Navy Crew Newsletter Page 1

Navy Crew Triathlon and Team Updates Like most of the country, Annapolis has experienced a particularly hard winter. The creek is frozen solid and parts of the Severn are also iced over. All three programs have taken the time to focus on land training, putting in long hours on the ergs, in the weight room, and finding new ways to push the athletes to their limits. One way was to create a boathouse-wide Navy Crew Triathlon. As you can imagine, it wasn’t your usual triathlon. The three events included a strength portion, a 3-mile run and a 6,000-meter erg. The event began on Halsey Field House’s

new indoor turf football field. The strength portion consisted of a 500-meter sprint on the ergometer, followed by an 80-yard

Story cont’d on Page 4...

AVY CREW NEWSLETTERWinter Issue www.navysports.com February 2014

In this Issue...• Spring Alumni Banquet• ‘Lone Survivor’• Team Updates• Captains’ Interviews• Service Selection• Spring Schedules

Seeing My Friend Depicted in ‘Lone Survivor’ Navy Crew’s own John Ismay had the following article published recently in The New York Times. As much of the Navy rowing family knows, Erik Kristensen ‘95 was a Navy rower who was killed in action almost nine years ago. Here is the article:

Seeing My Friend Depicted in ‘Lone Survivor’by John Ismay I dreaded the idea of seeing my old roommate’s death depicted on screen in the movie “Lone Survivor.” But when I saw a pair of Birkenstocks walking away from the camera on the big screen, I knew someone had taken the time to get the de-tails right. Someone really cared about this story. The actor Eric Bana plays the role of my friend, Erik Kristensen, a Navy SEAL offi-cer killed in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. I’d known Erik since I was a kid — he’d gone to Gonzaga College High School in Washington with my older brother Dave, and they later rowed crew together at the U.S. Naval Academy. A few years later, I followed them to Gonzaga and then rowed at the Academy, too. We’d known each other for 15 years, and we were roommates

when he went through SEAL training in Coronado, Calif., and I was stationed on a destroyer across the bay in 2000. Mr. Bana said of Erik: “He’s a guy I would have gotten along with had I gotten to meet him.” A good story is in the details, and Mr. Bana himself ensured those details were included.

Story cont’d on Page 3...

Upcoming Events Other than our inaugural Alumni Re-union and Spring Kickoff Banquet (invi-tation on next page), the Navy Rowing program hopes to see you at its upcoming spring events. There are four home races this spring on the Severn River, including a much-anticipated return by the Princeton heavy-weight team. The Navy lightweights have three home races this year against Princeton, George-town and Harvard. Join the 2004 National Championship Lightweight 8+ on their 10th anniversary, as they are honored on April 12th at Hubbard Hall after the Georgetown home race. The heavyweight men and women’s programs both race at the George Wash-ington Invitational in Washington DC. There aren’t many venues better for spec-tators than the Georgetown Waterfront. “We hope to see you there.”

Upcoming Navy Crew Events

March 1 Alumni BanquetMarch 22 Lwts vs. Princeton*April 5 Hwts vs. Princeton*April 12 Lwts vs. Georgetown* Hwts at GW Invite Women at GW InviteApril 19 Lwts vs. Harvard*

*Home Races*Alumni Banquet Invitation on next page

Complete Schedule on last page

Photo thanks to Thomas Shomaker

First Annual

Navy Crew Alumni Reunion &Spring Kickoff Banquet

Join our Special Guest Speaker

Admiral John M. Richardson ‘82Director, Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program

in welcoming our First Class Heavyweight, Lightweight,and Women Rowers into the ranks of Alumni.

Saturday, March 1, 2014VADM William Lawrence Banquet Facility

Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium6:00 PM Cocktails, 7:00 PM Dinner

$70 per person, price increases to $85 after February 15thService Dress Blue, Marine Equivalent, or Civilian Informal

RSVP and payment link at www.gonavycrew.org

The Older we get, the Faster we were! Rejoin your teammates, other alumni and parents in celebrating our First Class Midshipmen as they start their final Championship Season on the Severn. All family and friends are welcome! Hear from our coaches, team captains

and our special guest speaker, Admiral John Richardson.

Questions? Please contact Coach Rob Friedrich (friedric@usna.edu) or Kit Vallhonrat ‘93 (vallhonr@gmail.com)

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 3

...Kristensen Story cont’d.Here’s the back story.

Operation Red Wings Lt. Cmdr. Erik Kristensen was the Task Unit Commander when a SEAL mission that went terribly wrong. On this op-eration, 19 Americans died and only one SEAL, Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell, lived to tell the story. The movie, the book — it’s Petty Officer Luttrell’s story. His four-man SEAL team deployed to the mountainous region of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border to begin surveil-lance on a Taliban leader named Ahmad Shah, but their location was discovered and they were soon outnumbered by en-emy fighters. On the mountaintop, the four SEALs ra-dioed for help, and Erik personally led the response. But his helicopter was shot down before it could deploy Erik and the rescue team.

