FURC NEWS by Kelly Koyama ’98March 2010

Fall 2009 was full of FURC-sponsored events and great racing results for Rochester Crew. Throughout the year, FURC has continued to work closely with the University’s Athletic Department in order to continue our long tradition of supporting the UR Crew athletes.

Two events made up the year’s biggest news for both alumni and athletes alike: 1) After 27-years hiatus, UR Crew was realigned under the Athletic Department; and 2) Women’s rowing became an official varsity sport. These two historic events were celebrated on October 15, 2009 at a Meliora weekend cocktail reception sponsored by the Univeristy. UR Crew’s Meliora spirit was strong, with a turnout of over 150 UR Crew alumni, student-athletes, parents and friends. Athletic Director George VanderZwaag, Dean of the Faculty of the Arts, Sciences and Engineering Peter Lennie, and long-time UR Crew supporter George Angle spoke at the celebration. Many thanks to all the alumni, athletes, parents and friends who worked tirelessly to attain these two momentous occasions. Through the University’s support, FURC was able to welcome the athletes, their parents, and all alumni with an alumni tent at both the Head of the Genessee and Head of the Charles Regattas. Both events saw a great turnout of alumni and some fast racing. Go UR CREW!

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:FURC News…………………………………………………….1Freshman Outlook…………………………………………2Senior Reflections………………………………………….3Alumni Flashback…………………………………………..4UR Crew Racing Schedule………………………………6Class Notes……………………………………………………7Who is FURC?.................................................8

Spring 2010 Friends of Rochester Crew Newsletter

Above: Jacquelyn Monaghan (stroke) reacts to winning Bronze in the WV8+ at the 2009 Dad Vail Regatta. Jacquelyn speaks about the experience on page 4.

We hope that you enjoy this latest edition of the FURC newsletter. This time we wanted to give you a global view into the impact UR Crew has made on its teammates — we’re featuring stories from a freshman perspective, a senior, and an alumni. With the new “Class Notes” section, we hope to keep you updated on your teammates’ important life events, despite being miles (or continents) away. 1

I remember visiting the University of Rochester during an open campus event for matriculated students near the end of my senior year of high school. I loved the campus, the curriculum, the music program, and the people I met. One area of the university that I did not give much thought was sports. I had tried running and skiing in high school, but I’d never really been that interested in athletics. I do remember, when leaving the campus that day, seeing two UR rowers out on the Genesee, in what I can now identify as a pair, not a double. The vision stuck with me.

Three months later, I was settling in to my dorm room with a roommate who had rowed in high school and planned on rowing here, too. Through a bit of peer pressure and a deep-set curiosity, I decided to attend the informational meeting during orientation week. Though the serious-looking captains and coaches initially intimidated me, a fear that I soon learned was unfounded, I decided to go ahead and join the team. College was about trying new things, right?

From the first practice, I knew I had stumbled on to something special. Learning to row was difficult, but much more fun and rewarding than I had imagined. As my fellow novice teammates and I learned more about rowing, I started to see progress, and I was hooked. But my fascination with rowing was hardly the best part. Through earlier-than- dawn practice times, cutthroat erg-score competition, 12-hour long bus rides, long practices in freezing temperatures, mutual frustration at a coxswain managing to hit every log, tree, and downfall from the 390 bridge, I have made some of the best friends I’ve ever had (including, somehow, the coxswain). I have also learned a lot about myself; about what I am capable of, what adversity I can overcome, and how deeply fulfilling goal-oriented hard work can feel as I watch my teammates and I progress together. Now, with my second semester underway, even through the intensity of winter training, I cannot imagine my college experience without UR Crew.

John, originally from Fairport, NY, is currently a Biomedical Engineering major at U of R

FRESHMAN OUTLOOKBy John NicosiaUniversity of Rochester, Class of 2013

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What’s more is that homework has often been finished in the bed of a trailer in between championship races. Such inconsequential experiences have been dwarfed by those I have gained by rowing for the University of Rochester. Despite my dad having rowed at St. John’s University it was my uncle, David Geisler (class of ’88) who gave me that final push. “Go to the interest meeting, just hear what they have to say,” Uncle Dave, a fellow Yellowjacket and former rower, encouraged. I took note, and still remember my first practice. It was raining and I sat in the launch; but as I walked away from the boathouse I knew I had found something I would not experience college without. The head races of fall quickly faded into the ergs of winter training that after months of sweat ultimately melted into shells and oars. I spent most of my sophomore year in a four, yet rowing is undoubtedly a sport in which ambition, determination, and consistent effort are certain to produce results. By the end of that spring season I had claimed my seat in the varsity 8. During my junior year I moved into the varsity 8’s stroke seat. To stroke is an experience hard to relate. Expectations are inherent. It is the stroke’s blade that the rest of the boat follows, their rhythm to which the boat harmonizes. That unremitting pressure is why I love it. The demands it requires push me to be a better rower and leader on the team. Out of the millions of meters I have rowed from stroke seat, my most rewarding were 2000 in Philadelphia in 2009. The medals of the Dad Vail Regatta are chased all winter long. Docking at the medals dock near the grand stands is the consummation of hard work and the fulfillment of long pursued dreams. For me, it was a sense of satisfaction and joy that I had never encountered. As a senior I have seen the evolution of my team. I joined while Rochester Crew was merely a club sport and I have rowed through its transitional years. Yet as I leave this spring, we will have fought for the first time, for the right to compete for an NCAA championship title in Sacramento, California. As my mornings on the Genesee River draw to a close, I rest assured that I leave the team in good hands.

