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SAINT IGNATIUS' CREW RECAP.

By Eddie Dwyer, 04/10/11, 12:00AM EDT

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PRESENTED BY HEAD COACH MATT PREVITS '97 AND POSTED BY EDDIE DWYER ON 4/10/11 AT 2:52 P.M.
THE WILDCAT NAVY PERSEVERES DURING WHAT WAS AN EVENTFUL WEEK AND WEEKEND, TO SAY THE LEAST..

The Wildcat Navy was scheduled to spend Friday evening and Saturday in Marietta, Ohio at the 21st running of the Lindamood Cup. The heavy rain caused flooding and unsafe current on the Muskingum River, forcing the regatta to be rescheduled.

Not to be deterred, the coaching staff quickly assembled a race at Lake Dillon, Ohio, bringing together the two best teams that were planning to attend the Lindamood Cup, Marietta and Upper Arlington, for a morning of racing with Saint Ignatius.

The Crew Cats won every race of the day by convincing margins, in the cases of the Varsity 8+, Varsity Lightweight 8, Varsity 4, and Varsity Lightweight 4+, and Novice 4+ finished 1st and 2nd.

Overall, the squad won the Varsity 8+, 2nd Varsity 8+, Varsity Lightweight 8+, Freshman 8+, Varsity 4+, Varsity Lightweight 4+, Junior 4+, and Novice 4+.

The only sour note to the day was during the celebration. It's traditional in the sport of rowing for a winning crew to throw their coxswain (the athlete that steers the shell and directs the crew during the race) into the water. The varsity lightweights were in the process of throwing junior coxswain Mike Gemperline into the water when he landed awkwardly on this right leg and broke his fibula. Mike will be in a cast for 4-6 weeks, but should have no problem driving boats during that time.

MORE ODD HAPPENINGS FOR THE CREW: Due to lightning, the team did not train on the water this past Monday. Rather, the freshman/novices ran stairs and hills while the varsity used the rowing machines.

As the novices were returning to school from their run, I received a phone call to head to the boathouse.

It turns out that one of the launches had been flipped over and was under water. No one was involved or injured. This appears to have happened when a freighter passed by and used its maneuvering thrusters. We are waiting on a report from Great Lakes Towing to confirm this theory.

The U.S. Coast Guard was informed of the incident and came onsite to take pictures and fill out a report for compliance with the 1990 Oil Pollution Act. Thanks to the help of Sgt. Keith Campbell (father of Kyle '12), Coach Paul Sabataitis, Coach Justin Kershaw, Coach Tim Telep, and Coach Pat Connor we were able to move the smaller launch, the Brother Boynton, S.J., from on-top of the flipped launch, the Dale (named in honor of Dale Gabor).

After the launches were separated, the Dale was towed to the other dock and eventually rolled over a tow truck cable. The engine (Honda 15hp longshaft), starter assembly, battery for lights, speaker system, and all other mechanical/electrical systems were destroyed by hanging upside down under water or AT LEAST 4 hours. Moreover, there is now structural buckling at the support joints that connect the pontoons to the top deck. Finally, the rudder system was damaged and no longer functions.

Fortunately, no one was injured.