The Movie I already knew the ending, and didn’t want to see the movie. But when Erik’s mom, Sam Kristensen, asked some of his friends to accompany Erik’s cousins, Jen and Allison, to see an advance screening of “Lone Survivor,” I went. You always do what a gold star mother asks. As the story progressed, an actor ap-peared on screen wearing utilities with the name KRISTENSEN, but of course, it wasn’t Erik. Not our Erik.

But then I saw a glimpse of something that made me think of my friend. In the film, when communication with Petty Offi-cer Luttrell’s reconnaissance team was lost, a petty officer named Shane Patton woke up Commander Kristensen — Mr. Bana — to update him on the situation. And as Mr. Bana walked away, the movie cut to a shot of his feet shuffling down the hall. He was wearing Erik’s favorite sandals: Birkenstocks. Now there are maybe a few dozen people in the world who’d see that scene and im-mediately grasp the significance: Erik was rarely without his Birkenstocks, and was even buried with a pair on his feet. How did that get into the movie? I wanted to know. So I emailed the production studio and ended up with a 30-minute interview with the actor.

“I Really Loved That Side of Him” When asked about how he prepared for the role of playing Erik, Mr. Bana said, “There’s this fine line where you go digging for information as much as you can get in a short amount of time.” He added, “And there are a few constants in Erik’s character I loved reading about.” One of them was Erik’s humility. Despite his rank, Mr. Bana said he real-ized, “he didn’t take himself too seriously.”“I know that’s a common theme with Spe-cial Forces,” Mr. Bana said. “But when the time came for orders to be given, he as-sumed that mantle and was extremely ca-pable. I really loved that side of him.”

“The other constant was his sense of hu-mor,” Mr. Bana continued. “He just seemed like a real interesting guy. A guy I know I would’ve gotten along with if I’d gotten the chance to meet him ” With all the research he did on Erik, Mr. Bana acknowledged that “Lone Survivor” was a movie, not a documentary. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to turn up and back your instinct that you know enough about him, but the real job now is you’ve got to do a good job as an actor,” he said. “Because we can all have these great intentions to honor everybody — and that can fail if we allow the overwhelming sense of responsibility to cloud our instincts as actors or our judgment as co-storyteller. “Fortunately, the story is so compelling, and the beats of Erik within our film are really strong.” At a premiere of “Lone Survivor” in Los Angeles, Mr. Bana met Erik’s parents: Sam, his mom, and Ed, his father, a retired two-star Navy admiral. “It was great to get a chance to meet them,” Mr. Bana said. “It meant a lot.” Mr. Bana said his research had turned up a few mentions of Erik wearing Birken-stocks, and the fact that he was even buried wearing a pair. “The day when we were shooting the scene where Patton comes and knocks on the door and wakes me up, I was telling Pete [Peter Berg, the director] the story about the Birkenstocks, and he said, ‘That’s great, let’s put you in Birkenstocks.’ So he called the props and the wardrobe depart-ment, and they got us a pair straight away.” “There’s always a way of someone show-ing individuality without bucking the sys-tem,” Mr. Bana said, “so a little detail can be really important.” John Ismay is a former U.S. Navy Explo-sive Ordnance Disposal officer and a mem-ber of Columbia Journalism School’s class of 2014. You can follow him on his blog and on Twitter.

Along with an endowed shell in memory of Erik S. Kristensen ‘95 (left), Navy Crew has the privilege to award the Kristensen Tro-phy annually to the Varsity Heavyweight crew member of the graduating class who has excelled in Athletics, Leadership, and Academics, and who has contributed the most to the team’s success over his career at the Naval Academy.

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 4

...Triathlon/Updates Story cont’d.sled-pull, and an 80-yard sled-drag. The training sleds were weighted down and at-tached to a 60-foot rope. The purpose of the sleds were to test the athletes’ upper body and overall strength before advanc-ing to the run portion of the triathlon. The turf workout was exciting. 12 rowers were started at a time, one rower from each class from each program: Heavyweights, Lightweights and Women competing side-by-side. The entire event was timed, so after fin-ishing on the indoor turf, the athletes ran out of Halsey and began a 3-mile run around the Yard, end-ing at the boathouse. Once in Hubbard Hall, the rowers finished the triathlon by erging 6,000 meters. To keep it as competi-tive as possible, the wom-en’s sleds were slightly lighter than the men’s and the women’s erg was 5,000 meters. The result was having 4 heavyweights, 3 light-weights, and 3 women in the top ten plac-ings for the event. The winners from each program will have their names engraved on our new triathlon trophy:

