graduate Program of Museum Studies and the Syracuse Rowing Programs: Click Here

FALL 2018

29

QUESTIONS AND

ANSWERS WITH JOSH STRATTON

30 30

THE ORANGE OAR

OO: Where and how were you first exposed to rowing?

OO: Does one event stand out from your early days in rowing?

JS: I learned how to row as a freshman in high school, after hearing from Judy Sanford in her freshman math class that she thought I’d be good at the sport. With some reluctance, I went out for the team and never looked back. After about two months of learning the rowing stroke on the ergs and in the tanks at Marist College, we took to the water to learn the rowing stroke in a fiberglass and wooden Schoenbrod on the Hudson River.

JS: Winter training stands out because of the difficulty and expectations set forth by the coaches. These expectations were for excellent technique and to adhere to the structure, standards and traditions of rowing which make great teams. This unwavering dedication set the foundation for my entire rowing career and this experience set me up very well for my successive rowing camps & teams. Statements such as “If you cannot row with proper technique on the erg, you will not be rowing in a boat until you can” were taken very seriously by the 8th & 9th graders.

My early impressions of rowing were exactly what my coaches told me: the more effort that you put into the training and practice of your technique, the more speed you’ll get out of yourself on the erg and water.

Also, there are many very rough water days early on in the spring and we must get comfortable in challenging conditions … we also must get comfortable running hills!

OO: Who were your early rowing influences?

JS: Mike Vertullo was my high school freshman coach and he is responsible for my attitude towards excellent technique, maximum effort and never taking the easy way out of training. He’s also partly responsible for the competitive fire that burns inside of me and willingness for me to challenge others who may be lacking in that area. Ray Barnum was my varsity coach at FDR (F.D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, NY) and being a Brown University alum, I had a tremendous amount of respect for his rowing capabilities. He was much more philosophical and holistic with his coaching approach.

He let us know that he couldn’t provide the motivation for us to get stronger and faster, that the drive and motivation must come from within. I believe this gave the opportunity for my teammates and I to step up into leadership roles throughout the three years that I rowed for him. He encouraged this and allowed each team to take on its own personality.

OO: How did your first coaches coach you?

JS: My first coaches coached me like I was an older and more mature athlete. The expectation was for absolute uniformity and to strive for perfection. My high school coaches rowed for Rutgers and Brown University and wanted for us to have the best experience possible for our athletic endeavor and taught that winning records make for fun and memorable crew teams.

OO: What do you cherish as your key memories of your rowing career at SU? JS: My key memories of rowing at SU include the camaraderie between teammates beginning with bus rides to the Boathouse freshman year, walking to weights during early winter mornings through the cemetery in the snow from Day Hall, attending football and basketball games in the nosebleeds and countless other non-rowing team activities. The various on-thewater memories of rowing on a glass-like Onondaga Lake at sunrise, powering up through the canals on blustery days and rowing at the various Northeast regatta sites each bring a nostalgic charm to me as I reminisce my time as an Orange rower.

Some of my favorite memories include seat racing for spring lineups in Miami on our spring break training trips and the long rows in Melbourne, Florida in the Manatee canals. One specific memory is that of rowing on the canal while the lake was still frozen in early

FALL 2018

31

March ... when we’d get to the lake, we’d need to spin while encircled by ice at the end of the Canal breakwaters. Another special memory was shared by the 1999 Varsity 8 at IRAs as it seemed that each successive race was a better and faster performance by the crew through heats, reps, semi-finals and finals.

That same year, we’d had a phenomenal cup racing season where our coxswain was always being tossed into various rivers.

OO: How do you coach?

JS: I tend to coach like all of my coaches did to certain degrees, borrowing from each one of their phrases that made a lot of sense to me during my rowing career. I tend to coach the entire athlete, speaking one-on-one when I get the opportunity during winter training, at the trailer during regattas and at other opportunities such as launch and truck rides. I enjoy listening to the athletes speak about their majors and life goals and understand that there are all varying degrees of dedication and love for the sport.

