The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Mackenzie Reiss

The topic of rankings and prognosticating is met with great disdain from Syracuse men's rowing head coach Dave Reischman.

"People want bold predictions," said Reischman "…and waste a lot of time and energy making them, and picking who should win this and that race. My expectations are that we're going to work hard every day, we're going to get better, and we're going to race really hard on the race course."

But for Reischman, it's the time of the year when he hears the most about preseason predictions. SU men's rowing begins its season Saturday at the San Diego Crew Classic. Unlike normal cup races which involve one or two other opponents, the Classic will involve a wider field, serving as an exhibition tune-up for cup season.

"There will be a good seven, or eight, top 10 teams in San Diego," said Reischman. "It'll be a good chance for us to get our feet wet, see where we stand out of the shoot against great competition."

The Orange has spent the last four months preparing for the start of its 2009 spring season. Reischman takes a focused approach to his meet preparation, which due to the yearly freezing of Onondaga Lake (the team's home water), is forced indoors. Over the mid-year offseason, from November to March, the Orange trains daily in Archbold Gymnasium, which houses stationary rowing machines.

While other elite programs in warmer areas of the nation are privileged with year-round outdoor training, Central New York winters push the Orange's offseason practice indoors.

This predicament has never deterred Reischman, who finds the off-water preparation to be just as sufficient. "Some coaches believe that cold-climate teams start off slowly because they don't get into the water until April," said Reischman. "I don't find that to be true, because hard work is hard work, regardless of where it is done."

The emphasis on hard work will likely be key for the Orange, who could start five sophomores for the Varsity Eight, considered the most prestigious race in a meet. Because freshmen practice and usually compete separately from the other classes, this will be the sophomores' first exposure to the Varsity Eight main event, making extensive preparation critical for the Orange's success.

"The younger guys on the team have committed to the same training the older members have," said senior Martin Etem, a member of last season's Varsity Eight. "We just want to come out and perform for the whole season, and be as fast as we can."

The Orange will put its inexperienced core to the test this season in three cup races, regarded as the true "regular season." The team opens the cup season April 18 with the Goes Trophy, recognized as the oldest (created in 1955), and most important prize of the Orange's regular season. Hosting the event on Onondaga Lake, Syracuse will square off against traditional heavyweights Cornell and Navy.

SU will then head to the Charles River in Boston a week later to race Columbia and Boston University for the Conlan Cup. The squad finishes the cup season in Syracuse with its only dual meet of the season - the Packard Cup - against Dartmouth May 17.

"I don't think youth is going to be a big factor; we always have a great season," said senior Brian Azeff. "We're going to have some good races. The Goes Trophy race is always competitive, and I believe we'll be ready."



tchalmer@syr.edu

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