Crew's Funchion Looks Forward to Eighth Spring on the Schuylkill
11.22.19 | Men's Crew
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By: David Fitzgerald
PHILADELPHIA -- Temple crew senior, Evan Funchion, has been on the Schuylkill River since he started the sport. The one big change? His uniform. Funchion attended La Salle High School in Philadelphia, Pa., before donning the Cherry and White of the Temple Owls, which he's worn for the past four years.
Funchion competes on the
Schuylkill River as a Temple
senior (top) and as a high school
student (bottom).
During his athletics journey, Funchion found himself to be a natural fit as a coxswain. "I was 5'2" and 90 pounds, so I couldn't play football," explained Funchion. It was not just his size that made this a good fit but a family history. Funchion points to his uncle, who also rowed at La Salle High School as a major influence in joining the sport. He fell in love with the sport from the start.
The coxswain is one of the most unique positions in all of sports. Funchion explained the role of the coxswain as "the leaders, the coach and the steersman" during the race. In addition to the important role played on race day, the coxswain leads workouts during practice.
The sport has been good to Funchion. Since his high school City Championship, Funchion points to "sophomore year when I was in the second varsity eight and we won, and the first varsity eight won at Dad Vail" as a high point to his career. "We did so much extra work to get ourselves there," added Funchion.
In addition to the victory at Dad Vail, it is hard to ignore the trip to the Henley Royal Regatta in England as a top moment. This is not just a top achievement for Funchion but for Temple Crew as a whole. "Henley is a bucket list item for every rower, I have dreamed of getting there since I was a freshman in high school," said Funchion. At Henley, he coxed both boats for the majority of the trip.
Funchion looks back at his time at Temple so far as getting even better year to year. The completion of the Temple boathouse has enhanced the program, but the senior is grateful for his time prior. "Having that fall semester freshman year training out of tents toughens you up… we may have the boathouse now, but it wasn't always like that," said Funchion.
The fall segment of their 2019-2020 season is in the books with several results to build on. The Head of the Charles in Boston is the highest-profile race on the fall schedule and Funchion said: "we were happy with this result given where we started." The final race of the fall was the Princeton Chase. According to Funchion, the team was not happy with this performance and it gave perspective as to what needs to get done over the winter.
Following a training trip to Miami in January and hitting the water in Philly in February, the team will kick off its spring schedule with optimism. Funchion highlighted a trip to San Diego and a race at Cornell as two early-season key races.
With a lot of hard work put in over the last four years by Funchion, the goals are high for the spring season. The ultimate goals are to win the Dad Vail and make the trip back to Henley.
 
