The men's crew team finished second in the Championship Eight this past weekend at the 44th Head of the Charles. Making up the Brown varsity eight were Christian Crynes '10, Brent Mylrea '11, Matt Wheeler '09, Cole Bonner '10, Ben Duggan '10, Scott Morgan '10, Nick Ritter '10 and Gareth Seymour '09, with Rob O'Leary '09 coxing. The Bears finished the race ahead of teams from France, Netherlands, Spain, England and Turkey that were racing with national team rowers. Brown was the first Ivy League team to cross the finish line. In fact, the top three boats for Bruno finished before any other Ivy League team's first boat. This was the highest finish for the Bears in over a decade at the Charles, and for their performance, the nine men from the Championship Eight Boat have been named the Herald's Athletes of the Week. To get to know the nine athletes better, we interviewed Wheeler.
Herald: I assume team chemistry is a huge part of winning a race like this. How did the team come together to place second?
Wheeler: Our race at the Charles was just a continuation of the way we have been practicing all fall. We race each other as hard as we can everyday at practice, so it's easy to come together on race day since there's so much trust between our teammates.
What were the goals of the team going in?
Two big goals for us were to have our A boat win and our B boat finish in the top-ten. We barely missed the first goal by missing Washington by a second, but our team showed great depth by having two boats finish in the top ten. Not a lot of schools have ever done that.
Were you expecting to do as well as you did?
The Head of the Charles draws some really serious competition, so it was great to do so well. It's hard to know what to expect. All you can do is race as hard as you can.
What makes your team so successful?
We've had great leadership from the captains. Our team is really motivated and enjoys working hard, so we've seen some good results so far this year.
What does doing well in a race like this do in terms of confidence heading into the rest of the season?
The confidence down at the boathouse is high after the Charles, but we're still working on gaining as much speed as we can. We have another regatta in a few weeks against a lot of tough boats, so we're practicing as hard as ever.
What teams are going to be your top competitors this season?
At our next regatta, we'll be facing a bunch of Harvard boats, so that's keeping us very motivated right now. Every year, Harvard is a top competitor of ours. We can always expect a great race with them.
Does your boat have any superstitions or team rituals you perform before the race?
Before every race, each guy sticks his arm out the side of the boat and gives our coxswain a thumbs up.
What was it like to compete against teams from Europe? Is their style is similar to the American style of rowing?
International racing is just another reason why the Head of the Charles is such a great regatta. It was cool to go up against boats from other countries. It can be kind of intimidating going up against the French and British teams, with guys who have won Olympic medals, but it just made for a much better and more competitive race.
The Bears will be back in the water on Nov. 22 in Boston where they will compete in the Tail of the Charles.