We coach a different style, rhythm and cadence at Marist than most high school programs are currently teaching. Many rowers weren’t taught or even have been exposed to this technique prior to attending Marist.

Getting the athletes to buy into the new rhythm, learn it and adopt it as their own typically takes the better part of a semester for them to become comfortable with in a shell. When they finally “get it” and make a change to their strokes, that’s when the coaching really becomes rewarding and boats begin to move more efficiently with them in their lineups.

I’d like to be remembered as an understanding coach who demanded and got the most from his athletes and coxswains. My goal is for my athletes to become capable of dealing with any adversity that comes their way in the boat as I am convinced that this carries over into the classroom and professional world. I see my role as teaching the athletes what college life has to offer them and discuss with them what the world will offer them in their post-rowing career.

32

OO: What differences exist now in your coaching style from what you did at Syracuse while a student athlete?

JS: The use of small boats such as the 1x, 2- and 2x at Marist is one of the most different aspects of training methods from when I attended SU. We’d go out in a pair without shell only two or three times in the fall, but we make it an almost daily exercise to send out small boats here at Marist. Small boats are the best way to teach rowers how to move a boat without disturbing the hull speed. So much of what we focus on is efficiency in our rowing stroke which will enable our crews to carry hull speed over the entire race course without fighting the boat or rest of the crew. I’ve personally become a sculler and small boat rower to purposefully teach myself how to move small boats and gain better boat feel so that I may be able to help my rowers have a better sense of what they’re looking for and trying to feel from their stroke. Along with this, we focus much more on steady state rowing, targeting each of the training zones an appropriate amount of time each week of our training cycle. The force curve on rowing machines along with dynamic ergs are also pieces of technology that hadn’t been developed yet while I was rowing at the collegiate level and are key to teaching the rowers acceleration of the drive phase through the pin.

It’s an exciting and ever-changing world that we live in with not just the sport of rowing, but so many of our daily aspects of life. Embracing these changes where appropriate gives us such opportunity to improve.

OO: Please talk about rowing after your years at SU. JS: After graduating from SU, I took a couple of years off from the sport, but was soon reeled back into racing

by Joe Peter during a visit to ’Cuse one fall. I always stay at Jason Premo’s house when visiting and he had practice with the Syracuse Chargers which I’d attend and practice in when I could. I soon found myself a member of the Joey Peter Rowing Team (or ‘JPRT’ as emblazoned on their racing tanks) traveling to every regatta that I could get into the boat. It was a lot of fun

THE ORANGE OAR

training locally at the gym and then just hoping into the boat for racing with friends new and old.

OO: Please share some insights on how you balance your work / personal training / coaching schedules.

JS: Balancing work as a financial consultant, rowing coach, my own personal fitness and family responsibilities proves to be very challenging, and it requires a team effort. My wife, father as well as mother-in-law help in the daily care for my children and are as vested as anyone can be in the success of my rowing endeavors. My father, who drove me to practice in high school at all hours of the morning, attended nearly all of my races throughout high school and college, is still an integral part in the facilitation of rowing. My first stint at coaching from 20032006 was prior to my becoming a father, but when I was asked to coach at Marist once again in 2016, it required a more creative solution where my father again stepped up to the challenge of caring for my kids each day before school which I’m forever grateful to him. This is truly a gift that he’s given to me, the gift to coach the sport that I love while he gets to enjoy his grandkids.

OO: Talk about SARA for a moment.

JS: Since its inception, SARA has been very involved with the tradition of rowing at SU and I believe it’s seen many vital improvements in this last decade through the establishment of the annual alumni event: Evening at Ten Eyck and the Syracuse Rowing Hall of Fame.

Fundraising has really taken off and become more widely participated in than previous decades and it just continuously grows and improves from year to year. OO ***** Note: Josh Stratton (class year 2001) is currently the Assistant Men’s Crew Coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

You can follow Josh at @jwstratt on Instagram.

OO: Please talk about Marist’s recent successes on the water.

