Stotesbury Cup next on agenda

By HUGH RIST For the News & Messenger
Published: May 13, 2008

For this week, here are some bits and pieces wrapping up the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championships and looking ahead to the prestigious Stotesbury Cup Regatta, to be held this Saturday near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Picking up the pieces
In the aftermath of the Woodbridge girls’ varsity eight’s stunning inability to qualify for the event final Saturday, the boat’s seniors—coxswain Danielle Woods, stroke Paula Doody and seventh-seat Paula Coughlin—understandably had a difficult time consoling themselves. However, Coughlin, who with her best friend Woods, will row for the University of Tennessee next fall, was eventually willing to talk about the eight’s unfulfilled expectations as well as her future plans.

“We had a very successful week in practice and felt like we were getting better and better,” Coughlin said. “We were confident. (But) there was a really strong headwind and we just couldn’t adjust. We weren’t expect-ing what happened at all.”

Coughlin, last season’s Potomac News Rower of the Year, allowed that she had been expecting to call her coach at Tennessee, Lisa Glenn, after the meet and tell her “I’ll see you at Nationals (in Oak Ridge, TN) in a couple weeks. But now that won’t happen. It makes me, and all of us in the boat, hungry to do better at Stotes-bury and put a better taste in our mouths. I do congratulate the five sophomores in the boat on rowing well all year. They did great.”

Coughlin said she is excited for what is ahead, including a chance to row with her best friend—Woods—in Rocky Top.

“It is going to be terrific. They (Tennessee coaches) tell us (Woods and Coughlin) not to be roommates in col-lege, but we will try to be suitemates as much as possible and I know we will stay really close. As for Laura (Doody, who will row at Virginia Tech), I know we will stay in contact. I miss (the bond) we had in rowing the double. We have had a good relationship and I expect that will continue.”

Coxing the boys to victory
Woodbridge boys’ varsity first four stroke, junior Tyler Dawson, credits coxswain Katie Garrity, with doing “as much if not more” to help the foursome to a gold medal than anybody else on the boat.

“For the first 250 meters, we were dead even (with other boats),” Dawson said. “Then Katie called for about 5 or 10 more power pieces, and we sprinted. When she called, ‘Power 10’, I knew we had a chance to win. She always drives you to race your best. I definitely think she is a big part of the reason we won.”

For her part, Garrity said it was not easy to switch to coxing for boys at first.

“Of course, at first they were like, ‘She’s a girl.’ It was a little weird. I thought they might beat me up. But gradually they learned to respect me. Boys are more competitive so I am glad I switched. And these guys really know what it takes to win, so I am over being nervous and am very comfortable with them.”

Woodbridge boys’ coach Mike Malak says Garrity is “everything you want in a coxswain.”

“Katie has been worth her weight in gold,” Malak said. “She has really impressed me in taking on the chal-lenge and the way she goes about her business. Speaking as a former coxswain, I really think she is one of the best coxswains in the area.”

Lineup changes for some at Stotesbury
Hylton boys’ coach Jason Boynton said he was pleased with the performance of his team’s doubles and quads at states.

So why does he figure to switch David Drewett and Drew Casebere, two vital cogs to his winning varsity quad, to a double at the regatta, which draws some of the finest rowing talent from the East Coast and Canada?

“I am changing things up because if I have at least one senior in the boat, I have to race it in the senior cate-gory. So, for Stotesbury, David will move to a double with Drew, and I will have a quad of juniors (or younger) in the junior races,” Boynton said.

Crew parents give their all to support rowers, coaches
Ginny Fichten, mother of Hylton rower, Chris Fichten, has served as president of the Bulldog Crew Booster Club for the past three years. Her term as president will likely end with a Herculean task as she aims to satisfy the voracious appetites of the Bulldog rowers at Stotesbury.

“I will probably be cooking all day before we leave,” Fichten said. “It is something I really enjoy. Being a club sport, all of us crew parents do whatever we can to support our kids and the coaches. Our coaches are the best and really have concern for our kids, so we do everything we can to help them. For most regattas, I am at the boathouse at 5:45 in the morning. We set up our tents and chairs and prepare our area for the regatta. Par-ents on other (area) teams do the same thing. Being president is something I will miss, but I will probably still stay involved with the boosters.”

Drewett mulling college options
Drewett competed Saturday just hours before boarding a plane to Wisconsin, where he will tour the univer-sity and spend about three days there, according to his mother Ellen. The school has an excellent program in the animal sciences, which is what Drewett plans to study. Drewett has much to think about because although the Badgers have an excellent rowing team, Wisconsin does not offer scholarships to freshmen, giving Drewett and his family much to consider financially.

“I understand the situation of being a freshman and not being able to get a scholarship, and it’s not a big deal, but it is something to think about,” Drewett said. “I really want to row there, but I am excited to visit and we will see what happens. If I have to row at (Virginia) Tech, that will be good, too.”

Malak, who coached Drewett during the fall rowing season, said he hopes the Hylton senior will choose to row for the Badgers.

“Personally, I hope he chooses my alma mater,” Malak said. “He’s a terrific rower and has done many great things in rowing. I’m glad to see him be able (to make a visit).”