Alumni Pull Together at Diamond States
Monday, August 06, 2007
By Greg Doyle ’87
The weekend of July 28-29 saw a crew of St. Andrew's School’s ancient and venerable oarsmen plying the waters of Noxontown Pond in a bid for latter day glory and spiritual rejuvenation. Wearing shirts that proudly proclaimed, “Powered by Ducky,” in memory of legendary coach Davis Washburn ’44, alumni rowers manned eights in the 40+ and 50+ categories at the 2007 Howard M. Smith Diamond State Masters Regatta. These crews marked the first official alumni crew representation at the regatta in its 16-year history. The St. Andreans gathered on campus at Washburn Cove on Saturday night for a practice session, followed by dinner and nostalgia at the nearby Sassafras River home of Pam and Gordon Brownlee ’75.
On Sunday afternoon, red blades with white crosses took their place at the starting line and matched strokes with some of the fastest masters crews in the nation. With only the previous evening’s row under their softened hands, the alumni oarsmen managed to finish in second place in both races. In the 40+ eight, Molly Higgins ’93 coxed the crew of Gordon Brownlee, Ashton Richards ’78, Tomas Puky ’89, Pete Jacoby ’77, Greg Doyle ’87, Tom Schreppler ’78, Bob Dunn ’74, and Mike Kadick ’75. Henry Hauptfuhrer ’74, Stu Barroll ’72 , and Andrew Aiken P’07 swapped in for the 50+ eight, which came down the course as the final event of the day. Their finish was too close to call on the water, sparking instant calls for official practices and a full training camp for 2008, though that may have been the adrenaline talking. At the very least, the rowers openly invite more of their fellow alumni to share the experience. Contact any of the rowers to join the list of eager backs.
The sparkling waters of Noxontown played renewed host to the regatta, one of the nation’s most popular masters rowing events, with over 1,000 rowers and scullers waiting out early morning thunderstorms for the chance to race for the Dead Poets’ Trophy. The 2006 regatta was cancelled due to an infestation of North American Waterweed that had rendered the Pond unnavigable. After consultation with pond experts over the last year, the School engaged the services of NatureWorks Clearwater Associates, who successfully and safely addressed the excessive plant growth with treatments from March through early June. The School continues to explore long-term solutions to high levels of nutrients in Noxontown Pond, working with the University of Delaware and other professional firms to critically evaluate relevant watershed issues.
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