New men's crew coach brings winning attitude

By Andrew Neils

The men's crew team is heading in a new direction this year under the tutelage of its newly acquired coach, Paul Bugenhagen. Bugenhagen looks to add to the team’s success by increasing its boatspeed, so that the Bison will be in a position to compete in championship races in the spring.

The crew team had its first taste of action this fall, as it faced several of Lehigh’s boats in a 6k race on Oct. 1st at home on the Susquehanna River. The Bison’s top eight man boat competed against two of Lehigh’s varsity boats and five of its novice boats. After an exhausting effort, it beat all but one of the boats.

One of Bugenhagen’s best qualities is his experience in developing high-caliber athletes. He spent the past summer as an assistant coach of the U.S. Junior Men’s National Team that finished first in the Men’s 8+ and fourth in the 4+ at the World Junior Rowing Championships.

Bugenhagen has coached at Princeton University, developing athletes in one of the top collegiate programs in the country. He has taken both masters and scholastic level crews to state and national titles.

When Bugenhagen first arrived at the University, the rowers could immediately sense that their team would make a change for the better. They gained confidence in their coach because of his intensity and passion for the sport.

"We have a new coach that wants to push us to a new level of competition. The desire to win, and the bond between the rowers is probably our greatest strength," Jon Bloom ’06 said.

The team is excited that Bugenhagen pushes its limits by testing it in workouts, and developing its stroke technique on the water.

"With the addition of Paul Bugenhagen as our coach, we have a great chance of having an incredible season this year," Captain Brent Butler ’06 said.

As a candidate for the coaching position, Bugenhagen was attracted to the University.

"The facilities, the supportive environment and the committed interest from the University and alumni are a very strong foundation for us to build this program upon," Bugenhagen said.

The men’s crew team is entirely self-funded by alumni and current rowers, so one of its greatest strengths is the bond between the alumni and the present generation of rowers. There was a strong showing from several generations of alumni who came back to support the team as it dueled Lehigh on homecoming weekend.

Rowing is one of the few sports that is played through the entire academic year. During the fall season, the crew team competes in the longest events of the year, generally in five or six-kilometer races. The spring is sprint season, and the racing distance is shortened to two kilometers. By developing a large aerobic base at this point in the year, the athletes hope to benefit come spring time.

Coach Bugenhagen comes to the team prepared for the tasks at hand.

"My immediate goal is to get the word out that there’s something special happening in Lewisburg, the culture of our rowing team is evolving and developing some of the same characteristics and tendencies that all great programs possess," Bugenhagen said. "There’s a boat load of enthusiasm for the training program and generally towards the process of becoming champions, as well as the development of real courage and toughness when it comes to overcoming all the obstacles that exist when you’re trying to own the dream."

The team’s varsity eightboat consisted of coxswain Julia Miller and from stroke to bow was: Rob Blakemore ’08, Butler, Frank Rosenthal ’07, David Wingate ’08, Ben Finio ’07, Garrett Samuels ’06, Bloom and J.T. Dean ’07.

Not only did the team compete in the afternoon, but it was put to a six kilometer test on the indoor rowing machines earlier that morning in an effort to train through the race.

"We have been focusing on improving our physical and mental toughness, so our coach had us do a 6 k test race on the erg in the morning before we raced Lehigh," Butler said. "The race itself wasn’t important, whether we didn’t give up was. I am proud that we did not give up, despite having already done an incredibly hard workout that day."

The race gave the team a chance to test its mental and physical endurance. Bugenhagen was pleased with the effort.

"The guys had a solid piece and took care of the issues we were focusing on as a team. We’re not remotely close to where we want to be speedwise, but we’ve got a strong sense of what we need to work on this fall for our team to be successful in the spring racing season and in the championship events in May and June of 2006," Bugenhagen said.

Bugenhagen’s immediate goal is to bring the team up to a higher level of competition. He will work with them on the water, on the indoor rowing machines and in the weight room to develop technique and boat-speed.

With a full year of rowing ahead of them, and a great start to the year, it is easy to get excited about how competitive this crew team will be in the spring season.

The team will return to action at the Head of the Schuylkill regatta on Oct. 29 in Philadelphia, Pa.