Ethan Palmer - Hwt ‘14Seamus Fish - Lwt ‘14

Kricket Masters - Women ‘15

Heavyweight Crew Update The heavyweight program has been hard at work on the ergometers and in the weight room. The team also took advan-tage of early-semester turf workouts, with their strength coach, to build more endur-ance and fitness. Many of the current athletes have their sights set on the Navy Crew erg records held by Will Race ‘12 and Jon Wright ‘98. We will find out if this young team can

start setting records of their own. Spring break is quick-ly approaching and so is the second annual “Navy Currahee Moun-tain Run”. The moun-tain was made famous by the movie “Band of Brothers”, in which the American Paratroop-ers at Camp Toccoa ran Curahee: “3 miles up, 3

miles down.” Since Toccoa, GA is only 30 miles away from where the Navy Heavyweights train during spring break, the team decided to honor their “Broth-ers” with a run of their own. The coaches take advantage of the team outing with a pep talk at the over-look on the top of the mountain. If there are any alumni in the area of Toccoa, GA on the morning of March 8th and want to run Curra-

hee with the team, please contact Rob Friedrich at friedric@usna.edu.

Lightweight Crew Update Returning to campus after an extended layoff from formal practices can often lead to some anxiety on the part of the coach-ing staff. This year was no different, with the Army-Navy Football game shifting the final exam schedule and preventing formal meetings or practices after Thanksgiving Break. This meant that the rowers would have to be diligent and disciplined about train-ing on their own during the last two weeks of the semester, and through Christmas Break. The Navy Light-weights had erg assess-ments before Thanks-giving, and the same assessments when class-es resumed January 7th. Coaches Bagnall and Archer were pleasantly surprised at the work that obviously had been done during that down-

period, and this has allowed the team to strike a solid stride to the training for the spring season. “Practices and training have been mov-ing along well, with both the Plebes and Varsity putting in the intensity and volume necessary for a successful 2014 campaign,” Coach Bagnall said. “Twice a week the Plebes and Varsity have been mixing-it-up on the ergs, and the room has been nothing less than electric when we take the reins off the Midshipmen and let them go at it. It

has been awesome!” In pre-season meetings, it was the 2/C that identified the challenge to the team of rowing at a higher level tech-nically when they hit the Severn this spring than when they left the river this fall. Both Plebes

and Varsity alike have embraced this chal-lenge and the focus has been noticeable in the Great Eight Tank. There is no doubt that this group of athletes has the passion to make the 2014 racing season a success-ful one.

Coach Bagnall has tried to keep things in perspective, “I know the team, led by our team captain 1/C Sea-mus Fish, has been fo-cused on the process and effort and not look-ing ahead to results.” The Navy Lights are excited to be return-ing to Oak Ridge, TN this March for Spring Cont’d on next page...

New Navy Crew Triathlon Trophy

Heavyweight CrewAnthony Blazevic Marine GroundJordan Bowman Naval Flight OfficerGrant Buckley SubmarinesAlex Hayano Naval Flight OfficerBo Joost Marine AviationDavid Matasic Surface WarfarePatrick McAllister Surface WarfareJames O’Boyle Marine GroundEthan Palmer Naval Flight OfficerWilliam Roberts Marine Aviation

Women’s CrewKatherine Ashton Marine AviationAllyn Bennett Marine GroundCaitlin Bryant Naval Flight OfficerRebecca Freihofer Marine GroundAna Ioane Marine GroundCatherine Oakley Navy Pilot

Lightweight CrewTimothy Dixon Navy PilotSeamus Fish Special WarfareRichard Hutyra Navy PilotMichael Madrid Surface WarfareKrystyna Nowakowski Surface WarfareSahil Patel Marine AviationCyle Schultz Marine GroundAlex Yachanin Submarines

2014 Navy Crew Service Selection

...cont’d from previous page.Break, and they welcome any alumni or supporters in the area to come say hello or say a few words to the guys.

Women’s Crew Update Navy Women’s Crew went in-season for their spring championship season on 10 January. The team is 65 women strong, los-ing no rowers to the 2013 graduation. With an undefeated regular season for the Varsi-ty 8 and the Patriot League Championship under their belt, the team is very excited about the 2014 season.

“This season is going to be very challeng-ing with the addition of Loyola, Boston University, and Georgetown to the Patriot League,” noted coach Mike Hughes.The team will be doing their spring break training in Norfolk out of the Hampton Roads Rowing Club. “We did our spring break training in Norfolk last year and although it’s a little colder than where we used to go, the water is flat and the people are very welcoming,” Hughes added. The Murphy Cup on 29 March on the Cooper River will kick the season off.

