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Lightweight Reunion a Huge Success
On
25 and 26 April 2003, the 1974, 1975, and 1976 Navy Lightweight Crews coached by
John Eric VanAmringe, Yale Class of 1970, conducted their first ever reunion! Twenty-one
alumni from the Classes of 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1978 attended the
reunion. Total attendance was
forty-six, which also included fourteen alumni spouses, siblings, and friends;
and six current coaches and officer reps plus their five guests.
Many
people took pictures, and we will make every effort to ensure these are scanned
and uploaded to the NavyLites Yahoo! Group site for everyone's access: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NavyLites
. Friday Evening, 25 AprilA
Friday evening dinner in the Hubbard Hall N-Room was a huge success!
Glasses were raised numerous times and included toasts to: o
The U.S. Armed Forces -- to the most powerful and capable military force in
history; to the men and women who make this military great; and to all our
Crewmates who continue to serve and keep us safe. o
Jon Eric VanAmringe -- the man who brought us together, who keeps us together,
and who made our USNA experience inseparable from Navy Lightweight Crew. o Rob Friedrich, his staff, and the Navy Lightweight Crews -- may Rob be the force to his crews that Jon was to us and may he continue with Navy Lightweight success for many years to come.
o
Charlie and Lynn Stefan -- to the Stefan's and their 1975 June Week Party for
the Navy Lightweight Crews, which ignited the spark to one day have this reunion
-- be it ever so late! Thank you
Lynn and Charlie!!! o
Carl Ullrich -- the finest gentleman and role model any of us have known -- and
who kept Jon and the Navy Lights off the Commandant's enemies list! o
Ken McBrayer and Carl Westfall -- Crewmates from the Class of 1974 who have gone
before us -- Requiescat in Pace. o
To our Ladies -- for putting-up with our stories of "when shells were wood
and men were iron...." o
To Yale Lightweights -- for the VanAmringe connection and the great Navy/Yale
rivalry that has developed during the past two years -- may that rivalry
continue for years to come. o
To Rutgers Lightweights -- for the Rob Friedrich and Steve Perry connection and
to future Navy/Rutgers dual meets.
Short Stories were also cited from Memories of crew past. Saturday Morning, 26 AprilThe
Saturday morning races were wet with a steady light rain the entire time ---
enough to drench everyone --- but
as always that meant the water was smooth --- about as perfect as you get on the
Severn. In fact, the coaches stated
that this was the best Severn race-day water in years! Of
four lightweight races, Navy won three and placed second in the 1V behind
Georgetown. The
1V race was a real heart-breaker as the crew hit a lane buoy at the ~1000 meter
mark. At the time Navy was one-seat
down on Georgetown and walking. However,
Penn placed third in the 1V event and Navy retains the Callow Cup, which is
awarded to the 1V winner between Penn and Navy each year. In
other events that day: Harvard won the Adams Cup with heavyweight finishes in all races
placing Harvard/Navy/Penn; and Navy swept MIT in the women's boats. An
added reunion race-day bonus was that in addition to Jon, two more former Navy
Lightweight Coaches were at the Hospital Point finish line!
Hubbell Davidson-1945, who was the Navy Lightweight Coach in 1956, 1957,
and 1958; and Jim Snead-1973, who coached in 1995. Saturday evening, 26 AprilThe
Reunion Grand Finale -- the Coup de Grace -- was a reception hosted by Chris and
Bill Daley on Saturday evening. This
was a time of a great many lies and tall tales being told...! Coach
VanA brought us all Popsicles -- just like the old days when he used Popsicle
rewards to get us to pull harder! A
perfect ending to a great weekend! Thank
you Chris and Bill!!! Can
you remember -- we could not.... Who was our Crewmate who used to yell to Coach
VanA at the end of our "500-meter" pieces, "Yer killin' us Coach,
yer killin us!!!" To which
Coach would always reply, "Don't worry -- you'll pass-out before you
die." BTW: There
is a consensus to do this again in two years.... ...Stay
tuned. LIST
OF REUNION ATTENDEES [Classes
of 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1978] Alumni
Oars and Coach Larry Becker 77 Joel
Bohlmann 78 Matt
Clarke 76 Alex
Cobble 76 Tom
Cook 76 Bill
Daley 75 Tim
Hagen 76 Steve
Hall 75 Gary
Harrell 76 Tom
Hejl 77 Gary
Lundeen 75 Sean
McCloskey 78 Loush
Memminger 76 Steve
Nimitz 76 Dave
Oliveria 75 John
Scherrer 74 Dennis
Stone 75 Coach
Jon VanAmringe, Yale 70 Mike
Wahl 74 Keith
Weaver 76 Skip
Wood 76 Current Coaches and StaffHead
Coach Rob Friedrich, Rutgers 97 Plebe
Coach Steve Perry, Rutgers 99 Faculty
Rep and Varsity Assistant, LCDR Tom Callendar 90 Varsity
Officer Rep, LCDR Greg Cotten 87 Plebe
Officer Rep, LT Ross Mackenzie 94 Future Plebe Officer Rep, MAJ Stu Lockhart 91
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