Sports
Hawks, Friars Among Local Boats To Watch At Stotesbury
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By BRENDAN F. QUINN, The Bulletin
Philadelphia — In last year’s boys’ senior eight at the Stotesbury Regatta, the contenders were considered to be St. Joseph’s Prep, then everybody else.
It couldn’t be anymore different for the 2009 version of Stotesbury. The race is as wide open as the Schuylkill River itself.
Just two weeks ago, St. Augustine (N.J.) won the Philadelphia City Championship by edging out Holy Spirit (N.J.) and the Prep. The Hawks, meanwhile, won the Catholic League championship and the final three Manny Flicks, including a win over both St. Augustine and Holy Spirit in the third Flick.
Then there are the non-Philadelphia area contenders. Winter Park, last year’s silver medalist, is coming off its 27th Florida State Scholastic Championship. A strong boat from Gonzaga, out of Washington D.C., recently won the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Championship. The Kent School (Conn.), a program steeped in tradition, is bringing a highly regarded crew. E.L. Crossley, which usually only comes to Stotesbury with a boat that can win, is visiting from Ontario, Canada. Lastly, Thomas Jefferson from Alexandria, Va., which has won three of the last five Stotesbury Cups, can’t be counted out, while boats from Mainland (N.J.) and La Salle could potentially land in the finals.
“There is no clear front-runner like the Prep was last year,” said Winter Park coach Dan Bertossa, who has three returnees from last year’s runner-up boat. “It seems like in recent weeks there’s been a lot of attention on Holy Spirit, but I never count the Prep out. We feel like we’re a little under the radar this year and we’re looking forward to matching up with the top crews up there.”
Even though St. Augustine beat Holy Spirit both at the City Championship and the New Jersey Scholastic Rowing Championship, Prep coach Jim Glavin agrees that Holy Spirit should be given the nod.
“There are a lot of fast crews, but right now Spirit has to be the favorite at Stotesbury,” he said. “It’s going to be very tough to make the finals. Somebody that’s fast is probably not going to make it. I don’t see anybody being light-years ahead of anyone.”
Malvern Four Back For More
Led by Columbia-bound senior Mike Donahue in the stroke seat, Malvern Prep is looking to continue its mastery of the senior quad at Stotesbury. The Friars are facing the daunting task of matching a 2008 campaign that saw them win gold at Stotesbury, capture a national title at the USRowing Youth National Championships and advance to the semifinals at Henley Regatta.
Donahue and fellow senior Chris Higgins are joined by a pair of 15-year-olds in the senior quad to form what Malvern coach Craig Hoffman calls “a young boat that has had to work extremely hard.”
Though the two-time defending champion Friars are seen as the favorite this weekend, the boat barely slipped past strong crews from Roman Catholic and Haverford School at the City Championships.
Hoffman believes that in addition to his senior quad, Malvern’s junior quad and freshmen quad should each reach the finals and could potentially medal.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Followers of Stotesbury may notice two new events this year — the boys’ and girls’ freshmen quad. Credit for the decision to add the event, thus giving more kids the opportunity to compete, belongs to the organizers of Stotesbury.
“It took a lot of guts to add that event to an already crowded field,” Hoffman noted.
Rowing Past A Deep Field
Checking in with 51 total entries, the senior four is one of Stotesbury’s largest and deepest events. It’s also the race that Monsignor Bonner sees as its top chance for a medal, according to assistant coach Jim Krmpotich. Having already won the City Championship, Bonner will look to hold off challengers from defending champion Blair Academy (N.J.), the Haverford School (last year’s silver medalist), Peddie School (N.J.) and Hun School (N.J.).
Crazy Eights
Though La Salle didn’t win gold at the City Championships, the Explorers were impressively able to qualify all of their eights for the national championships at Princeton.
“That speaks to the depth of the program,” said coach Chris Doyle. “We’re planning on peaking this weekend, but the competition will be extraordinarily tough out there.”
