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Volume CXXXII, Number 6 |
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Featured athlete: Crew's Tom Scifres
GRACE CHO
STAFF WRITER
At 6:30 a.m., while most of Bowdoin is fast asleep in bed, varsity men's crew captain Tom Scifres puts on his warm layers and heads out into the cold for practice.
"Its not that bad if you just wear enough layers," said Scifres during a little small talk before the interview.
Being unfamiliar with the sport of crew, I sat down with Tom to get an idea of the whole sport, both in and out of the boathouse. He didn't fit my perception of a typical rower, but by the end of our conversation I knew that he truly loves the sport. What follows is the transcript of the interview.
Orient: So Tom, tell me how you got into crew? Had you rowed before in high school?
T.S.: Well, it is a funny little story how I got into crew. I had played basketball in high school, but I was never any good, and I didn't think I would be able to play here at Bowdoin. Then one day, freshman year, I was walking through the union and a little tan man, who I didn't know was the coach said, "hey you wanna row?" Ever since then I have been on the team.
Orient: Wow, and now you are a captain. Tell me who sits in your boat and a little about the position you sit?
T.S.: My teammates in the boat are Gordon Clark '03, Tyler Lange '03, Chad Pelton '04 and Ben Needham '05. I usually row in the bowman's position, which is at the back of the boat because I am the smallest guy, besides our coxswain, Ben.
Orient: The Bowman huh?
T.S.: Yes, it has been referred to with others names, and I am sure I know the one you are thinking.
Orient: And how has the Varsity I men's boat been
doing this season?
T.S.: We are looking pretty strong this season. We just raced at the Head
of the Charles this past weekend and we really surprised ourselves and
the other teams. Our boat took third place out of sixty-five other boats,
and we were just off of [behind] Harvard who did really well at nationals
last year.
Orient: That is amazing! What are your predictions for this week's regatta?
T.S.: Well the Head of the Fish is a fun race because of a bet our coach has going with the Williams coach. They go way back from college when they used to row together. Each year our coach bets a steak dinner with the Williams coach that the Bowdoin Varsity I men's boat can beat the Williams boat. So far our coach has yet to win a steak dinner, but we're hoping to change that this weekend.
Orient: Sounds like you guys are planning to smash some Ephs this weekend. But besides winning races, what would you say has been your best experience with crew over these past four years?
T.S.: Well besides the many times we have gotten lost on the road! Rowers have no sense of direction! No, really to answer your question, the best experience would have to be my sophomore year when Tyler and I had moved up to the varsity boat. We were at Dad Vail, the rowing national championships for Division II and Division III, and the closest team we looked to beat was University of Minnesota. We had a problem though…we didn't get along too well with the other guys in the boat. But it was amazing to see that even though we didn't see eye to eye, when it came down to race day we put our differences aside and came together well.
Orient: Appears as though you guys really know how to work as a team. Did you have any last words before I wish you luck for this weekend?
T.S.: Yeah, just wanted to tell anyone who's interested in joining the crew team they should go for it. We look forward to the new talent each year.