Jacquelyn, originally from La Plata, Maryland, is a Political Science and History major.

SENIOR REFLECTIONSBy Jacquelyn MonaghanUniversity of Rochester, Class of 2010

Jacquelyn and her WV8+ shove from the Dad Vail awards dock in 2009 after receiving the bronze.

I have measured my collegiate years differently than many of my peers. Semesters have been judged, not by parties or exams, but through betting shirts and erg times. There has been no weekday partying because a 6am practice comes early enough on its own.

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After graduation, I moved to Philadelphia to continue training with Pennsylvania Athletic Club men’s elite group in an effort to make the US national team and to attend Villanova University School of Law. Most of you probably haven’t heard of Penn AC before, but you have probably seen it while in Philadelphia for the Dad Vail Regatta. It is one of the boathouses along boathouse row, and our elite program has produced more US national team athletes than any other boathouse in the country (include three on the 2008 Olympic rowing team). I am currently finishing my LL.M in taxation at Villanova and working as a research assistant while I continue to train to make the US National Team. From the law school perspective, this is a pretty easy article to write. My time in law school is almost over as I finished my J.D. last spring and will finish my LL.M this summer. However from a rowing standpoint, this article is much more difficult. I’m not sure when I will be finished training full-time. I would equate this to a sophomore or junior oarsmen or oarswoman trying to reflect on their time with UR Crew. They can talk about where rowing has taken them and its impact on their lives thus far, but they cannot speak of where they will end up as they do not know. I think that is one of the things that truly makes rowing a great sport. As a rower you give so much of yourself mentally and physically all year round for an unknown.

My time as a Rochester oarsman has had a great impact on my law school experience. I sure many of remember all the hard work we put in the classroom, on the water, and in the erg room when you think back to your UR rowing days. I have always felt the work ethic and balance of academics and athletics I picked up from rowing at UR really allowed me to excel in law school while at the same time give so much of myself to my athletic endeavors. Whether you continued to row after school or never touched an oar again upon graduation, I’m sure many of you have drawn on these same experiences at UR in your professional lives whether you realize it or not.

Continued next page

ALUMNI FLASHBACKBy Christopher MetzgerUniversity of Rochester, Class of 2006

Chris, rowing with Penn AC, at 2009 US Rowing Speed Orders

I was asked to write about how my rowing experience at the University of Rochester has helped me in law school and as an elite rower training for the national team. For those of you who have never met me, I am Chris Metzger a 2006 UR graduate. I rowed all four years at UR and was the men’s team captain my senior year.

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I also have had a great deal of support fellow alum and the current UR head coach, Will Greene. Coach Greene and I both, although some years apart, trained full-time at Penn AC while attending Villanova Law for our J.D. and LL.M. I often told people that I was on the Will Greene plan at Villanova. While Will wasn’t giving me class notes, having the support of a fellow Rochester Oarsmen meant a lot. It gave me confidence that I could succeed in combining training to make the national team while attending law school given that a fellow Rochester Alumni had done the same before me.

Now the hard part. When I started training with the Penn AC men’s elite group, my goal was to train for the full four year Olympic cycle (2008-2012). However, now I am uncertain when my rowing career will end. Depending upon my job offers after graduation, I might be done as early as the world championships this year. What makes this more difficult is that I yet to accomplished all my athletic goals. While I have not yet made a US national team, I have had the opportunity to train and race with and against US national and Olympic team members as well as Olympians from other countries. My Rochester experience has helped me get the most out of these moments. I could write about this for days, but I think it is best described by one example. I was in a four for the 2007 Head of the Charles that was comprised of a bronze medalist from Beijing Olympics, a 3-time Olympian, and a 2005 m8+ world champion. Our first row was at Princeton Training Center early on a Monday morning. It was so foggy out that morning out on the water that you could not see more than 20 meters in any direction. I was clearly the low rung on the totem pole here, and very intimated for our first row. I just tried to tell myself to focus on feeling the boat underneath my feet and to be clean and precise with my blade work much like Will always had us do when we went out at small boats at UR. We had a great row by all accounts, but what the other guys liked most about the practice was how smooth the boat was running. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if it hadn’t been for all the time we spent in small boats at the UR, an experience that many college rowers do not get to have. My experience rowing after college has helped me to appreciate my UR rowing experience even more. I have had the privilege to row and train out of some amazing boathouses such as Penn AC, Vesper, NYAC, PTC, and Princeton boathouse. All of these places have had some great equipment and produced some amazing athletes. I was always proud that the UR was able to produce some great student-athletes despite not having these same athletic resources. We never had the biggest or the strongest athletes, but we always were one of the efficient and technically precise crews when we raced. The results of both varsity 8+’s at the 2009 Dad Vail Regatta prove this. I am excited to see where Coach Greene can take the program now that the women’s program has become a full varsity sport, and it is my hope we will get to see the same for the men’s program some time in the near future.

