Men's Rowing

Your gift to the Crusader Athletics Fund will help to provide a more competitive experience for our student-athletes. Make your gift today.

You showed your dedication to our student-athletes’ journies to excellence, and it was an amazing day of giving. Crusaders across the globe came together to contribute the highest single-day total in Holy Cross Athletics Giving Day history. We look forward to sharing final results next week.

Today, you went All In for Crusader Athletics. You showed the power of the Holy Cross community and committed to the continued development of ethical leaders, champion athletes, and men and women for and with others.

Thank you for your support and dedication to this special family. We wouldn’t be who we are without you, and we are humbled by your generosity.

Our next great moment awaits.

Go Cross Go!

It’s been an incredible day of giving in support of our Crusader student-athletes! With four hours to go, we are on our way to a record-breaking day for Holy Cross Athletics.

Join us in the final hours and go All In for the programs that mean the most to you!

A group of generous alumni and parents have now come forward with a $50,000 challenge to inspire the entire Holy Cross community!

At the conclusion of Crusaders All In Giving Day, $5,000 will be awarded to the five programs with the highest percentage of alumni participation AND to the five programs with the highest total donor participation. 

Find out how your team is doing!

Also, thanks to the Hope + Access campaign, all new and increased gifts to Athletics are matched 100% for financial aid.

Go All In today in support of our student-athletes and their continued growth as leaders and champions. Our teams need you!

May 14, 2021

Today, I’m asking you, and all Crusaders, to go ALL IN.

All year, our student-athletes have dedicated themselves to looking towards the future, growing stronger as individuals and teammates athletically, academically and personally.

With fortitude, we are continuing to prepare our 700 Crusaders to compete at the highest level. Just as they are committed to training and learning, to capitalizing on the opportunities in front of them, we are committed to our vision – delivering a transformative student-athlete experience driven by competitive success. 

Year after year, regardless of the circumstances, one thing remains constant — the strength of Crusaders when we go ALL IN for one another. Every dollar you give today will be dedicated to continuing our tradition of developing champions. And today, thanks to the Hope + Access campaign, all new and increased gifts are being matched 100% for financial aid. 

Together, we are strong. Together, we shape our future. Together, let’s go ALL IN for Crusader student-athletes.

Go Cross Go! 

Marcus Blossom

Director of Athletics

May 12, 2021

Greetings from Mount St. James. It is apparently spring, but continues to be fairly cold and windy. Regardless of the weather, the team is grateful each and every day to be rowing and competing against the best teams in the sport.

Last time you heard from me, we had been hopeful to get in some racing this spring. Well, now on the other side of six weekends of great racing, we are in the swing of IRA training camp with three 8s and our sights set on making the top 20 in the country at IRAs. Our duel season competition included: Boston University, Colgate, Brown, Trinity, Temple, Princeton, George Washington, and Dartmouth. Our next and final race of the season will be the IRA National Championships in Mercer, N.J. As of right now, 32 teams have entered into the varsity 8 race so it should be a great opportunity to test our speed against the top crews from all over the country.

Being able to say we have had a normal spring season of racing is no small feat in this COVID era. The leadership on the team has been so strong, especially in the captains and senior class. The team has shown their love for the sport and more importantly this team by their discipline and commitment. It has truly been inspiring to be around this group this year.

With a few victories and some tight margins in our regular season racing, we have been ranked in the top 20 in the country for four straight weeks. Much of our success has to be attributed to the carpe diem mindset that the team adopted. Due to the virus’ unpredictability, we have never taken a single stroke for granted and really taken each practice, and especially race, like it could be our last. Here’s to hoping we can continue to keep the ball rolling and make you all proud to be Crusaders at the National Championships!

All the best,

Jim Barr

Head Coach

P.S. This Friday, May 14 is the Holy Cross Athletics Giving Day. If you are able, we hope you will support men’s rowing by making a gift this Friday. Stay tuned for communications about how you can get involved. Thank you in advance for your support!

