April 2, 2008

BOSTON - The Boston University men's crew team possess all the attributes to win. Heart, teamwork and passion will put the men in good stead for their first spring season race this weekend against Brown.

The Terriers had a very successful fall season. At the Head of the Charles they placed 10th in the Championship Eight and 10th and 13th in the Championship Four. Such results have given the men a confidence in their ability to post consistent victories. The Terriers could be embarking on their most notable season in years.

"We are going to capitalize on our fall results," said head coach Rodney Pratt.

Confidence and optimism play a crucial role in lifting performances. Once an athlete or team believe in its own strength, the momentum builds and results follow. It is a product of assurance, the right training and commitment from talented athletes.

"We have a very cohesive team this year, which is a real positive," said senior coxswain Andrea Rosmann. "Everyone is working hard and going fast. We had some very good performances this fall which definitely turned some heads, and I think that will carry over to this spring season."

The men travelled to Clemson, SC, for their spring break training camp. They were challenged physically and mentally to push their bodies beyond limits they thought possible to get them in top shape for the upcoming season.

"We put in a lot of miles, and the guys did a lot of speed work and hard pieces in pairs," continued Rosmann. "Even though they have been training all over the winter and are in good shape, the spring break training was very physiologically demanding."

For a sport like crew, to come across the line in first place requires a great deal of teamwork, sacrifice and adapting to everyone else in the boat.

To be successful as a crew, you have to put individual agendas aside and work with each other to make the boat move at its optimal speed and reach the team's goals.

"This year our team is truly unified," said co-captain Justin Martin. "I don't simple mean that we all get along or we all want to be best friends, but instead we are at the boathouse every day for the same purpose -- winning a national championship."

The members of the present team are men with passion and a simple urge to win. It seems this desire to be the best, instilled in them as undergraduates, continues as four alumni are in Olympic squads.

Alumni Florian Mennigen and Will Daly placed third and fifth in the Coxed Four and Lightweight Eight, respectively, in the 2007 World Championships held in Munich, Germany this past summer. Both men are currently a part of national team training squads in contention for selection for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Similarly, alumnus Jozef Klaassen and Meindert Klem from the Netherlands are training hard in an attempt to make the Olympic team. Klem is a current member of the Terriers but took his junior year off to travel home and train to represent his home country.

It is athletes like these that prove that the members of the Terriers crew team are at the top of their sport. With alumni vying for Olympic selection and the current members of the Terriers having just had their most successful fall season in years, it is no doubt that this upcoming spring season could be one to remember, both here and abroad.

Cassie Rhodes is a senior at Boston University and a member of the Terrier women's rowing team. She can be reached at crhodes@bu.edu.