JS: The spring of 2018 saw Marist return to the IRA for the first time since 2007 with an at-large bid over Columbia, Georgetown and Drexel. At the NIRC Championships, Marist sprinted through Hobart to take second place behind a game Bates crew. We graduated three seniors out of the top boat and now it’s our charge to develop our younger athletes and the returning members of this boat to improve upon last year’s result. We are bringing in a faster crop of recruits each year as we elevate our national ranking which is very exciting to see. It’s taken three years to climb in the rankings, and now we’ll see how far we are able to rise.

FALL 2018

33

ZACK VLAHANDREAS

4-YEAR RETROSPECT

34 34

THE ORANGE OAR

My 4 years coxing for the SU Men’s Crew are almost over. My last fall race as a Syracuse Oarsmen, or as I like to say “coxman,” is over. I have experienced just about everything I could ever want when I called coach Stangel a week before decision day and told him I would see him that fall. Everything, somehow, has found a way to come full circle. Yet, there are still 7 highly anticipated months – including the racing season – that are yet to come.

IVE

It was September 12th, 2015, and I was fresh to campus and ambitious beyond belief. On that day was my first experience to be able to see what Syracuse rowing is all about. It was my first evening at the Evening at Ten Eyck event. I didn’t know who “Ten Eyck” was, who was going to be at this event, and what Coach Reischman had in store for me. As class day concluded that Saturday morning I was left watching from the shore having doubts about my initial impact on this team and on this campus. When Saturday morning had come to an end I was ready to go back to my dorm room and start on some homework; however, Coach Reischman pulled me aside and asked if I could come to the evening races that night to help cox. I responded: “Sure thing! … but I didn’t race or win this morning!” He then preceded to tell me, “That’s alright, I want you to cox one of the alumni boats this evening.”

With joy I got on the bus back to campus to prepare myself for the evening.

Later that night when I came back to help, I was looking around wondering which boat, which guys, and the timing for all that was about to happen. I was walking around the Boathouse looking like a lost puppy until one of the alumni in my boat came up to me and made an effort to meet me – dressed in the most ridiculous outfit I have ever seen anyone row in which I later learned is his signature Ten Eyck style.

From my memory, the words he spoke to me have stuck with me from that day until this day and I know they will until I graduate. It was this alumnus who was genuinely curious about how I liked college so far, how I have been transitioning, and how I’ve been able to appreciate all that’s around me. I responded, “Yes, of course! I love every day of it” and he was ecstatic to hear that the culture and passion of being Orange and being an Orange Oarsmen has not changed since he graduated.

FALL 2018

35

As we were getting in the boat, he was making sure everyone knew who I was and to trust me down this 500-meter course that for these alumni felt like 2,000 meters. It was incredibly exhilarating to be in this position as a freshman. I had no idea who any of these people were, where they were from, or their careers here as oarsmen, but I knew we all wanted to win and that they wanted to live in the Orange moment again and reflect on their times here. We ended up losing.

Knowing what that oarsmen said to me the 20 minutes leading up to this race stuck with me as we docked the boat. I got out of the boat and the first person I saw on the dock was no one I had met before (shocker). But he shook my hand as if he had known me my whole life.

He shook my hand and started talking to me asking me how it was to be in his boat and how more specifically the coxswain seat felt. I still had no idea who this man was. And he left before I could ask him what his name was ….

As I sat down for dinner in the boat bay, ready to see what Ten Eyck night was all about I got tapped on the shoulder by an older alumnus who again, had no idea who he was, with a white beard, white hair, glasses, and hands bigger than Michael Jordan. He proceeded to tell me “You are in my seat” confused, I quickly apologized and offered to move and he said not to worry that he will find another seat. Thinking nothing of it I went forward and picked up an itinerary for the night. Looking through it I noticed someone familiar.

