Ithaca Women’s Crew was started by a small group of lady athletes in the winter of 1975. The College did not recognize Women’s Crew as a sport, or even as a club. We had no administrative or financial support. Despite numerous hurdles, several dedicated and inspiring coaches took this group of raw novices and turned us into collegiate rowers. Soon we became a very closely knit team, gaining strength and stamina. With that came a deep desire and hunger to win. In 1976, the Dad Vail Regatta was one of the first intercollegiate regattas to host women’s rowing events. This became the pinnacle of our Spring season and we were excited! We were rowing strong and had won several races. No crews from Ithaca College had ever taken gold in the Dad Vail. Friday, the qualifying heats, our boat suffered a major setback. We couldn’t row our usual Kaschper VAK we shared with the lightweight men and their race did not finish in time to return to the Canoe Club dock. Instead, we rowed an older and heavier Pocock…finishing last. It turned out that our finish time was ahead of many finishers in the earlier heat ! We made it into the finals. whew ! The next morning came early at the Ben Franklin Motor Inn. Feeling defeated, demoralized and sluggish, we needed an attitude fix. We talked it over as a boat and our amazing coaches inspired us to simply do our very best. We were in the Varsity Women’s finals at the Dad Vail, had our Kaschper, and still had a chance to do well. Perhaps place in the top three! Launching with a cheer of ‘Have Fun’, following a brief warm up, we sat nervously at the Start, staring down the other crews. “ Sit Ready… Ready All…ROW ! “ Flying now, we had a very fast and clean start. We brought down the rating, found our rhythm and became long and strong. We gave it our all with each stroke, crushing it. Near 1000m we were swinging well, our coxswain, The Sun Maid, was counting down seats in the other shells then - we had an open water lead…With 3 lengths of open water and a gold medal WIN for this start-up crew and our dedicated coaches who always believed in us! It was pure magic for this Dream Team who still stands and rows together—as one! Champagne toasts and chugs from the Cup of the Evelyn Bergman Trophy. A good day. Go Raisins ! The 1976 Ithaca College Womens Crew: Known as The Raisins 50YEARSAGO
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