By Richard P. Morin
In the fall, the women's crew filed into the Hunter Marston Boathouse for its annual beginning-of-the-year meeting with head coach John Murphy.
Instead of arriving at the boathouse wearing jeans and a T-shirt or a skirt and blouse, as past crews had done, the women came in their workout gear and proceeded to hit the weights and rowing machines outside of Murphy's third-floor office overlooking the Seekonk River.
As the agreed-upon hour for their team meeting came and went, Murphy waited patiently for the women to end their unscheduled workout. They continued, though, prompting Murphy to ask them to step into his office. "It gave me an indication that this was going to be a special year," he said.
Murphy was right.
The women's varsity eight crew team recently capped an undefeated dual-meet season by winning the triple crown of women's rowing: the Eastern Sprints, the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships and the Ferguson Bowl, symbolic of the women's national collegiate rowing title. In doing so, they became the first Brown women's crew ever to do so.
"After we had won the national championships, I couldn't help but think of all the people who have been a part of this program over the years," said Murphy, who has guided the Brown women's crew for 12 years. "The lessons that we have learned over the years helped us build to this point."
In winning the triple crown of women's rowing, they did something that very few crews have done over the last few years: beat Princeton. (The Bears handed Princeton its only three losses of the season. They were also the first team to defeat the Tigers at home in dual-meet competition in some five years.)
"When we went down to Princeton at the beginning of the year, we got out half a length in front. Princeton pulled up to one seat. But we were able to stretch that lead out for the win," Murphy said. "We really came away with a lot of enthusiasm and confidence from that race."
On June 8, at the national championships in Bantam, Ohio, the Brown women's crew jumped out to an early lead over Princeton and Wisconsin. The Bears never broke pace for a near boat-length win of almost six seconds over three-time defending champion Princeton.
Helen Betancourt '98, who rows from the seven seat, told the Boston Globe after the victory, "We're solid all the way, never breaking, and then today we let the animal out. We let the animal - the real bear - out at the 1,000-meter mark, and we rolled on in."
That tenacity and concentration characterized the team all year, according to Murphy. "Every race they (the varsity crew) took very seriously," he said. "They were always filled with respect for the team they were about to race. But they were never intimidated. And I never heard the word undefeated. They were always focused at the task at hand."
Murphy is also quick to credit the other women in the program. "This is a team effort, not just the varsity boat," he said. "They pushed and encouraged each other all season long."
Members of the national champion varsity eight include: Joanna Rubini '96, Heather Field '97, Jen Dowling '98, Ginger Dewing '98, Margaret Gardel '98, Catherine Humblet '98, Betancourt, Liz Alt '96 and coxswain Tyler Crone '96.
The Bears return six rowers to next year's squad. With a newly renovated boathouse and a national championship in hand, the future looks bright for women's crew at Brown.