2014 Navy Crew Captain’s OutlookHWT Captain: Ethan PalmerService Selection: Naval Flight OfficerMajor: Political ScienceHometown: Stonington, CT

Did you row in high school? Yes, I sculled for one year and rowed for Stonington HS for one year.

What are your expectations for the Spring season?My expectations for the team are to continue and build upon its past successes, improving our ranking in the regu-lar season, EARC Sprints and IRA placements. By hitting the water with a vengeance in the spring season, we will be looking at one victory at a time, Princeton being first on the list.

What piece of Navy Rowing History motivates you and the rest of the team? What motivates us as Navy rowers is the legacy of Navy Crew. From the Olympic crews, IRA and Sprints winners, and the national team athletes, to the graduates who distin-guished themselves in times of war, we are most proud and motivated to be a part of what Navy Crew has been, as we strive to continue its history of greatness.

What are the expectations of the plebe class and their role for the future of your team?With each passing year, it is expected that the plebe class makes itself known, early on, as a competitive force pushing and joining the Varsity for the betterment of the program as a whole.

Women’s Captain: Catherine OakleyService Selection: Navy PilotMajor: OceanographyHometown: Fairfax, VA

Did you row in high school?Yes, I rowed for four years at Robin-son Secondary School in northern Virginia.

What are your expectations for the Spring season? My expectation is that our team will work together and push each other to be the fastest we’ve ever been. This year’s Patriot League Cahmpionship will be more competitive than ever before. Therefore, we understand that in order to defend our title, we must be willing to train and race harder than ever before.

What piece of Navy Rowing history motivates you and the rest of the team? There is a certain picture of the 2005 Navy Women’s Crew on the dock right after winning the Patriot League Champi-onship for the first time ever. We like to look at that picture and are inspired by all the hard work they collectively put in to get there.

What are the expectations of the plebe class and their role for the future of your team? This year’s plebe class brings an incredible amount of potential to the table. They are tall, strong, and willing to work hard. The team’s expectation for them is that they will fully embrace our Navy Women’s Crew Philosophy, as they continue to integrate into our team and family. Undoubt-edly, the future of our team looks very bright.

LWT Captain: Seamus FishService Selection: Special WarfareMajor: ChineseHometown: New Hope, PA

Did you row in high school?Yes, I rowed for the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.

What are your expectations for the Spring season?Our expectations for the Spring season are to race the way we have been training and to leave no doubt that we have done everything to prepare for race day.

What piece of Navy Rowing history motivates you and the rest of the team?Our red sweatshirts. It bonds us to the proud tradition and legacy of the Navy Lightweight Team.

What are the expectations of the plebe class and their role for the future of your team?The plebe class is the future of our team. Our expectation is for the plebe class to lead the team in intensity and passion while maintaining the humility to learn from everyone around them.

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 5

Navy Crew Spring Racing SchedulesHeavyweight Schedule

April 5 Princeton (Smith Trophy) Annapolis, MDApril 11-12 George Washington Invitational Washington DCApril 19 Syracuse and Cornell (Goes Trophy) Ithaca, NYApril 26 Harvard and Penn (Adams Cup) Philadelphia, PAMay 6 Columbia (Stevenson Trophy) Princeton, NJMay 18 EARC Sprints Championships Worcester, MAMay 30-June 1 IRA National Championships Mercer County, NJ

Women’s ScheduleMarch 29 Murphy Cup Regatta Camden, NJApril 6 Occoquan Sprints Woodbridge, VAApril 11-12 George Washington Invitational Washington DCApril 19 Rutgers and St. Joseph’s Philadelphia, PAMay 4 EAWRC Sprints Championships Camden, NJMay 16 Patriot League Championships Worcester, MA

Lightweight ScheduleMarch 22 Princeton (Murtaugh Cup) Annapolis, MDMarch 29 Yale (Johnson Cup) Princeton, NJApril 5 Columbia Overpeck Park, NYApril 12 Georgetown Annapolis, MDApril 19 Harvard (Haines Trophy) Annapolis, MDApril 26 Penn (Callow Cup) Philadelphia, PAMay 18 EARC Sprints Championships Worcester, MAMay 30-June 1 IRA National Championships Mercer County, NJ

Navy Rowing CampsOffering residential camps in June at the historic United States Naval Academy.

Campers will be thoroughly schooled in all aspects of rowing and coxing by experienced and talented coaches from across the country.

Please visit our websites for detailed information Girls Crew Camp Boys Crew Camp www.navyrowingcamp.com www.navycrewcamp.org 410-263-4655 410-293-3636