University of Virginia Library

Crew Set For Dad Vail Regatta

Photo By Frank Blechman

Crew Team, 19-5, Practices For This Weekend's Dad Vail Regatta, Symbol Of Small College Supremacy, To Be Held In Philadelphia

Rowers May Go On To The Intercollegiate Rowing Championships In New York After The Dad Vail Regatta If They Do Well

This Friday and Saturday in
Philadelphia, the University of
Virginia Rowing Association will be
ending its regular season of
competition at the Dad Vail
Regatta, an annual event
symbolizing small college rowing
championships.

The crew has been working all
year for this race, beginning with
fall practice; then winter practice
six days a week, alternating
between running and weight-lifting;
and finally the spring, when the
oarsmen practiced up to nine times
a week and twice a day over the
break to make final preparation for
the season.

The Dad Vail Regatta will be the
culmination of all this plus the 19-5
season to date for the Varsity and
similarly successful records for the
Junior Varsity, Freshman, and
Four.

The Varsity Eight

The Varsity record this year
speaks well for the success with
which the first boat has met Losses
have come only at the hands of St.
Joseph's, Georgetown (the
defending Dad Vail champion),
Marietta, and Rollins.

Other crews of the 35-boat field
of the regatta will include:
Trinity, the University of
Massachusetts, Villanova, and Holy
Cross.

Seedings and the luck of the
draw will be important as the
Varsity will have to first qualify by
finishing among the top three in
their heat Friday, then make the
finals by finishing in the top two of
their semi-final race on Saturday
morning. The championship race
will be at around 4 PM Saturday.

The Varsity Eight averages 179
pounds, but there is a great deal of
strength and stamina in the boat, a
fact which has helped overcome the
ten to fifteen pound disadvantage
in size the oarsmen have had to
face. Harrison O'Connor, 176-pounds,
strokes the eight. Behind
him is Bob Tuke, weighing 176, at
seven. Then comes big Jack Plackter,
a 200-pound oarsmen who may
develop into Olympic material. At
five is Tom Lincoln, 182-pounder,
whose 6-3 frame has been of great
advantage.

Steve Plott, the founder of crew
at the University and a Henley
veteran of the Washington and Lee
High School crew, rows at four.
Pete Luke at 170 pounds holds the
three seat, and behind him is Rick
Davission, whose slender 167-pound
size is more than compensated
for by his smoothness and
control. Jon Woodall is in the bow,
and his 185 pounds of brute
strength sends a shudder down the
eight when he catches. Buddy
Aydenstricker coxes the eight and
is the terror of the race course
when he decides his opponents
need intimidating.

The Junior Varsity Eight

Bere Tood, a former coxwain
and lightweight stroke at W&L High
School, has done an admirable job
at stroke for the JVs. At seven is
Tim Callahan. Yachtsman Bill
Castle rows six, and behind him is
Ralph Peterson, replete with
moustache and sun-glasses. Tome
Hanes rows at four, followed by
Harry Lynch at three, John
Porterfield at two, and little Fred
Leffel in the bow. Peter Tilgmman
is the coxwain and can be readily
identified by a moustache and
blazer combination reminiscent of
England. The JVs, truly Cavaliers of
the old order, average 175 pounds.

The Freshman Heavyweights

This year has witnessed the
emergence of a much improved
Freshman crew program. The
Independent coaching of Leo
Kayser, together with the initiation
of fall rowing for freshman has had
much to do with this improvement.

The season itself has been a
frustrating one for the first-year
men. Steering problems, borrowed
equipment, and breakage have all
taken their toll in preventing the
Freshmen crew from showing its
true potential.

Nevertheless, the Freshmen have
had a fine season, winning the
Southern championship and besting
such crews as Drexel, the Citadel,
St. Joseph's, Rollins, George
Washington, and Villanova. They
have lost only to Georgetown and
Marietta, the two major freshmen
Dad Vail powers. A third one to
beat Virginia was the Navy Piche
Heavies.

The Freshman Lightweights

The second freshman crew has
added a new dimension to
Virginia's rowing, the lightweight
crew. John Macovtee, Peter Kilroy,
Frank Souers, Peter Grinnel, Ed
Blans, Tom Wood, Andy Stickney,
Randy Tozer, John Venable, and
Clem Gaskill (cox) all have worked
hard for largely unheralded
successes.

The Varsity Four

The Dad Vail Association added
a new event to the regatta this year,
and that event is a race for varsity
fours. Steve Hatten will stroke
Virginia's entry, with Dave Pugh at
three, Eric Voqel two, Bill Veale in
the bow, and Bill Roderick coxing.

Mark Altman, Dick Covington,
and Learned Barry have served as
oarsmen and spares during the
season, which was highlighted by
their successful second place finish
in Washington last Saturday.

The Coaches, Riggers

Tim Kerr has been the varsity
coach at Virginia for the past two
years. He brought the crew from
the stage of an idea to the
condition of Dad Vail contenders in
all four categories. Mr. Kerr's
talents lie not especially in the area
of technical coaching, but in his
ability to achieve harmony and
teamwork in the particular crews.

Crew is the ultimate of
teamwork sports, requiring absolute
unison in all movements of the
oarsmen. Mr. Kerr has worked hard
and successfully to achieve this
unison, and it is to his long hours
spent both on and off the water
that the crews owe their success.

Leo Kayser has been the freshman
coach this year, an assistant
coach last year. His success has
been noted above, and the big test
awaits his crew Saturday.

Chuck Davis, Graig Hupp, and
especially Charlie Magee, have been
indispensable as riggers, the crew's
version of equipment managers.
Magee has been with the association
since its inception, and he is
literally the man who gets the boats
on the water.

Future

After the Dad Vail, the crews
may face a further test. Any crew
winning its event is entitled to go
on to the Intercollegiate Rowing
Association Championship, the
famed IRA, in Syracuse, New York,
on June 12, 13, and 14. The best
crew's in the nation (and perhaps
world) will compete there.

If the varsity fails to win at the
Dad Vail, it is highly likely that a
four made out of the first eight will
be entered in the IRA.