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2007 Michigan State Team Champions (Hebda Cup)

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PARTY OF FOURS
TWO BOATS QUALIFY FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
CHRIS LAU
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

May 21, 2006

The season started with a second-place finish in the state championship Hebda Cup, after the team had won the regatta 11 straight years. So the Orchard Lake St. Mary's crew team considered their early season disappointing. Then they came in second in the Wyandotte Regatta on May 6. They weren't happy about that either. But now the season is looking brighter. Two boats qualified for the U.S. National Regatta at the Midwest regional championships in Cincinnati on Sunday. The U.S. National Regatta will take place Friday and Saturday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Eaglets' Varsity Four won its regional race and the Varsity Lightweight Four came in second.

"By finishing second the previous two weeks, we obviously were a little disappointed and that led to better and more-concentrated training," said Mike German, a seventh-year rowing coach. Midwest's "results showed that our team and coaching staff learned from the non-stellar results of the two weeks before." The national meet will feature more than 100 schools from across the country. "It will be the fastest collection of high-school rowers in the United States," German said. It was surprising that the two boats of fours did so well. The season usually is concentrated on the boats with eight rowers. The Varsity Four, whose rowers also are the stern four of the Varsity Eight, had only six practices as a unit all season, two the week before regionals. German said they clicked at the right time, propelling them to a dominating victory over second-place Ann Arbor Pioneer, to whom they had lost the previous two weeks. "My rowers pulled through," said the boat's senior coxswain, Mike Moran, a four-year letterman who will cox and study business for powerhouse University of Pennsylvania next year. "These guys worked harder than anyone. They deserve it." Moran has a 4.4 grade point average, captained the wrestling team and was Catholic League 112-pound champion. He sees better things at nationals for the crew team. "Normally, we focus on the eights. Now, we're finally focusing on the fours," he said. "By getting more practices, we'll get even more speed. We want to place at nationals." The Lightweight Four didn't win its race, but it felt as if it did after pulling away from Ohio's Upper Arlington for second. They had a close race most of the way but then dominated the final sprint. Practices now focus on the two Fours, and that will continue until the U.S. Nationals. The season ends June 2-4 at the Canadian high school national championship in St. Catherines, Ontario. Reminiscent of the season, the Lightweight Four had a bad start to their Midwest finals, and then came through in the end. "We just decided we didn't want to lose to them again," senior Matt Rejc said of Ann Arbor Huron and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. "This was too big of a race to lose again."

Rejc, who rows stroke and is headed to Grand Valley State University, said his boat might have slacked a little during the season. And that made the late-season resurgence all the sweeter. "I'm ecstatic," he said. "I can't wait. It's my senior year, and I'm so happy to qualify for nationals." St. Mary's knows how to row a boat The Varsity Four and Varsity Lightweight Four each qualified for the U.S. national regatta at the Midwest regional championships in Cincinnati on May 13-14. Here's a look at the two boats and the regional performance: Varsity Four Finished first in 5:04 Lineup: Junior James Shubert (bow), and seniors Jonathan Misch (2), Tim Simon (3), Scott Catanzaro (stroke) and Mike Moran (coxswain). Moran's description of the race: "We had a race plan and we executed it exactly how we were supposed to. We started with a high-20 (referring to strokes) to get going, then we settled. At 650 meters, we did a move-20, where we tried to open up from the other boats. We called it our 'get some 20.' That's where we try to put people away, where we put people where they can't catch up. We got far enough ahead where our rowers could see the other boats, and we just never let them back." Moran's thoughts on the season: "We peaked at the right time. Hopefully, we'll get ever faster." Moran's low point of the season: "It was tough to lose both Hebda and Wyandotte. Being our senior year, we really wanted to come out with wins and it didn't happen." Moran's high point: "Coming across the finish line first at Midwest. Everything you work for and then having it happen, it makes it all worth it." Varsity Lightweight Four Finished second in 5:13 Lineup: Senior Andrew Richards (bow), sophomore Sean Graham (2), junior Kevin Kowalski (3), senior Matt Rejc (stroke) and sophomore Justin Elwood (coxswain). Rejc's description of the race: "We started really slow. It wasn't the best start. At 500 meters, we took a power-10 to get back in the race. We were third place at the time. We edged into second place. We were nose-to-nose, fighting for second place (with Upper Arlington of Ohio) up to 1,000 meters and even 1,200. We took a power-20 at the 1,000-meter mark, and halfway through the power-20, we passed them by a seat. Then they countered with a power-10 and brought it back to even. It was a dogfight the whole race. At 1,250 meters, we started our sprint and brought it up to 40 strokes a minute. We had a really good sprint and we walked through Upper Arlington by a whole boat length." Rejc's thoughts on the season: "It didn't start out the best, but it's ending the way I'm hoping it would." Rejc's low point of the season: "The Hebda Cup was the lowest point of our season. We won it the past 11 years and I had expected us to win again. I guess we came in with a cocky attitude and didn't do our best, and we ended up giving it up." Rejc's high point: "The high point was the week before Midwest. We did better at Wyandotte, so we figured we'd peak at Midwest. We worked really hard all week and we knew it would pay off." Contact CHRIS LAU at 248-351-3688 or clau@freepress.com.