The man that had come up to me on the dock as I was getting out of the boat was listed under the honorees: Joseph E. Peter. Then it hit me that the boat I was in had his name on the bow and it all came together. As he was giving his speech, the first line he spoke hit me to heart: “I was never a 1V guy. I was 3V for life and sometimes not even that. I graduated and went on to win so so many races and so so many medals and I said to myself ‘who’s the top coxswain now’” (laughs came from the whole Boathouse) and I thought back to that morning where I wasn’t selected as the top coxswain to be in my class day boat and I thought ‘this guy is pretty cool, I like this guy.’ * * * Freshman and sophomore year, I did not see much success in my coxing abilities, boat placement, or overall team and coaching staff chemistry. I didn’t get a chance to cox an IRA boat until my junior year. As Clemson training camp of junior year was winding down, the guys had to decide on who they wanted for the 3V. 36

I ended up winning the vote and got put in the boat for the spring season. We proceeded to go undefeated. The first undefeated cup season by a Syracuse crew in a long time. I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to the other coxswain and rowers that helped make this possible.

We did not have a single race where the lineup was the same, and as coach Reischman has always preached to us, “We need to be able to handle adversity and race better than anyone else in that sweet Syracuse racing weather.” As we got 7th at Eastern Sprints and 10th at the IRA’s I have cherished every single one of those finish line crossings. It was even more special to me taking the boat out of the water each race and putting it back on the racks for the summer in June seeing the Joseph E. Peter name on the bow. His fighting spirit crossed the finish line with us for every race and I could not be prouder to have coxed that boat throughout the season last spring. Like I mentioned earlier, as my ‘full circle’ has continued, I got promoted to be the Advertising Manager at The Daily Orange newspaper, and the first client I got on my first day on the job was none other than Joey’s son John Peter. We have become incredible business partners thus far, and I will on occasion go in and see how he is doing and tell him about the stories from practice coxing the Joey Peter boat. His father will THE ORANGE OAR

continue to be one of the Orange Oarsman (coxman) alumni who I will continue to look up to as a role model and the kind of alumni I aspire to be – even though I can never come close. * * * It was September 15th, 2018 and I was attending my last Evening at Ten Eyck event as an undergrad coxman. It was on this day that the new Museum of the Boathouse was completed (in the balcony area) and displayed in such a simple way that you can now walk in there and soak in Syracuse Rowing history in just a couple minutes. It is a pretty cool recruiting tool as well.

It was on this day that I really started my last fall season.

And, it was on this day that what the alumnus that told me 3 years ago right outside the Boathouse in the same spot was where he got a boat dedicated to him under his name Jason Premo ’98. It was listening to Jason give his speech and pour his champagne that I saw the circle come close again as he talked so passionately about what Syracuse rowing did for him and how he hasn’t gone a day of his life after graduation without thinking about all the experiences, all the fun times, all the people that made his experience what it was.

Additionally, on that day the famous Ozzie Street did not show up when it was time for the ’78 crew to go out for a row and Coach Reischman turned to me and said “Zack, grab your cox box. You’re coxing the ’78 crew.” I was speechless. I was about to cox an IRA Championship Crew and I had no idea what to even think. As I went through my usual routine, we shoved off the dock and started rowing down the canal. Suddenly, I heard a voice from the coaching launch give me instruction. It sounded familiar. As I turned around I noticed it was the same alumnus who’s seat I took 4 years ago on my first Evening at Ten Eyck – Coach Bill Sanford. I was taking it all in: The Championship Crew, the legendary coach, and the strokes I would remember forever. * * * As I mentioned earlier, time is really running out.

Graduating athletes think of the word ‘silence’ a lot after leaving the sport they love … though, I don’t think my life after rowing here will be silent at all. I think like those before me, coxing for Syracuse is something that can never leave you. Being a part of this team and culture for 4 years is something that doesn’t just go away. All the friends, practices, training trips, races, and jerseys won – never goes away – and I’m really happy about that.

Zack has thoroughly enjoyed his time at Syracuse. Immediately after Zack made his official visit, he knew that Syracuse was a perfect fit for him. It had everything he wanted in a school, and gave him an opportunity to continue his rowing career. In many ways, his collegiate rowing career has been similar to his high school career. There was a lot of potential for an exceptional college rowing experience, but there was also a lot of quality competition.

