THE SPORT OF ROWING The First Season “Ernie’s philosophy that first year was to row at a moderate rate (from 30 to 34 strokes per minute) with maximum efficiency. But efficiency was bought at a price: no pain, no gain. [Varsity 6-seat] Roger Borggaard ‘66: ‘Ernie took us way upriver where we would be alone. He started us doing 500-meter pieces at full power, one right after another for a full hour. I never knew I could hurt so much.’ “Ernie, smiling, simply reflected on the words of the poet John Dryden: ‘Sweet is pleasure after pain.’”5337 Northeastern won its first-ever race against the Harvard Threevees, Amherst College and national small-college power Marietta College, from Ohio. They next took on and defeated Drexel, Fordham, Iona, St. John’s, Trinity and Marist. In their third race, they took on their first major college crew, Brown University. They lost by a deck. Gary Kilpatrick ‘65, 4-seat: “We thought we were over the finish and let up early rather than relying on our coxswain, who had a much better view than we did.”5338 “Brown was clocked at 5:41.8 to N.U.’s 5:42.3. Equally surprising was that the Huskies’ Jayvee and Freshmen were victorious. The Providence Journal would stress, ‘Northeastern crews gave the Brown rowing fraternity quite a jolt, proving that their fine showings in earlier regattas this spring were not flukes.’ “Brown would go on that year to finish third at the Eastern Sprints.”5339 Dad Vail Regatta “The following week was the big one: the Dad Vail5340 Regatta for the small- college championship of the nation, to be rowed over the one and five-sixteenths mile course on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. “Twenty-one colleges would contest the title. The prerace favorite was a toss-up among Drexel, with the home-river advantage, Marietta, with tradition, Georgetown with the ‘64 trophy, Rollins of Florida with the ‘64 Jayvee title . . . and the novices from Northeastern. “Ernie had two things to say to his oarsmen before Friday’s races. Number one, he told them, ‘Boys, in England we have a saying. ‘Move or bust.’ If you had thrown caution to the winds in the last ten strokes, you might have beaten Brown.’ Number two, ‘Do not waste strokes in the trials. Save them for the finals. Race to place, not to win.’ “All three Husky shells placed second in their semi-finals to advance to the six-boat finals. In the varsity race, the opponents were the dreaded Marietta along with Rollins, George Washington, St. Joseph’s and Amherst. “The Freshman crew brightened the day by coming from behind to defeat Marietta by half a length. A half hour later, Dave Hingston steered his Junior Varsity past Rollins to inch them out by five-tenths of a second. “Hingston had no time to celebrate. [Regular Varsity coxswain Frank Baker was ill.] A referees’ launch was waiting at the finish line to pluck him out of the Jayvee shell, speed him back up the course to the starting line, and deposit him in the Varsity shell. Secluded, the Varsity had heard no news, so Hingston informed them that the 5337 Grinold, op. cit. 5338 Kilpatrick, personal correspondence, 2007 5339 Grinold, op. cit. 5340 See Chapter 43. 1472
