The Brown & White

The rowing teams hosted the inter-squad Brown and White Regatta at the Steiner/Steinberg Boathouse in Allentown over the weekend.

The coaches split the team into two squads, and the captains were in charge of setting the line-ups for each boat within their team. Men's and women's teams were mixed, and that led to an interesting dynamic among the boats and the races in general.

"Being thrown into a boat with new people for the first time and racing right off the bat was definitely a sight to see," said junior Jennifer Lance.

As one can imagine, an intra-squad scrimmage generates a great deal of trash talking and rivalries amongst the team.

"We were all excited to race and compete against one another," said junior Spencer Gundry. "There was definitely a lot of talking going on before the races between the Brown and the White teams, but it was all good, light-hearted fun."

Each boat was led by an upperclassman or a captain, who provided some hands-on leadership training and responsibility.

"Senior Whitney Levine, senior Andrew Bartynski and senior Kate Auletta all had great days for the White squad," Gundry said. "They were placed in the top-8 rower boat and were able to beat out the Brown team, so that was a huge win for our team. They all pulled hard throughout the race and worked well together."

Gundry was also quick to point out that one of the most important aspects of the day was not whether their boat won or lost, but rather how they responded to challenges and adversity. The juniors and seniors on the team made sure to instill this message to each of the rowers throughout the day.

"The most important aspect was not being discouraged if a boat on your team lost a race, and to do that, the seniors were a big part of that," Gundry said.

Jack Muskett, coxswain for the Brown squad and a senior captain, said the men's team lost a lot of key rowers from last year's squad, and they have been working hard over the fall to try to replace some of their key contributors.

"We are much younger and less experienced than any of the years I've been here," Muskett said. "But several rowers have stepped up and showed that they have talent and the ability to fill some of the roles that have been vacated by last year's graduating class."

Muskett said the team's next segment of training will be the most crucial for the development of the underclassmen and the team as a whole.

"The next step for us is winter training, which will have a tremendous impact on the outcome of our season," Muskett said.

Following the races, the teams competed in a few events on land, which included a tug-of-war and a relay race.

"Overall it was a great day," Lance said. "It was a nice way to end out the fall racing season and transition to the indoor winter season. The next few months, it's easy to lose focus when we're not on the water every day, but laid-back, fun events like this one keep us going."

Gundry echoed several of Lance's thoughts on the day, as well as offering up some of his own insights to the overall experience and how it related to Parents' Weekend.

"It was a great end to the fall season," Gundry said. "It was also nice to have a lot of people's families come out and see us in the water and racing against one another. There was a huge bond that developed over the day between teammates just from competing against one another and gaining bragging rights from certain players on opposing teams."

Heading into the winter, several members of the team said they will focus on technique and overall fitness.

"You can never be too fast or have perfect technique," Gundry said. "Heading into the off season, we will be working to perfect our rowing technique and also improving on our speed and endurance."

The Brown and White Regatta wrapped up the fall rowing season for the Lehigh men's club and women's varsity crew teams. They now head into their winter training period and will get back in the water come springtime, starting with the Murphy Cup in Philadelphia on April 3.