My wife, Evelyn, and I, and his three siblings of course miss Zack tremendously, but we all know that he is really happy at Syracuse. Over the past four years, we have seen many of his races and certainly we would have liked to have seen all of them, but many times it became a last minute decision because we were never 100% sure if he was racing until the day before the race. So we just tried to make family visits on race days and hoped that we got to see him compete.

Academically and athletically, we are very happy with Zack’s time at Syracuse. It is always a challenge balancing the academics, athletics and social aspects of college, but we are very proud of the way Zack has worked very hard to accomplish that. We are so very proud of Zack and we are looking forward to his senior season and graduation.

– Michael and Evelyn Vlahandreas, Winnetka, Illinois

OO

FALL 2018

37

A LOOK INTO THE ENDOWMENT The SARA Men’s Crew Endowment is going strong with assets topping $580,000. Since its inception in 2010, there has been over 400 dedicated alumni who have contributed to the Endowment. The mission of the Endowment is to endure the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Syracuse Men’s Crew. It provides a long-term revenue stream to fund various initiatives including equipment purchases, travel expense for away regattas, coaching positions and capital projects such as crew room renovations and boathouse improvements.

Growing Our Investment The assets of the SARA Men’s Crew Endowment are managed in a blind trust by the Central New York Community Foundation (CNYCF). CNYCF was established in 1927 and has over $270 million in assets under management. This is a balanced, long-range view asset portfolio including domestic equities, international equities, fixed income securities and other asset classes. The current Endowment performance, as of Sept 30, 2018, is 8.6% one-year return and 10.6% three-year annual return, beating its respective benchmarks.

Governance The SARA Men’s Crew Endowment has a separate Board of Directors (Endowment Directors) which includes Joe Kieffer ’88, Ken Hutton ’69, Joe Paduda ’80, Lynn Pascale ’81, Jim Breuer ’72, Tracy Brown ’90, and Dan O’Shaughnessy ’06. Endowment Directors are dedicated SARA members with fund raising and asset management experience. The Endowment Directors meet a few times a year to review investment performance, contributions, donation campaigns and to discuss distribution requests.

Giving Back to the Team In 2018, the Endowment made a distribution for $16,100 to the Men’s Crew to support the design work of the crew room and to purchase six new ergometers for the team. Annual distributions are typically limited to 4.5% of the overall asset balance. The directors consult with Coach Reischman each year to consider any distribution requests. The SARA Endowment Board is the sole body that decides on how and when funds are distributed.

Contributions and Going Forward SARA’s annual Spring 2000-Hour Fundraising Campaign has shifted from the SARA Men’s Crew Endowment to the Men’s Crew Head Coaches Fund. Since that shift less than two years ago, close to $25,000 in donations have flowed into the SARA Endowment. The SARA Endowment is now focusing its fund raising efforts on estate planning and planned giving. Any and all donations to the SARA Endowment are always welcome and much appreciated. To donate click here www.cnycf.org/sara.

If there are any questions or comments, or if you would like to become involved in the SARA Men’s Crew Endowment, please contact Joe Kieffer ’88 at jkieffer@email.com or 267-228-1341.

38

THE ORANGE OAR

THANK YOU Thank you for your contribution to the Men’s Crew Endowment. The Men’s Endowment was established over in the Summer 2010 and has grown to just over $580,000 with over 400 alumni and friends contriburing.

Thank you again for all of support of Syracuse Men’s Rowing and keeping them fast.

Jayon Abbott ‘01 Liz Abraham ‘14* Cecil B. Adams ‘77 AIG Matching Gift # Allianz Global Assistance* Nick Alexander ‘04* David Altman ‘99#* Robert Angelucci ‘57#* Stephen Anthony ‘80#* Chris Amstrong P’08#* Ryan Armstrong ‘08* Brian Azeff ‘09* AXA Foundation* Axeda Corp James Bader ‘07* Michael Bagnall ‘09* Gordon Bain ‘88#* Dr. Bruce Baker ‘59#* Scott Baltazar ‘89#* Bank of America Foundation Walter Barber ‘63 Joe Barnes ‘89* Norman Barnett David Barone ‘07* Robert J. Barr ‘95* Aiden Barrett Bill Bater ‘79* Kevin Beargie ‘07 Michael Beck ‘07* David Beckett ‘80* Peter Beckett* Jim Behr ‘12* Bob Beier ‘57 Alan Bell ‘68* Harold Bender ‘98#* Tim Bristow ‘85# Matt Brocks ‘04* Thomas Brown ‘77* Tracy Brown ‘90* Tyson Bry ‘10*