2/26/21

The last time you heard from me, winter had just arrived. Winter is still here and showing no signs of letting up. In contrast to the cold snowy conditions outside, the conditions in the Athletic Complex are burning white-hot. The winter erg foundry is doing its job forging bonds that will be necessary come race day, will be invaluable post-graduation, and last a lifetime.

As the spring semester approached, we had many restrictions due to COVID-19, and practicing normally as a full team seemed like a long shot. Luckily, with the help of Steve Pizzi, Head of Facilities and Associate Athletic Director, we came up with a great idea to accomplish the goal of getting the whole team practicing at once. We have utilized the basketball arena, specifically the concourse, or walkway, mid-way up the stands. We have every rower assigned to an erg each day based on their performance from the previous day. Each erg is distanced 15 feet from the next and allows us to do our work.

In addition to morning practice, we have team lifts twice a week in the afternoon in our top-notch strength and conditioning room. During these times in the pandemic, college students are basically confined to their rooms and are generally very limited, making practice and time with the team all that much more valuable. After ten and a half months off you’d expect there to be a large transition time back to regular team culture, work ethic, and general “buy-in”, but in those aspects, it seems like we never missed a beat.

The team is showing all signs of being over the moon just to be back together as a team again.

We are looking forward to the spring racing season, and there are many reasons to be optimistic. We have been given the go-ahead to plan our racing season and have been working with other coaches to get some quality racing in this year. As of right now, things seem to be trending well with the virus nationally, and Holy Cross continues to be stable in regards to cases on campus and general student compliance. Here’s to hoping we continue to progress in the right direction and can get back to lining up for some great boat racing this spring!

Jim Barr

Head Coach

December 2020 

Winter is here in Worcester. The docks have been pulled and the water level lowered. All the boats are in the bay and on the racks for the winter. Typically I would be writing about how our fall racing season went but with the global pandemic, things took a different path this fall. We did a great job keeping a sense of team by connecting with the whole team and smaller specific class meetings in virtual Zoom meeting format. Each time I signed on I was reminded just how much I miss the team. I spent some time reflecting on what it is about the individuals on the team that makes me miss them so much and I think I came up with the answer. I know that without a doubt, they are all capable of sustained hard work and the ability to overcome challenges. Basically, they can be relied upon. When you have people you work with, the ones you tend to befriend, get close to, and miss when they are gone are the ones you know you can count on to handle whatever life throws at you. That trust between individuals can take years to build. People you aren’t sure about being reliable typically aren’t missed. A long time spent away from them doesn’t really bother you, but when a group of around 40 hardworking and undoubtedly reliable people are absent from your daily life you tend to miss them, a lot.

The good news is we have a very optimistic outlook for the spring semester. We plan to be back on campus and working hard again as one big family. We are hopefully setting our sights on competing against our Eastern Sprints counterparts come April. As the virus continues to be a wild card, nothing is concrete, but we are currently in conversation with all the other teams about planning our spring season racing.

The team is currently gearing up for final exams before we break for the holidays. As we transition into the holiday season, counting our blessings and reflecting on what we are grateful for becomes ever more important. I told the team in our last team meeting how grateful I was to have such a strong group of student-athletes that stick together no matter what, even through a global pandemic. I know from speaking with other Eastern Sprints coaches that many other teams cannot say the same. Not only am I grateful for the current team members, but also all of those who have come before and set the precedence for the team culture that we know and love today. Lastly, to all of the parents, fans, and supporters of the team in general. We wouldn’t be the team we are today without you, thank you. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us here on Mount St. James. Here’s to hoping 2021 looks much different (and better) than 2020.

Jim Barr

Head Coach

We are in awe of and so very grateful for our supporters who continue to go All In for our student-athletes. Your generosity allows us to prepare our Crusaders for a stronger tomorrow as they strive to succeed and lead in athletics, in the classroom and in their communities.

Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your support! Holy Cross would not be what it is today without the participation and dedication of Crusader Nation.  

Holy Cross student-athletes are dedicated and resilient. When our world — and in turn, our campus life — changed this year, we adapted. Through challenge after challenge, our commitment to our education and our athletics never faltered. And today, we remain focused and hopeful for the future.

This is why we are asking the Holy Cross community to come together right now in support of our student-athletes.

Whether you make a gift to the Fund for Athletics Excellence or to one of our 27 varsity teams, your generosity helps position us for an even stronger return to competition.

In the face of unprecedented challenges, we know that one thing remains constant — the strength of Crusaders when we go all in to support one another. On this Giving Tuesday, your gift is for our future. With your support, our next great moment awaits.

Fall has arrived and is in full swing here in Worcester. Lake Quinsig is in its full fall beauty with cascading yellows, reds, pinks and oranges. In our last update, we shared how difficult it was to say goodbye to the class of 2020 without a concluding spring season filled with competition. Since then, each of the graduating oarsmen reached out by letter saying that even though they missed out on their senior spring season, it was all more than worth it in the end. They each expressed how they wouldn’t trade their four years for anything, even with the abrupt end to their final season.

Every class is unique in what they bring to the program over their four years, and the class of 2020 was no exception. Since their sophomore year, they had a huge influence on the team's culture, creating a unified team comprised of very different personalities who came together over one thing — hard work in the pursuit of excellence on the water, as well as in the classroom.

Today, the culture developed by the class of 2020 is proving to be instrumental in keeping our team together and working hard even though we are remote. We have been meeting as a team and in smaller groups virtually. While not the same as in person, it is still great to see all of our student-athletes and have the ability to get together.

The athletic department has worked to allow our local student-athletes to have access to the Luth Athletic Complex for strength and conditioning, as well as provide access to the singles at the boathouse. In addition to those who are local and able to get out daily on Lake Quinsig, several student-athletes are getting out on their home waters to stay in touch with the stroke.

The rowing community has been tremendously creative during the pandemic and has put together remote and virtual regattas, which members of our team have participated in and are training for, including the Head of the Charles. In fact, Dan Beckham '18 has been in charge of putting together the virtual Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR). With the technology on smartphones, we are able to use GPS tracking to get out in a boat and track speed over the 4,702 meters of the HOCR race course. You simply record your race, submit your data, and you get to see where you rank among all who competed. In one regatta, Head of the Kevin, freshmen Chris Clark did very well beating some great talent from our Eastern Sprints league competition.

In our last team meeting, we talked about focusing on a strong finish to the fall semester and preparing for a solid winter erg season that will ready us for a spring season. As we turn our focus to preparing for a spring season, we are reminded of our program’s highest priority needs. The greatest needs for our program is support for Men's Rowing through the Crusader Athletics Fund, which will provide us with the flexibility to support the program's evolving needs during a COVID environment, and support for an updated small boat fleet with oars. Last winter and spring, we test rowed several different boat companies pairs and in the process learned a great deal about boat feel and how to properly apply power. This proved to be extremely beneficial as our first day in lineups showed early season speed like we had not experienced in almost a decade, highlighting the importance of small boat training. Our current pairs are now 12 years old, and so it is a priority for us to update this fleet. To directly support the men's rowing program through the Crusader Athletics Fund, please click the buttons at the top of this page. If you're interested in supporting the Crew Boat Fund, please contact Cara Abraham, director of athletics fundraising, by clicking here.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the newest member of the HC rowing community and new head coach of the women’s rowing team, Andrea Landry. Andrea has been a great partner since she started and is hungry for success. I know I speak for our entire community when I say that we are excited to continue to be one team with one heartbeat in our duel pursuit for competitive success and an amazing student-athlete experience here at Holy Cross.

We look forward to a return to normalcy, at least in regards to athletics, so we can continue pursuing excellence and building character in the process.

Jim Barr

Head Coach