The time has come for UTC Rowing's favorite fall weekend. This year we returned to the Head of the Hooch with two novice boats.

Over the past few weeks UTC Rowing has been racing small boats and taking home hardware in two regattas. Freshman Merrit DeVries took home 3rd place in the Men's Youth 1x at the Secret City Head Race. We took two team boats to the Music City Regatta. Merrit DeVries and Freshman Lucas Cupples faced fierce competition in the Men's Collegiate 2-, finishing 7th overall. They came out ahead of a boat from Vanderbilt and Illinois. Jack Cawood and I hopped in the Men's Open 2x and took home gold after a decisive victory over Auburn.

These past results have been a good way to ease into the year and to start the journey of putting UTC Rowing back on the map. Ultimately, the team and I have had our sights set on Hooch since August. I'd like to use this opportunity to introduce readers to the athletes who competed this past weekend and have been putting in the effort these past months.

• Paxton Anderson: Paxton rowed at the Baylor School and eagerly started rowing at UTC last spring. He is a senior and fills in two seat in the Men's 8+ and bow in the Men's 4+.
• Julia Becker: Julia stepped up to help the team starting this semester when our coxswains were unavailable. A last minute change in coxswain availability threatened our shot at racing but Julia saved the day by coxing both the Men's 8+ and Men's 4+. Julia is a staff member at UTC.
• Tyler Burkett: Tyler joined UTC Rowing as a novice last spring where he sat two seat in the Men's 4x that raced at ACRA. Tyler is active duty in the Army and is finishing his degree this year at UTC in order to commission as an officer.
• Lucas Cupples: Lucas came up through Chattanooga Junior Rowing. He is a freshman and fills in the 2- along with our other team boats. He sits seven seat in the Men's 8+ and three seat in the Men's 4+.
• Merrit DeVries: Merrit came up through Chattanooga Junior Rowing. He is a freshman and rows the 1x and 2- along with our team boats. He strokes the Men's 8+ and the Men's 4+.
• Josh Newburry: Josh first sat in a boat last May when he learned to scull in a 2x. This fall he has learned to sweep and sits four seat in the Men's 8+. Josh is also active duty in the Army and when he completes his degree at UTC he will commission as an officer.
• Ben Pesterfield: Ben started rowing on the water this August and has been applying his skills as a long distance runner to the world of rowing. He sits five seat in the Men's 8+.
• Jay Pollard: Jay joined UTC Rowing as a novice last spring and bowed the Men's 4x at ACRA. He is active duty in the Army and will commission as an officer following graduation this spring. He is bow seat in the Men's 8+.
• Connor Richardson: Connor started rowing for UTC last spring and sat in three seat in the Men's 4x that raced at ACRA. He is active duty in the Army and will earn his commission following graduation in the spring. He sits in six seat in the Men's 8+.
• Luke Schomburg: Luke has picked up sweeping this season after a day in the 2x last spring. He sits two seat in the Men's 4+. He is a ROTC Cadet at UTC, MBA student, and former quarterback to the UTC football team.

The past few months have involved many early mornings, crabs, blisters, and learning opportunities for both myself and the athletes. As a novice coach, I have done my best to try to meet the challenges presented when teaching the sport of rowing. I am extremely fortunate to get to work with this group of athletes. They have risen to the occasion and work diligently every week to improve as rowers. This work culminated at the Head of the Hooch this past weekend.

The Men's 8+ raced first. Water conditions were slightly rough with a strong wind that started as tail wind and transitioned into a cross wind as the boat came down river. The boat navigated traffic and finished with a time of 16:28, coming in eighth out of a field of sixteen. They came out ahead of Georgia, WashU, Vanderbilt, Chicago, Miami University and the B boats from Georgia Tech, Florida, and Clemson. Later in the afternoon the Men's 4+ raced a field of twenty six. Once again, UTC had to contend with traffic as they worked their way through a field of slower boats. They finished with a time of 17:32 to finish twelfth overall. They beat boats from VCU, High Point, Georgia, Covenant College, Chicago, Murray State, Duke, NC State and the B boats from Clemson, Georgia Tech, Texas, Michigan State, Vanderbilt and Central Florida.

Heading into the weekend, I set our goals as finishing top half in both events. I knew this was a challenging goal. We are a club with little funding and lack the resources of many of the crews we raced. But our team rose to the occasion and met the high expectations I set for us. Heading into the winter and spring, I will continue to have high expectations for this team. I have no doubt that these athletes will continue to excel.

I once again call upon all alumni and those who love UTC Rowing to think about ways they can support the program. Alumnus and former coach Michael Kinsey stepped up to help this past weekend. He and the University of Wisconsin rowing team donated desperately needed pairs of shoes and equipment. He left work from the Wisconsin boathouse on Thursday evening and arrived at the Hooch venue Friday morning just in time to conduct much needed maintenance on our shells and to change shoes. We would not have been successful this past weekend if it had not been for his efforts. The efforts by Michael Kinsey this weekend are a microcosm of the relationship between the alumni and team. Without the alumni, the team will fail to succeed.

As the fall season comes to a close, the team will remain on the water as long as the weather permits. We will then transition to the ergs where we will prepare for indoors in the new year. As always, if you have questions, concerns, or want to talk about rowing, I am only an email away.

Go Mocs, Abraham