All it takes is one or two boats to peak and Stotesbury weekend could turn golden for La Salle.
Brendan F. Quinn can be reached at bquinn@thebulletin.us
It couldn’t be anymore different for the 2009 version of Stotesbury. The race is as wide open as the Schuylkill River itself.
Just two weeks ago, St. Augustine (N.J.) won the Philadelphia City Championship by edging out Holy Spirit (N.J.) and the Prep. The Hawks, meanwhile, won the Catholic League championship and the final three Manny Flicks, including a win over both St. Augustine and Holy Spirit in the third Flick.
Then there are the non-Philadelphia area contenders. Winter Park, last year’s silver medalist, is coming off its 27th Florida State Scholastic Championship. A strong boat from Gonzaga, out of Washington D.C., recently won the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Championship. The Kent School (Conn.), a program steeped in tradition, is bringing a highly regarded crew. E.L. Crossley, which usually only comes to Stotesbury with a boat that can win, is visiting from Ontario, Canada. Lastly, Thomas Jefferson from Alexandria, Va., which has won three of the last five Stotesbury Cups, can’t be counted out, while boats from Mainland (N.J.) and La Salle could potentially land in the finals.
“There is no clear front-runner like the Prep was last year,” said Winter Park coach Dan Bertossa, who has three returnees from last year’s runner-up boat. “It seems like in recent weeks there’s been a lot of attention on Holy Spirit, but I never count the Prep out. We feel like we’re a little under the radar this year and we’re looking forward to matching up with the top crews up there.”
Even though St. Augustine beat Holy Spirit both at the City Championship and the New Jersey Scholastic Rowing Championship, Prep coach Jim Glavin agrees that Holy Spirit should be given the nod.
“There are a lot of fast crews, but right now Spirit has to be the favorite at Stotesbury,” he said. “It’s going to be very tough to make the finals. Somebody that’s fast is probably not going to make it. I don’t see anybody being light-years ahead of anyone.”
Malvern Four Back For More
Led by Columbia-bound senior Mike Donahue in the stroke seat, Malvern Prep is looking to continue its mastery of the senior quad at Stotesbury. The Friars are facing the daunting task of matching a 2008 campaign that saw them win gold at Stotesbury, capture a national title at the USRowing Youth National Championships and advance to the semifinals at Henley Regatta.
Donahue and fellow senior Chris Higgins are joined by a pair of 15-year-olds in the senior quad to form what Malvern coach Craig Hoffman calls “a young boat that has had to work extremely hard.”
Though the two-time defending champion Friars are seen as the favorite this weekend, the boat barely slipped past strong crews from Roman Catholic and Haverford School at the City Championships.
Hoffman believes that in addition to his senior quad, Malvern’s junior quad and freshmen quad should each reach the finals and could potentially medal.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Followers of Stotesbury may notice two new events this year — the boys’ and girls’ freshmen quad. Credit for the decision to add the event, thus giving more kids the opportunity to compete, belongs to the organizers of Stotesbury.
“It took a lot of guts to add that event to an already crowded field,” Hoffman noted.
Rowing Past A Deep Field
Checking in with 51 total entries, the senior four is one of Stotesbury’s largest and deepest events. It’s also the race that Monsignor Bonner sees as its top chance for a medal, according to assistant coach Jim Krmpotich. Having already won the City Championship, Bonner will look to hold off challengers from defending champion Blair Academy (N.J.), the Haverford School (last year’s silver medalist), Peddie School (N.J.) and Hun School (N.J.).
Crazy Eights
Though La Salle didn’t win gold at the City Championships, the Explorers were impressively able to qualify all of their eights for the national championships at Princeton.
“That speaks to the depth of the program,” said coach Chris Doyle. “We’re planning on peaking this weekend, but the competition will be extraordinarily tough out there.”
All it takes is one or two boats to peak and Stotesbury weekend could turn golden for La Salle.
Brendan F. Quinn can be reached at bquinn@thebulletin.us
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