Since the spring racing schedule was
set during the winter, ICC had been
pointing toward April 29-30 as a
critical and challenging weekend in
the team’s season. Racing at two
regattas back-to-back—the Parents
Regatta at Culver Academy and the
Judge Dunne hosted by Loyola—would
be a mental and physical strain on
the athletes, not to mention a
logistical challenge for the coaches
and our dedicated regatta
organizers. But as with any
challenge, ICC rose to the occasion
and met it head-on.
On Saturday, ICC made the short—but
early—drive over to Culver, Indiana,
and the friendly confines of Lake
Maxinkuckee to race against Culver
Academy, St. John’s Jesuit, St.
Ursula Academy, Notre Dame Academy
and Woodlands.
Fierce racing dominated the day.
With Coach Joe’s ongoing quest to
inspire hatred from the athletes,
all the novice girls raced at least
two times, sometimes three, and
usually with very quick turnaround
times. The novice light four raced
hard and took 6th of 6 against
varsity competition in the varsity
light four event. The novice eight
put together a strong piece but fell
short in taking 4th of 4. The
freshman eight battled St. Ursula
all the way down the course to take
their match race by a 2 second
margin. The JV four battled to take
5th of 6. The novice four—having all
rowed once or twice already—put up a
strong fight and took third. In the
JV eight, the tired novices rowed to
a weary 5th of 5.
The novice boys added to their
season-long medal haul with some
strong performances. The novice
eight cruised to a 15-second
victory. The frosh eight wasn’t so
fortunate, as they fell to St.
John’s in a head-to-head matchup.
But the boys regained their momentum
in the novice four, powering to 1st
and 2nd place finishes.
The varsity girls continued building
speed on the long path to Midwest.
The varsity four took 3rd in tight
racing. In the varsity eight, the
girls put together a strong piece to
take 3rd of 5.
The varsity boys’ main
 competition
proved to be themselves at this
race. Fielding three of the four
entries in the varsity four, ICC
came away with 1st, 2nd and 4th.
With two of the four entries in the
eight, the boys rowed to 1st and
4th.
In all, ICC finished the day with 10
boats taking medals.
Of course, this was all an appetizer
for the main course to be held on
Sunday at the Judge Dunne. Facing
the top crews in the Midwest,
including backyard rivals LPJ,
Loyola and New Trier, ICC would be
able to gauge its speed before going
back to the drawing board for
Midwest Scholastics. Unfortunately,
as seems a Judge Dunne tradition,
the elements refused to cooperate,
and the crews were met with a
torrential downpour. Without
blinking an eye, the regatta
organizers sent boats out, with
adjustments to the schedule to
provide for the athletes’ safety.
Due to the scheduling changes,
finals were cancelled and medalists
were determined based on heat times.
The novice girls came out firing,
winning their heats and taking 2nd
and 3rd in the novice
four. Both novice eights had strong
races, with one winning its heat, as
they finished 6th and 7th
of 9. The varsity girls four took 3rd,
just two seconds out of the medals,
while the varsity eight took 5th
of 8 boats.
On the boys’
side, the schedule changes allowed
just the novice eight to row, and
they took a hard-fought 5th
place finish. The varsity put strong
showings, taking 3rd and
8th of 8 in the varsity
fours. The JV eight powered to a 2nd
place finish and a medal, while the
varsity eight fell to 6th
of 7.
In the midst of
the action, ICC was happy to see its
newest boats f inally
christened. We were joined by Grant
Crowley, an invaluable friend of the
program, who had one of our new
fours named in his honor. And Father
Brian Paulson, president of SICP,
endured the rain to bless another
new four, the St. Francis Xavier.
Also making its formal named debut
was our new eight, the Fortes
Fortuna Juvat (“Fortune Favors the
Brave”).
The weekend
proved long and busy, but very
successful for ICC. While the rowers
and coxes no doubt left Sunday’s
racing exhausted from three, four
and even five races over two days,
it should provide great preparation
for the rigors of Midwest
Scholastics, where heats and finals
are held over two days. Despite the
conditions, the athletes and our
ever-supportive parents and families
kept their chins up (though not so
far up as to let the rain hit their
faces), accepted the soaking and
just enjoyed the rowing. Until next
time, remember your seat, row
through the horn and somebody help
Joe with his 20-pound garbage bag of
food. |
