Radcliffe Crew Turns to Veteran

Though the face of Radcliffe lightweight crew has changed drastically over the past year, the team has found stability and leadership in co-captain Marissa Reichel.

“Marissa is an amazing athlete and a great leader on the team,” senior coxswain Maryana Vrubel said. “She’s been doing a really great job as captain. It’s nice to have someone so dependable on the team.”

Reichel and dependability on the water have gone hand-in-hand throughout her rowing career.

Dating back to her days with Wayland-Weston Crew in high school, Reichel helped lead the way to four Massachusetts state championships.

Reichel has raced in the Black and White varsity eight since her freshman year and has earned two medals at Eastern Sprints in the process.

Reichel spent much of her sophomore and junior years in the coveted stroke seat. Her steady rhythm on the water and quiet leadership set the pace for her crew.

“On land, she is pretty reserved in certain ways, but once she gets that oar in her hands, she becomes very competitive,” Radcliffe coach Michiel Bartman said. “That’s what you want to see.”

But after former coach Heather Cartwright stepped down, Reichel and her teammates faced a new challenge that can often devastate an entire season: unfamiliarity at the helm.

But the unknown proved to be a boon for the team when the Harvard athletic department hired Bartman as head coach.

Reichel has helped welcome Bartman to Cambridge, and the two have developed a strong respect for each other.

“Michiel is an amazing coach, and I have only good things to say about him,” Reichel said. “He has adapted to coaching college lightweights very smoothly in the last six weeks. He has a really positive coaching style; if we ever have a piece that doesn’t go the way we want it to, he asks us what was good and what was bad about the piece, and how we can improve the bad parts.”

Bartman also sees the dependability in Reichel that her teammates have witnessed over the past three seasons.

“I’ve only known her for six weeks, but in the time that I have known her, she has been very motivated and a hard worker,” Bartman said. “When she steps into a boat you notice a change.”

Despite having a new coach, the Black and White squad has high hopes for coming the year.

“Every year, our team has raised its expectations,” Reichel said. “This year, especially, we’ve been working towards achieving our high goals. Our team is very cohesive, and we have a great team dynamic. Everyone pushes each other to row well and to get faster.”

A strong performance last spring gives the squad a good base off which to build. The first varsity eight placed fourth at the IRA National Championships and took bronze at Eastern Sprints.

With the Head of the Charles just around the corner, the Black and White varsity has continued its diligent practice regimen and even added a few twists to prepare for its biggest race of the year.

“Preparation for the Head of the Charles always involves a lot of long, steady state pieces and AT rowing,” Reichel said. “This year, with Michiel, we are practicing rowing in rough water and windy conditions. Conditions in the basin are usually pretty bad—windy, and sometimes there are whitecaps. A big part of rowing is being able to make the best of the conditions and the situation you are placed in.”

As the Radcliffe lightweight squad hits the water on Oct. 22, it will look to ride its success into the Head of the Charles.

“The race is really exciting for us as rowers because crew is not a big spectator sport, and this is one of the few races that we get a huge crowd out to watch us and cheer us on,” Reichel said.

With the immense crowd lining the Charles, Harvard will look to get in the zone and follow its own pace.

For yet another race, the team will turn to Reichel and her experience to keep cool and find its rhythm.

“You grow up and you gain experience with every single race,” Vrubel said. “You look to the people you’ve raced with [before] to keep you calm, and Marissa is one of those people who on race day is always ready and makes you feel better.”