The end of the Spring 2009 racing season was marked by outstanding new personal bests, team-wide successes, and as always, a somber farewell to our graduating senior rowers.

Fresh from the victories at Knecht Cup and an exciting Spring Carnival weekend, the team captured an unprecedented number of medals at Governor's Cup in Charleston, West Virginia. The weather was hot and sunny, with only a gentle cross headwind - perfect conditions for dozens upon dozens of exciting 2K, 1K, and dash races. Carnegie Mellon took first place in finals of six of the nine events, blowing past competition such as Case Western Reserve, Duquesne, Virginia Tech, Miami, and John Carroll University. At the end of the day, the team claimed the Governor's Cup with the most overall team points. For full results, visit the host school's website: http://snurl.com/l8unl

But of course, the racing season always culminates with the Dad Vails National Rowing Championships in historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The team entered a total of 5 boats, of which proudly included 2 novice boats. The Womens' Varsity Pair and Mens' Varsity 4+ both progressed to semi-finals from heats; even the Novice Mens' 4+ bested 34 other boats from across the nation to secure a place in the semi-finals. Although the Mens' Varsity 4+ missed finals by a single place, the Womens' Varsity Pair progressed to finals, and in a thrilling finale, secured a bronze medal nearly half a year in the making. For all the other Carnegie Mellon competitors, it was an rewarding experience to be in a competitive environment unlike any other in the world. Powerhouse Timing provides the full Dad Vails race results here: http://snurl.com/l8umu

Our senior rowers this year included Elliot Beltzer (MCS), Brian McGraw (H&SS), Danielle Millett (SCS), Judith Vogel (MCS), Natalie Weir (MCS), and Chris Herlich (H&SS). Each senior had his or her own rich accomplishment to call their own this year, whether it be a pairs medal at Vails, first place finishes at Murphy Cup, or even the satisfaction of a semi-finals qualification at Dad Vails. Their impact on the team will not be easily forgotten, and the Carnegie Mellon Rowing Club is proud to welcome them to our ever-growing association of rowing Alumni.

The 2008-2009 rowing season is one for the books, but with ever-growing interest in rowing at Carnegie Mellon, the team looks forward to more talent to build upon the successes it's made this season.

The weekend of March 28th and 29th we had our first races of the spring '09 season. On Saturday we traveled to the Schuylkill river in Philadelphia, PA for Murphy Cup Regatta. Both novice and varsity had a good showing, entering multiple boats in several races. The men's varsity lightweight 4+ consisting of Seniors Brian McGraw and Elliot Beltzer (coxswain) and sophomores Justin Perry, Sean Lubner, and Ed Burns had an excellent race, taking first place in finals with a time of 7:02.2.! The men's novice 4+ also had a good race taking 4th place. On the women's team we took 1st, 2nd, and 4th place in the varsity pair event with Seniors Natalie Weir and Judith Vogel placing first and Juniors Megan Larcom and Alyssa Fogel placing second. The women's varsity 8+, stroked by sophomore Hilary Baribeau came in 3rd in their event.

On Sunday we competed in the 6th annual UAA Championships on Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park, PA. The weather caused some difficulties with the start of the regatta being delayed an hour and races occurring in cold, rainy, and windy conditions. Despite this, notable placings include the women's varsity pair of Natalie Weir and Judith Vogel taking 1st place, and the men's varsity lightweight 4+ placing 3rd.

The Carnegie Mellon University Rowing Club is jumping into what is shaping up to be a promising spring semester, hot on the tail of a successful fall semester!

