MBA Rowing Alumni.

MBA Rowing: Spring 2025 Recap

The Big Red trained all winter and spring with two main goals: repeat as the Midwest Team Champions and keep alive the 8 year streak of qualifying for the SRAA Nationals.  The boys, led by team captains Braden Murphy and Archer White, stayed focused and determined through the grueling rowing machine and weight training sessions of the winter, the monotonous 15km rows of early spring, and the intense speed work leading up to racing the racing season.  The team was rearing to go when the regattas began at the end of March.  Mother Nature, however, had other plans.

All of the team’s “tune up” regattas were affected by weather.  The Percy Priest Sprints in Nashville saw all of MBA’s afternoon sculling races cancelled.  The Lindamood Cup Regatta in Marietta, OH was cancelled due to flooding.  Even the state championship regatta in Chattanooga was moved from a Saturday to the following Sunday because of weather.  The change in date meant that a large number of the boys would be unable to race.  Despite the setbacks, the boys continued to race well and show that the team had enough speed to accomplish the season goals.

The week of the Midwest Championships threw the team the biggest curveball yet: the flu.  Almost half of the roster was affected by it.  There were boys who just getting recovering, boys who were unable to travel to the race, and boys who were coming down with it as the regatta was happening.  This meant wholesale adjustments in lineups.  Lineups that had been training and practicing together all spring would not be possible.  Of the 13 boats that raced over the weekend, only 2 had spent any time together.

The boys knew what the changes and losses meant: repeating as Team Champions was a near impossibility.  However, the boys NEVER once hung their heads or suggested that we didn’t go race.  The task may have gotten much more monumental, but they were all willing to give it the best fight possible.  At the end of the weekend, MBA finished 3rd in both the Team Sculling Trophy and the Division 2 standings, as well as winning one gold and 2 bronze medals.  The team also qualified 3 boats for the SRAA Nationals, keeping the streak alive.

While MBA’s four year streak of finishing on the podium at the SRAA Nationals came to end this spring, what can’t be understated are the contributions of this year’s graduating class.  Be it on the water, on land, or in the classroom, these boys have helped guide, lead, and support each other over the past four years.  They have left a permanent mark on this program and their presence in the program will be felt for many years to come.

© 2024 Row Red Alumni

Facebook icon
Instagram icon
Twitter icon
Intuit Mailchimp logo