Chris currently lives, works and trains in Philadelphia, PA.

Chris ‘06 (right) and pair-partner Mark Koenig ‘05, after taking Silver in the M2- at the 2005 IRA Regatta

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DATE EVENT LOCATIONMarch 5-13th Spring Break Miami, FLSunday, March 28th University Rowing Association

ChampionshipsPittsburgh, PA

Saturday, April 3rd Vs. Ithaca & RIT Dual-meet Ithaca, NYFriday, April 9th Vs. William Smith (women-only) Geneva, NYSaturday, April 10th Vs. Williams, WPI, Trinity & Clark Worcester, MASunday, April 11th Vs. WPI, Trinity & Bates Worcester, MASat & Sun April 17-18th Work WeekendSat & Sun April 24-25th Work WeekendSat & Sun, May 1-2nd New York State Collegiate Rowing

Association Championship (Women’s NCAA-qualifier)

Whitney Point, NY

Fri & Sat, May 7-8th Dad Vail Regatta Philadelphia, PASat & Sun, May 22-23rd American Collegiate Rowing

Association National Championship Regatta (Men-only)

Oklahoma City, OK

Fri, Sat & Sun, May 28-30th NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships (Women-only, if qualified)

Sacramento, CA

Stay tuned to www.urcrewfriends.org for latest information on Alumni Tents and gatherings (like Dad Vail!) at these events -- we hope to see you there!

For alumni tent information or other racing information, please contact Ed Fox (’91, MD ’95) at: efox1@hmc.psu.edu

University of Rochester CrewSpring 2010 Racing Schedule

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Future UR Crew Rowers and Coxswains (almost enough for an eight!): Congratulations to Jon Eng (’99) and Jennifer Eng, who welcomed Joshua Nathan (“JJ”) Eng into the world on September 12, 2009 Congratulations to Andre ter Weele (’99) and Katy Wetzel, who welcomed Nicolas ter Weele into the world on February 1, 2009 Congratulations to Lukas Nejezchleb (’98) and Linda Nejezchlebova, who welcomed Edita Nejezchleb into the world on April 9, 2009 Congratulations to Joan Lord (’01) and Chris Lord (‘01), who welcomed Kira Isabelle Lord into the world on June 6, 2009 Congratulations to Will Greene (‘88) and Laura Greene, who welcomed Emmett Lee Greene into the world on July 22, 2009 Congratulations to Vince Polino (‘02) and Nicole Polino (‘01), who welcomed Jackson Robert Polino into the world on August 20, 2009 Congratulations to Yvonne Chao (‘90) and Brian Stuart, who welcomed Colin Chao-wen Stuart into the world on June 7, 2009

Job promotion? Wedding news? Baby News? Other News? If you would like to announce an event in our next FURC newsletter, please send your information to Kelly Koyama (’98) at: kellykoyama@yahoo.com

CLASS NOTES

Left: Joan Lord ’01 with Kira Isabelle, Right: Vince Polino ‘02 with Jackson Robert

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The Friends of UR Crew (FURC) is a network of alumni, parents, and friends committed to the success of the Men's and Women's Crew teams at the University of Rochester.

FURC serves as a source of moral and financial support to both of the teams.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you are interesting in becoming more involved in FURC, please contact any of the below persons:

FURC President: Vince Polino (‘02) vince_polino@yahoo.comFURC Event Coordinator and Archives: Edward Fox (’91, MD ’95)

efox1@hmc.psu.edu FURC Communications: Jon Eng (’99) joneng77@gmail.comFURC Fundraising Coordinator: Kelly Koyama (’98) kellykoyama@yahoo.com *If you would like to receive our e-mails and other mailings, you can also go to http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/urcrewfriends/ and request membership.

WHO ARE THE FRIENDS OF UR CREW?

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Thank you for your support!

Voluntary Gift Donation Form

Enclosed please find my gift of:

□ $100 □ $250 □$500 (Bronze Level) □$1000 (Silver Level) □$5000 (Gold Level)

Seat naming right in: Seat naming right in: Seat naming rights in: (please select one boat (please select one boat (please select one boat for one seat) for one seat) for one seat)

- Men’s 8+ - Men’s 8+ - Men’s 8+ - Women’s 8+ - Women’s 8+ - Women’s 8+ - Seat #_____ - Seat #_____ - Seat #_____

□ Other $______Name: _________________________________

Home Address: ___________________________________________________Team Affiliation: (Circle) Alumni / family / friend / other:_____________ E-mail: _______________________________________

Credit card # ______ - ______ - ______ Exp. ________

Signature: ____________________

Circle: Visa/MC/Amex/Discover

If donating by check, please make payable to UR Crew

Now available, UR Crew team apparel:

□ T-shirt $15 □Sweatshirt $40 □Hat $15 Size: ___________

**Please send form and donation to:

William Greene, Head Coach, UR CrewGoergen Athletic CenterRochester, New York 14627

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