In the five years I have spent at Texas Crew, none has been like this! We finished our season in late may at the second annual American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) national club championship. Of 125 club teams eligible to participate, Texas Crew placed three of its four first eights in the top 10. Impressively, Texas Crew placed several members onto the all-American or all-region teams. Brittany Norris (2nd team AA), Sara Keidel (3rd team AA), and Kelly Webeck (3rd team AA) earned all-American honors, while Tyler McDonald, David Alviar, and Sarmed Rashid (cox) earned all-region awards. Stanley Lewis, Chris Saum, and Kacy Jo Peek were given consideration for both awards. In addition, Texas Crew boasted eight academic all-Americans. Wes Brown, Tyler McDonald, Kacy Jo Peek and Sarmed Rashid earned first team academic-all-American awards, and David Alviar, Katie Kiesler, Emily Lim, and Alex Mitrowski earned second team awards. This represents an excellent commitment on behalf of Texas Crew student-athletes to academic and athletic achievement.
Texas Crew needs your ongoing support. We navigated, with the help of many of you, a very tumultuous economy and have emerged leaner and while not immune to economic challenges, we are now smarter in how we approach fundraising and budgeting. If you can find a way to contribute a one time OR recurring donation as low as $10/month at http://www.texascrewfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=75 we can together ensure the future of Texas Crew.
Dear Alumni and friends, it's been an exciting Fall season so far, and I am happy to report that Texas Crew is as strong as ever.
The team just wrapped up a successful trip to Chattanooga for the Head of the Hooch Regatta, and I'm proud to inform you that TX Crew finished second in the team points, for a second consecutive year. In fact, TX Crew has finished no worse than second for four consecutive years at the Head of the Hooch, an excellent accomplishment.
While the excitement for the novice squads of their first "away game" and for many, first major medals is exhilarating, the varsity left us plenty of excitement too. The men's championship 8+ took gold and were awarded their medals by members of the 2008 US Olympic 8+ (in pink for Row for the Cure). This was a great achievement, and represents a major accomplishment for a group of dedicated guys, who are beginning to see the fruits of their efforts this year and over last summer.
Both college/club men's and women's eights took bronze medals, which shows how strong the entire TX Crew program is. Our novice men, coached by Ryan Ebanks, Chuck Stollenwerk and Brian Smith, earned four medals, including a silver in the premier event, the Freshman men's 8+. Our novice women were among the top club programs, and much is expected out of first year coach Paula Dean's crew.
We were featured in the Daily Chattanoogan, and will be featured in the upcoming edition of the Rowing News. See the daily Chattanoogan pictures here.
Head of the Charles & Alumni weekend
The 2008 Head of the Charles was an exciting and bittersweet event for TX Crew. Great thanks go to Coaches Jimmy Clark and Stephen Moursund for driving 72 hours round trip! The team sent three boats to Boston, a men's collegiate 8+, club 4+, and women's 4+. The women's four rowed fast enough to earn a medal, but a 60" penalty knocked their finish position down to 20th. The club four rowed strong, with very experienced rowers and coxswain charging from 41st starting position to finish 8th. The men's collegiate 8+ fought hard but did not improve on the 10th finishing position of 2007 and finished 15th. Conditions made aggressive courses difficult, but overall the regatta was enjoyable, with two out of three boats earning guaranteed entries for next year.
Alumni weekend featured two outstanding treats. The award of the Jeff Mork Alumni Scholarship Award to TX Crew varsity rower Wes Brown was a momentous occasion.
Texas Crew was proud to have on hand Col. Henry Reichner, ret. USMC to witness the christening of a new Hudson 4+ bearing his name. The boat's purchase was made possible by John Reichner, his son, and grandson Jack, who is a member of TX Crew. It was a special moment to see Col. Reichner pouring champagne all over a beautiful new boat with his entire family on hand.
Next, Texas Crew heads to Natchitoches, LA to take on defending IRA national champion Wisconsin and others in the Marathon Rowing Championships. Then, winter training begins with the new Winter Bookend challenge.
I look forward to posting other team updates. It was great to see all the alumns in town for the pumpkinhead, and please don't hesitate to stop by the warehouse any time you're in Austin.
Texas Crew kicked off its full team season today, with the introduction of about 80-90 novice rowers in addition to the 35 varsity members. Today marked the head novice coaching debuts of Ryan Ebanks and Paula Dean. Ryan will also be working with Chuck Stollenwerk, who coached the Texas freshmen men in 2004, and has years of experience including rowing and coaching for the University of Wisconsin. Paula Dean has been involved with rowing for seven years at the Rochester Rowing Club of Minnesota, where she rowed as a junior and then went on to coach varsity men and women. Paula was coached in High Schol by new TX Crew head coach Bob Krentler.
On the varsity side, first year Head Coach Bob Krentler opens the season with 28 varsity members. Bob coached the Texas freshmen men since 2005, and also served as assistant head coach. The varsity women are coached by Jimmy Clark, who returns potentially his strongest squad yet. Jimmy rowed for TX Crew and earned both varsity MVR and best attitude awards. Stephen Moursund assists the varsity men. Stephen coached with the novice men in 2007-2008 after rowing for Washington University in St. Louis. Stephen served as captain at Wash U under former Texas coach Cameron Carter.
This year marks an important turning point for Texas Crew. The majority of returning varsity rowers competed in a competitive summer training camp, either in Ausitn or on the east coast. This enhanced level of experience, fitness, and perspective has already helped our team be ahead of the learning curve.
Coming up soon is the Head of the Colorado Regatta and Row Across Texas. I hope to see all of our friends involved in one or both of these events! I see the foundation as crucial to the long term viability of the program and encourage all alumni to be active. As always, please feel free to stop by the warehouse or send an email.
While the excitement for the novice squads of their first "away game" and for many, first major medals is exhilarating, the varsity left us plenty of excitement too. The men's championship 8+ took gold and were awarded their medals by members of the 2008 US Olympic 8+ (in pink for Row for the Cure). This was a great achievement, and represents a major accomplishment for a group of dedicated guys, who are beginning to see the fruits of their efforts this year and over last summer.
Amanda Solis 
Jeffrey Mork 