Stephen Buergin ‘81 Joe Bufano ‘99* Paul Buff ‘70#* Louis H. Buhrmaster ‘59#* Justin Burgess ‘05 Brian Calandro ‘85 John Campbell ‘67#* Jake Catchpole ‘96 Michael Cellucci ‘98* Bruce Chamberlain ‘41#* John H Chamberlain * George Chapman ‘73* Central New York Community Foundation Chip Chase ‘83#* Noah Chase ‘08* Diane Ching Scott Christian ‘99* Virgilio Ciullo ‘ 66 * Charlie Clark ‘83#* Class of 1988# John Combs ‘08* Stephen Connor ‘12* Terence J. Connors P’12* ConocoPhillips Foundation James Constantino ‘75 Andrew Cooley ‘05* Matthew Costigan ‘03 Stephen Coutant ‘87# Randy Cramer ‘98 Robert Curren ‘54#* John Curtain III ‘98#* Austin Curwen’91* Tom Darling ‘81#* Paris Daskalakis ‘98* Patrick Daughton ‘99* Dr. Tim Daughton Jr ‘98* Tom Davies ‘98 John Delaney ‘15 John & Beth Delaney P’15*

# has contributed $1,000 or more to the SARA Endowment FALL 2018

Tom Denver ‘66* Paul Dierkes ‘79#* Michael Dietrick ‘12* Janet Donoghue Drew Doscher Paul Dudzick ‘67#* IMO Joe Dudzick IMO Alyce Dudzick Troy Duff ‘99* William Duffield ‘86* Hugh Duffy ‘80* Charles Durham ‘01 Henry Einhorn ‘54 Eli Lilly Co Foundation Dale Ellis ‘98* Brian Elsts ‘96* Martin Etem ‘09* Tom Evancie ‘78#* Mike Fegley ‘97#* Jason Ferreira ‘99* Andrew Festa ‘15 Conor Finnegan ‘14 David Fish ‘80#* Brian Fitzgerald ‘94* Jon Flynn ‘07* Tom Foote ‘99* Frank Forelle ‘80* IMO Jerry Fries Eric Fudo ‘95 Peter Gaines ‘79 Gary Gardner ‘62 Josh Gautreau ‘06 * GE Foundation John Geise ‘07* Bill Gennaro P’11* Mike Gennaro ‘11* Charles Gibson ‘51* Chip Gibson ‘04* John Gilbert ‘85#* Thomas Gilbert ‘73

* has contributed more than once 39

Steve Gladstone ‘64* Colin Goodale ‘90* IMO David Godfrey* Nathan Graff ‘96#* Jerry Grandey ‘65* Greater St. Louis Community Foundation#* Todd Green ‘56 Jay Greytok ‘87#* Tim Griffin ‘10* James Gulnac ‘67* Jim Haas ‘85* Sam Haines ‘98* Perry Hamerla ‘88* Daniel Hanavan ‘80#* Scott Hansen ‘88* Jeff Harriman ‘70#* Steve & Christina Harris IHO Drew Harrison ‘68 Drew Harrison ‘68#* Joel Harrison ‘07#* Steve & Chris Harrison James Hardie Bldg Products Lawrence Hawkins ‘59 Jason Hegener ‘98* Rob Heinstein ‘89* Eric Heitmann ‘88 Peter Henriques ‘80#* Gerry Henwood ‘80#* John Hession ‘72 Mathew Heumann ‘02#* Glenn Heyer ‘01* Bob Hick ‘54#* Duane Hickling ‘70* Alice Hidy Jason Hillebrecht ‘99* Andy Hobbs ‘83#* Steve Hobson ‘97 Randel & Susan Hockenberry P’17 Dan Hogan ‘65 Rick Holland ‘83#* Matthew Hopeck ‘11 IMO Rick Horn ‘91#* Michael Horvath ‘04 Pat Hosey ‘86 Michelle Hoskins P’15 Stephen Hoskins ‘15 Reid Howe ‘82* Jim Hubbell ‘09*