The team has attended two erg races, the Central Catholic Erg Race and Carnegie Mellon's annual Heart Attack Erg Race, both resulting in successful finishes for varsity and novice rowers. Varsity Captain Justin Perry (MechE '11) sounded positive as he commented, "We've got a lot of new potential on this team. Many of our heavyweight and lightweight rowers set personal records and collectively earned a boatload of medals." Carnegie Mellon finished second in both races to University of Pittsburgh, but besting other regional teams, such as Duquesne and John Carroll University. Successful races have caught the attention of the student body, such as the Heart Attack Erg Race, which was covered in The Tartan, Carnegie Mellon's student newspaper: http://thetartan.org/2009/2/9/sports/crew

Fundraising attempts, helmed by varsity crew members Ed Burns and Emily Lesinski, have also been strong, shown by our immensely successful Valentine's Day Rose Sale fundraiser. Profits clearly exceeded previous years', and made many a couple happy on Valentine's Day.

As for what's next with the team, members are working hard at Winter Training, preparing for the Spring season. The team's annual Spring Break training camp, held March 6th to 13th, will contribute greatly to improving the team - especially the enthusiastic novice team! The spring semester is shaping up to be another successful season for Carnegie Mellon University's Rowing Club.

Hello Alumns!

Another note of recognition for the 32 members of Jon's Crew. The team biked 100

miles last weekend in the Lance Armstrong Livestrong Challenge and raised a

collective $45,741.00!! Absolutely amazing...

HOTO is coming soon! Here's what is planned for the weekend:

Friday, October 5th

Team spaghetti dinner and Competitive Hydration (Gatorade pong) Party

Hosted by varsity coxswain Elliot Beltzer

Located at Craig and Baum Blvd at 7pm

All alumni are invited!

Saturday, October 6th

Breakfast at the Boathouse

Catered by Einstein's Bagels

Time TBD

Head of the Ohio Regatta

Email me if you wish to row in the alumni boat!

HOTO Banquet

Mellon Institute Social Room 7pm

Alumni Party

You guys decide that one! :)

RSVP will soon be posted to the website, along with more detail for each event. I

will send out an email when this is available. Looking forward to seeing you all

again!

Many alumni have remained very active this summer! Here's the latest:

June 15

Lenny Lucas ('05) and Jon Mccune ('07) participated in the Frickin' Adventure Race at

Frick Park which included 1+ miles of kayaing on the Allegheny River, 8-10 miles

of mountain biking, 5-6 miles of trail running, and orienteering. Jon and Lenny

took 2nd in the Men's Event under the name Big Lead Pipes (they would).

Check out the event and the results:

http://www.rootsrace.com/event_frick.htm

http://www.rootsrace.com/report_afar.htm

June 29 and 30, July 1

Paul Harvin ('04), Georgia Bullen ('06), Darbi Roberts ('06) and Stefanie Sydlik

('07) competed in the Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia, PA. Stef took

2nd in the Women's Intermediate Light Single. I am unsure as to the results of

the other three. You can find the results at:

http://www.boathouserow.org/rega07/idr07.html

July 15

Bram Whillock ('05) biked 206 miles in a race in Seattle. What race it was, I'm

not sure- but I heard it was awesome :)

July 16

Justin Samuels ('05), Lenny Lucas ('05), Jon McCune ('07), Paul Harvin ('04), and

Paul Raff ('04) competed in the Pittsburgh Triathlon which consisted of 1.5K swim,

40K bike, and 10K run. From what I hear, Justin kicked everyone's butt.

Event link:

http://www.pittsburghtriathlon.com/CourseandMaps.html

July 21

Jon McCune ('07) and Lenny Lucas ('05) - these guys are everywhere- will be

competing in MAD-Moraine Adventure Dash. Let's see if Big Lead Pipes can pull out

another impressive finish.

Event: http://www.rootsrace.com/event_mad.htm

August 26

The most important event of the summer- the 2007 Lance Armstrong Livestrong

Challenge. Many crew alumni will be reuniting to bike 100 miles in memory of Jon

Milikowsky ('05). 'Jon's Team' consists of 26 people so far- support them by

donating to the cause and/or joining the team.

To view the members of Jon's team and to donate visit:

http://philly07.livestrong.org/jonscrew

Enjoy the rest of your summer! And a belated congratulations to the new alumni of

2007! I hope to see you all on OCTOBER 6, 2007 for the Head of the Ohio Regatta and

Banquet!