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Varsity coach Jeanne Friedman holding the NEW8 Conference championship
plaque. She was named NEW8 coach of the year as well.
Mount Holyoke crew celebrated its twentieth anniversary as a College sport this spring by winning the New England Women's 8 (NEW8) Conference championship and doing well at the New England regional championships. Varsity coach Jeanne Friedman received the NEW8 coach of the year award to cap an exciting year.
"We had a great team this year with more depth. Because of our recruiting, we had lots of novices with excellent high school experience," explains five-year coach Friedman. "For the first time we were able to move novices into varsity seats, so there was competition for every seat." This year Mount Holyoke floated five boats of eight rowers, and more than fifty students were involved with crew. In comparison, Wellesley College had only two boats of eight rowers at the NEW8 regatta.
"The numbers show great stick-to-itiveness by our crew members," Friedman notes. "The Connecticut River presents a real challenge: our crew members stand in freezing water at 5:30 am, fighting a raging current to get the boats out, and we have only a few days each spring without flooding."
The crew program is raising funds to get a boat house, and currently rents space from Brunelle's Marina. Friedman says, "We have good equipment, a strong alumnae base, and a supportive friends organization. We've been able to buy a boat each year, and have our own bay at the marina. The College also gives us what we need to run a good program." Boat house fundraising is well on its way, and Friedman envisions a facility that might someday accommodate many rowing activities--such as masters' and youth rowing--and serve as a center for women's rowing in the Valley.
Student enthusiasm for crew is stronger than ever. "This year over 400 applicants indicated an interest in crew, with about fifty or sixty already rowing," Friedman says. She corresponds by email with high school students about the program, attends college fairs, and follows up on letters sent out by admission officers to applicants interested in crew. "Competition is tougher now for experienced rowers because crew just became an NCAA-recognized sport," she says. Division I scholarships for top rowers make it harder for Division III schools like Mount Holyoke to recruit from this group. Undaunted, Friedman reports that each year MHC rowers have gotten faster and stronger. "The group coming up next year is up to the challenge."
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