Walter Hubbell ‘73 Gordon Hull ‘83#* James Hunt P’19# Adlai Hurt ‘04#* Ken Hutton ‘69#* Linn W Hyde ‘64 IMO Hutch Hyde Ken Hyman ‘87 IBM Coroporation Paul Irvine ‘54 Angus Jackson ‘14* IMO Jade Paul Jirak ‘78* Ed Johanson ‘78* Thomas Johnson P’16* Larry Jones ‘98* Ted Kakas ‘64#* Josh Kaplan ‘98* Zennon Kapron ‘98* Philip Kaputa ‘98* Scott Kempton ‘84# Chris Kemezis ‘99* Eleanor Kenneth Fund#* Jim Kerr ‘67* Joe Kieffer ‘88#* Matthew Kirchhoff ‘75 Ryan Knapp ‘08* Richard Kortright ‘69#* Matt Kosboth ‘95#* Jeff Kozlowski ‘92#* Jim Kries ‘59 Peter Kruse ‘10* William LaDuke ‘60* James C Lambert ‘74*# Dr. John Lambert ‘72#* Larry Laszlo#* Chris Lawrence ‘89 Mason Leasure ‘13 Brandon Lee ‘98#* Dave LeFevre ‘91 Douglas Lehmann ‘61 Chris Lenahan ‘91 Scott Leventhal ‘95 Richard Lewis ‘84* Lenovo Company Match Pete Liefeld ‘87 Chris Liwski ‘00# Steven Locke ‘90#* Marc Lopez ‘83*

# has contributed $1,000 or more to the SARA Endowment 40

Tom Lotz ‘57#* IMO Tom Lotz ‘57* Lord Abbett Company Match * Tom Lowe ‘83 LPL Financial Chris Ludden ‘91 Murry Lukoff ‘77#* Chris Lutz ‘12* Mark Lyvers ‘77 Clark Machemer ‘93#* Gary MacLachlan ‘67#* John MacLelland ‘57 Walter MacVittie ‘78*# Patrick Mahardy ‘03* Tim Mambort ‘07* Ken Marfilius ‘11* Neita Markee Menke Douglas Markel ‘98#* Matt Marsh ‘97#* Jennifer Martens P’14 Jacob Martens ‘14* Carl Mather ‘86 Andrew Maude’95* Ruth McArdle William McCusker ‘67* Timothy McDermott ‘85 John McGhee ‘84 Michael McHarris ‘08 James McKay ‘82* Richard McNamara ‘88#* Jeff Meiselman ‘84 # John Metz* Skye Michiels ‘98 #* Don Miller ‘86* Linda Miller * Charles Mills ‘60 Michael Minor ‘73 Robert Miron ‘59# Arthur H. Mittelstaedt ‘58 Andrew Mogish ‘78* Ed Montesi ‘60 Alan More ‘69#* Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Foundation#* Matt Morrow ‘07* Christian Mund ‘15 Brendan Murphy ‘13* Charles Murphy ‘52 John Mutty ‘10*

