Nov. 30, 2006

Men’s crew looks to make history

Eric Dowler
dowlere@marietta.edu

Second-year head coach Chris Pucella could be in the mix of producing the fastest men’s varsity 8 to ever race in Marietta’s 136 year history. Coming off a difficult fall season due to a cancelled race and a big crash at the Charles, the Pioneer Navy is starting to get into deep indoor winter training.

The spring will provide Marietta with some of the best racing in the country. But before the spring, the team will go through a rigorous winter training phase. This phase is usually considered what makes a crew fast in the spring. With the extended winter break, the team will have to rely on intrinsic motivation to push themselves through the tedious winter workouts. Coming off the first Dad Vail Championship win since 1967, the guys will be extremely motivated to defend their title.

The team will begin racing at the end of their spring break trip to Palm Bay, Florida at the FIT Invite. Then, the Navy will head out to West Lafayette, Ind. for the 52nd annual MC/Purdue Challenge Cup. Next, Marietta will hold one of three home races: the Marietta Invitational. Following the Invite, the crew will head to the nation’s capital looking to improve on their 3rd place finish in 2006 at the George Washington Invitational.

The next week, Marietta will host Drexel University for scrimmaging. Marietta holds a strong connection with Drexel because the head coach is Marietta alum Joe Palmer ‘02. Palmer, coming off success at Purdue University, is in his first year at Drexel. Marietta will then head to Oak Ridge, Tenn. to try and capture the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) champion title. The Pioneers narrowly missed the gold in 2006 and look to get their first win since 2003. The Navy will continue racing the following week at the Indianapolis College Championship in Indianapolis, Ind. The Pioneers look to give Michigan University another strong push in hopes of the gold in 2007.

Following the Marietta-Michigan showdown, the Navy will hold a key scrimmage with the University of Virginia on the Muskingum River. This scrimmage is key for Marietta because it will set them up for the following weekend: the 2007 Dad Vail Championship Regatta. Pucella could become the second coach to ever win the Dad Vail two years in a row, but Marietta will need to stay strong to defend rival Temple University and others from taking the Richard W. O’Brien cup away. Then, Marietta will head to Camden, N.J. to race at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA). Depending on IRA results, the Pioneer Navy will try to become the second Marietta crew to ever race at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley, United Kingdom.

For more information, contact Sports Information Director Dan May at mayd@marietta.edu or assistant men’s crew coach JP Sekulich at jps001@marietta.edu.