Temple University Athletics
2001 Outlook
12.12.00 | Men's Crew
Reloading Year Ahead for a Tough Crew
The 2000 men's crew finished fifth in the country last year, a feat they
look to match or better this spring. "We can expect an exciting racing
season," coach Gavin White said. "The competition for the Dad Vail
Regatta (May 11-12) will be the best in years, with Dowling and Marist
looking like the best this year. Our schedule is about the most
ambitious ever. We'll see Harvard, Yale, California, Washington, and
Wisconsin at the San Diego Crew Classic (April 7-8). At the George
Washington Invitational (April 14), we'll go up against Navy, Georgetown
and Virginia. The Big East Championships put us up against Georgetown
and Syracuse (April 29). Dowling and Marist will come to Philadelphia to
compete in the Murphy Cup (April 21). The IRA will include the very top
teams in the United States (May 31-June 2). We are hopeful that with a
great effort we can again finish in the top five teams in the country."
Temple had several impressive finishes last season. They won the
nationally renowned Dad Vail Regatta for the 12th year in a row and the
17th out of the last 18 times it was held. The Owls also captured gold
at the Big East Regatta for the sixth time in the last seven years, the
Murphy Cup, and they defeated Stanford in an East vs. West dual meet in
California. The crew finished sixth in the San Diego Crew Classic and
tied their best ever for a fifth place finish in the IRA Regatta.
The Cherry and White returns this year without the help of graduates
Jason Read who was a captain and the stroke of the varsity eight, CJ
Luce and Tom Ogden. Returning rowers from the varsity program are
seniors Sean Casey (Co. Kerry, Ireland/St. Brendan's), Rod Bierhuizen
(Ontario, Canada/Denis Morris), Colin Smyth (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor
Bonner), Ferdinand Bergen (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College) junior
Mike Regan (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), sophomore Marcus
McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) and junior Dave Reidy
(Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast Catholic). Casey, Bierhuizen and Bergen
have provided leadership for the team so far this season, according to
White. The Owls will look to freshman Justin Sands (Pittsburgh,
Pa./North Allegheny), sophomores Ben Barrows (DeerIsle,
Maine/DeerIsle-Stonington), Nate Dirvin (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast
Catholic), Brian Schuch (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme), Mike Jezierski
(East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) and Mike Noel (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper
Merion) to add their skills to help the team succeed.
Temple will be composed of 20 varsity rowers and six freshmen. "We have
recruited eight freshmen, several who have shown that they could be in
the first boat," White said. They include Padraig Bracken (Galway,
Ireland/Colaiste Ingoid), Zachery Ben-dov (Salisbuy, Conn./Salisbury),
Jonathan Hanlin (Somers Point, N.J./Mainland Regional), and Dave Insogna
(Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner). "We will be a very young team with
10 freshmen in our top 16 rowers," White said. "We took our licks during
the fall season but we were able to gain the much needed experience for
our younger guys."
The coxswains for this year's team include returning varsity cox
McElhenney, Schuch, and Sands. McElhenney gained valuable experience
this past summer coxing the U.S. National Team in Princeton, N.J.
"Early in the season could be rough until the younger rowers gain more
sprint racing experience, White said. "In theory, they should be
rounding into shape by May. This will be a reloading year for us.
Nothing is more gratifying in sports than doing something that no one
else thinks that you can. Finishing fifth in the country last spring
with only nine guys on the team reminded us of what we can accomplish
with a lot of hard work and commitment. You should never sell us short."