* has contributed more than once THE ORANGE OAR

Patrick Nalbone ‘67* John Nicholson ‘68#* John Ninos Margaret Ninos Michael O’Hara ‘96 James Olson ‘12* Richard Olson P’12* Matt O’Neill ‘03* Brian Oppenheimer ‘74 Dan O’Shaughnessy ‘06#* Brendan O’Sullivan P’15* Jon Parrella ‘91 Joe Paduda ‘80#* Taylor Page ‘06* Andrew Papp ‘78 Carl Parlato ‘65# Lynne Pascale’81#* Ryan Patton ‘10* Eugene Perry ‘50* Jeff Pesot ‘90#* Joey Peter ‘69#* Nils Peterson ‘70 Thomas Petnuch ‘97#* Whitney Philbrick ‘89 Nick Pickard ‘13* Don Plath ‘68#* Andrew Powers ‘96* Jason Premo ‘98#* David Pries ‘73 Bob Price ‘88#* Tom Prindville ‘65* Proctor & Gamble* Bill Purdy ‘79#* Bill Reid ‘78# Dave Reischman#* Jay Rhodes ‘89* Ashton Richards ‘82 * George Richards ‘48 Henry Ridgely ‘71#* James Reilly ‘85# IHO Sean Ring Richard Ritter ‘81 Charlie Roberts ‘61#* Kyle Rogers ‘14 Steve Rogers ‘69* Peter Romano ‘03* William Rosbrook Andrew Ross ‘07* Thomas M. Rouen ‘60 IMO Thomas M Rouen ‘60

Will Russo ‘03* Paul Sanford* Bill Sanford ‘63* IHO Bill Sanford ‘63* Rich Sangillo ‘98* IHO of all past SARA Presidents Ken Schmidt ‘74* Kirk Ornstein ‘89 James Schiera ‘16 Karen Schiera P’16 IMO Loren Schoel Phyllis H Schwartz Evan Scott ‘99#* Rachael Seabrook James Segaloff ‘59*# Anneliese Seitz-Mund P’15 Todd Selig ‘91 John Sekas ‘84* Vince Sera ‘99* John Shamlian ‘79*# Douglas Shaw ‘01 Dr. Peter Sheerin ‘83* Bruce Shelley ‘70 Edward Shepard ‘53 #* IMO Edward Shepard ‘53 Art Sibley ‘80#* Matt Sisk * Richard Skomra ‘83#* Don Smith ‘90#* Kenneth Soltesz ‘85* Michael Sparta ‘14* Tom Sparta P’14* Mark Sprague ‘68#* St. Louis Community Foundation Justin Stangel ‘07* Rob Steen ‘88 Susan Steinberg ‘90 Johnathan Stephanik ‘01* Harvey Stratton P’01* Josh Stratton ‘01#* Oswald Street ‘80#* Dirk Stribrny ‘90#* Elliot Sussin ‘77 Dave Swenton’87 #* Syracuse Alumni Rowing Association* IHO The 1874 Stewards IMO Bartosz Szczyrba ‘07* Jeremy H Tate ‘99 John Thomas ‘67

Richard J Thome ‘01 Julian Thomka-Gazdik ‘90 Mark Toomey ‘92 # Tyler Toporowski ‘13* Rick Tremblay ‘78#* Tremont Street Foundation#* Danial Turner ‘11 Turner Investment Foundation# Vista Fuels LLC# Mark Vyzas ‘10* Kristin Walker Bidwell ‘90 Lt Col Charles Wardwell ‘40 Bill Schofield ‘88* Andrew Washburn ‘75 John Watson ‘77#* Thomas Weigartz ‘80 Barry Weiss ‘83#* Ray Went ‘99* Clai White ‘10* Robert White Robert Whyte ‘66* Lawrence Wiener ‘59# Terence Wilkin ‘06* Todd Wilkinson ‘96#* Bill Willson ‘70* Bruce Wilson ‘66#* Amy Winkelstein Jerry Winkelstein ‘61#* Michael Wodchis ‘84 Andrew Wright ‘04 Dick Yochum ‘68* Pat Young ‘90*# Jason Zajdel ‘14* Tom Zammarelli ‘88 Mr. Conrad Zink and Mrs. Lynda del Castillo P ‘14* MacKenzie Zink ‘14 Dennis Zutant ‘66*

Updated November 1, 2018

# has contributed $1,000 or more to the SARA Endowment FALL 2018

* has contributed more than once 41

SYRACUSE ALUMNI ROWING ASSOCIATION, INC. 1264 MINNOW COVE SKANEATELES, NY 13152 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED