Men's Crew Expects to Continue Excellence on the Water

“Three-peat.”

That is the word that the Harvard men’s lightweight crew team has carried with it since the close of last year’s season.

For the past two years, the Crimson has completed back-to-back undefeated seasons with successive gold medals at EARC Sprints and IRA National Championships. This season, Harvard has the opportunity to add to its winning streak, but unlike the past two years, the team will be under new leadership.

After the passing of longtime heavyweight crew coach Harry Parker, former lightweight coach Charley Butt was moved into the position of heavyweight coach, while Radcliffe women’s lightweight coach Michiel Bartman was called upon to fill the coaching void on the men’s lightweight team.

“The transition has been pretty smooth,” Bartman said. “I had to figure out the squad size, everyone’s names, and how the guys are rowing. That took a little bit of time but now everything is running smoothly.”

Because of the back-to-back undefeated seasons and high expectations for this year, stepping into the new role could have been daunting, but Bartman has not been fazed by the pressure.

“It’s always on the back of my mind…but I don’t sleep less knowing that they have been undefeated for the past two years,” Bartman said. “Our goal is to continue the success that they have [had]…and to keep maintaining the high level of work that has been put in in the past.”

With a roster composed of mostly juniors and seniors, the Crimson has the experience to bring another championship back to Cambridge. But for junior Alexander Bonorris, it is important to train the next generation of rowers in order to ensure the team remains competitive for years to come. Bonorris joined the team as a sophomore and was taken in by the upperclass leaders of the team, and he plans to do the same for this year’s newcomers.

“I want to make sure that everyone that passes through a boat on our team is able to fulfill their own personal goals, and [that] we set up an environment where everyone can improve as much as they want, and everybody can fully maximize what they’re doing for the sport,” Bonorris said.

HEAVYWEIGHTS

For the Crimson men’s heavyweight crew team, this season is all about making adjustments.

This year will be the first time in 52 years in which Parker has not coached the heavyweight squad.

“There’s still a huge void,” senior JP Hogan said. “We’re the first Harvard oarsmen who haven’t had Harry as our coach in over half a century, which is a wild thing, so this is a history-making year.”

Although this is Butt’s first year as a heavyweight coach, he brings much experience to the team, having spent the past 28 years as the Crimson men’s lightweight crew coach.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to be able to work with Harvard students,” Butt said. “I feel like it is my mission to carry on the tradition that is a very competitive, ready-to-race-every-weekend kind of team.”

Harvard will look to improve upon its IRA National Championship finish last year, in which the first varsity team placed second and the team placed fourth overall.

“[The] University of Washington has won every single year for about the last seven years, and we have been finishing behind them each of those years, so there is very much a feeling that we want to beat them,” Hogan said. “It seems like they are going to be a little weaker this year and we’re getting stronger…so this is our opportunity to [beat Washington].”

But for a team that is accustomed to Parker’s non-confrontational approach, Butt’s leadership style has taken some getting used to.

“It’s a complete 180 from Harry’s coaching style, but in a good way,” Hogan said. “Charley is more technical, hands-on, and all about small boats, so there is a constant stream of coaching and feedback that we didn’t have when Harry coached.”

While transitioning from one style of rowing to another, Butt noted that he still places an emphasis on the basics of rowing, and he hopes that foundation will allow the team to remain atop the crew standings throughout the season.

“We have spent a lot of time on connecting to the water and how to accelerate the boat properly—two things that are easily said but much harder to do in practice,” Butt said. “I feel this is a very strong team and we have a real chance of being a strong group. However, the work from one year has to be put out the next year, otherwise [success] doesn’t happen.”