Spring Break
Oregon State men to compete in San Diego Crew Classic
Beavers hope to defeat Stanford, Syracuse in San Diego after Syracuse topped OSU in last years IRA National Championship
Mark Pedersen
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
The Oregon State men's crew team is off to San Diego and it should be a wild ride.
Coming off a big first place finish at Gonzaga during the weekend proceeding finals week, members the men's crew team were ready to jump back into their boats come spring break.
"We took Monday off and then got into a series of workouts to test the athletes," head coach Steve Todd said. "After that, we focused on racing skills and workouts that simulated race intensity."
This is a time usually reserved to squeeze in a little family time and get in on a trip to the beach, but not so much for the battle-hardened men of the crew team. Spring break featured two-a-day practices, with a tally of almost 20 hours logged on the water over the week. The bone-chilling Willamette was the closest the team got to lounging on the beach.
With a week worth of hard work, Oregon State looks to the warm waters of San Diego for its next test. The San Diego Crew Classic is one of the largest regattas in the country and one of the big stops for Oregon State crew this year.
The team couldn't be more excited about getting to San Diego and competing. After a long week spent in Corvallis, the men's team is hungry for competition and craving a trip to show off the fruits of its hard labor.
"We're all exited to get down there," said team captain Ian George. "There are some tough crews to race against."
Just like the weather, the competition in San Diego will be stifling. The Varsity 8+ will match paddles with Yale, Harvard, Purdue, Washington, Stanford and Syracuse for the rights to the Copley Cup.
The Orangemen have become something of a rival for many of guys on the team. It was Syracuse that handed OSU a big loss at last year's IRA National Championship, the "Big Dance" for men's rowing.
"We want to beat Stanford and Syracuse," George said.
This passion for victory is shared by the entirety of the team. The team has switched to 5:30 a.m. practices this week to get ready for its early race times in San Diego. While some students are finally getting to bed, these dedicated young men have been throwing on their beanies, zipping up their jackets and launching their boats all in an effort to be that much better come race day.
Coming off a big first place finish at Gonzaga during the weekend proceeding finals week, members the men's crew team were ready to jump back into their boats come spring break.
"We took Monday off and then got into a series of workouts to test the athletes," head coach Steve Todd said. "After that, we focused on racing skills and workouts that simulated race intensity."
This is a time usually reserved to squeeze in a little family time and get in on a trip to the beach, but not so much for the battle-hardened men of the crew team. Spring break featured two-a-day practices, with a tally of almost 20 hours logged on the water over the week. The bone-chilling Willamette was the closest the team got to lounging on the beach.
With a week worth of hard work, Oregon State looks to the warm waters of San Diego for its next test. The San Diego Crew Classic is one of the largest regattas in the country and one of the big stops for Oregon State crew this year.
The team couldn't be more excited about getting to San Diego and competing. After a long week spent in Corvallis, the men's team is hungry for competition and craving a trip to show off the fruits of its hard labor.
"We're all exited to get down there," said team captain Ian George. "There are some tough crews to race against."
Just like the weather, the competition in San Diego will be stifling. The Varsity 8+ will match paddles with Yale, Harvard, Purdue, Washington, Stanford and Syracuse for the rights to the Copley Cup.
The Orangemen have become something of a rival for many of guys on the team. It was Syracuse that handed OSU a big loss at last year's IRA National Championship, the "Big Dance" for men's rowing.
"We want to beat Stanford and Syracuse," George said.
This passion for victory is shared by the entirety of the team. The team has switched to 5:30 a.m. practices this week to get ready for its early race times in San Diego. While some students are finally getting to bed, these dedicated young men have been throwing on their beanies, zipping up their jackets and launching their boats all in an effort to be that much better come race day.
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