Laker Navy Ready to Strike
The Laker Navy battled the elements this weekend but managed to get in some good racing and exceed their coaches’ expectations early in the season.
Following a week of spring break training, GVSU was one of five schools to participate in the Keuper Cup at Canal 54 in Palm Bay, Florida on Saturday. Facing winds of over 30mph, four Grand Valley boats took the water to claim three first place finishes before the regatta was called off due to weather.
The first race of the morning was the women’s varsity 8+. The ladies took a commanding lead over the other crews from Stetson and Florida Tech, finishing 17 seconds ahead of second place with a time of 6:50.0. Taking home the trophy was proof of their huge potential for the upcoming season.
Coach Keith Bowman said of his girls, “ I was really impressed by the focus and work ethic of the women’s team and the team in general [this past week]. They did an outstanding job but the results speak for themselves. It’s an exciting time for Grand Valley Rowing.”
Meanwhile, the varsity men’s 8+ put up an impressive win over defending Dad Vail medalists Florida Tech. The Lakers were the only crew of the morning to break the six-minute mark, finishing with a time of 5:57.6. Florida Tech finished 6:04, with Stetson and Central Florida following behind.
The men’s novice 8+ followed suit, claiming another first place finish. Their time of 6:26 put them ahead of crews from Florida Tech and Stetson. After the races, Coach Mark McIlduff said, “the novice men exceeded my expectations early in the season.”
Though the novice women’s 8+ traveled to Winter Park, FL to race some of their upcoming competition, high winds and boat-swamping waves cancelled that regatta as well. The remaining girls stayed at Canal 54 and competed in the novice 8+ event, finishing in second place behind Stetson.
With conditions too bad to continue, the Laker Navy packed up and headed north to Atlanta for a scrimmage with Georgia Tech. Though the city had temperatures of 70˚F earlier in the week, the crews awoke early Sunday morning to frost on their boats. Nevertheless, all boats made it out on the water for a series of four 1000-meter pieces.
On the men’s side, Grand Valley’s heavyweight and lightweight 8+’s battled it out with Georgia Tech’s JV and varsity, which happens to be the 2007 Dad Vail lightweight 8+ champions. Though there was no dominating crew, both Laker boats showed tremendous speed by keeping up with boats that have been on the water continuously since August.
The women’s side also fared well with both the varsity and novice 8+’s winning several pieces against their Division I competition.
The Laker Navy’s impressive performance this weekend came off of what Coach John Bancheri says is “the best spring training camp of [his] 28 years of coaching.”
“I must say,” he said, “it has been more productive than any other in my career.”
Grand Valley arrived in Palm Bay, FL at Canal 54 last Friday and Saturday for a week of training, team bonding, and the opportunity to get in some good, quality rowing. And that is exactly what they did. The Laker Navy was out on the water for hours every day, working hard and getting used to the feeling of rowing in a boat again. Huge improvements were made every day, and by the end of the week, all the crews were rowing well together. Even Coach Bancheri made it back in a boat, sharpening his sculling skills between the team practices.
“Spring training was awesome,” said McIlduff. “We got in a lot of miles and the warm weather broke the winter doldrums of Allendale.”
The warm weather was a much-needed change from the several inches of snow many team members shoveled every day in order to raise money to go on spring break. But getting onto the water after nearly four long months on the rowing machine was an even better reward for the athletes. However, coaches and rowers alike will admit that, as McIlduff puts it, “the technique work [they] put in on the erg paid off and set [them] up for a successful spring season.”
Along with the 70 rowers and 5 coaches, Grand Valley had some special guest appearances throughout the week. Marietta alumnus and inventor of what is now the Speed Coach Bart Gullong was along for the week, generously providing his time, some tips for the rowers, a launch for the coaches, and even some delicious barbequed food for the team. Three guest coxswains also came to help out the Lakers for the week. This allowed the large team to practice all at once and also to get in some small boat work for seat racing and fine-tuning their skills.
Though rowers don’t get a “normal” spring break because they’re training for the week, there was sill plenty of time for fun, relaxation, and enjoying the beautiful weather. There were several opportunities to go to the beach and play in the waves or lay on the sand. The athletes were also able to enjoy other area attractions, such as the go-cart and bumper boat thrill park. There was even a mid-week team party at Melbourne beach where, along with the ocean, there was plenty of food and games for the rowers to enjoy. Overall, it proved to be a very fun and productive spring break.
Coach Bancheri summed up the week perfectly, saying, “we just ended our precompetition phase of our training program with our first series of races and he results lived up to our capabilities. There is no question our athletes are prepared and our guns loaded. The Laker Navy is going to make a huge impact this spring. I can’t wait to see what our athletes WILL produce at the championship regatta.”
Weather providing, the Lakers will hopefully be back on the water for practice this week and then continue with their racing season next weekend at Notre Dame in Indiana.
