POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 12, 2010) – With over a month's worth of dryland training behind them, the Vassar College men's and women's rowing teams are more than ready to get out on the water, an opportunity the Brewers will have when they open the 2010 spring season in Deland, Florida during Spring Break.

“It's always fun to get out on the water, being inside gets old,” said head coach Rodney Mott, in his fifth year at the head of the Vassar rowing program. “It's a nice way to start the season. Weather can always be an issue in the Northeast, so this will hopefully give us a chance to row in some warm weather to begin the spring.”

In Florida, the teams will face Coast Guard Academy and Wesleyan University in an informal atmosphere, culminating the trip with a more traditional race against Stetson University on March 18.

“We usually do three timed pieces with Coast Guard and we'll have a similar format with Wesleyan, also trying to incorporate what those teams are working on, whether its fast sprint starts or slow cadence,” explained Mott. “That will give us some preparation before racing against Stetson.”

Following Florida, the Brewers head to the Knecht Cup on April 10-11 on the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey, a large regatta with over 50 schools from around the country.

“The Knecht Cup gives us an idea of where our strengths are because we will race a number of different events,” said Mott. “We'll be able to build off the Knecht.”

Next on the schedule is a trip to Lake Quinsigamond on April 17 for a race hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute against Bates College, Smith College, and Clark University, with the potential of other schools joining at a later date.

“These are good matchups for us, and it's a nice race course,” said Mott. “That date will be good preparation for our championships events.”

Vassar concludes the season with three championships that build in scope, starting with league competition in the Liberty League Championships hosted by St. Lawrence University on April 24, followed by regional competition at the New York State Championships in Binghamton, NY on May 1-2, and culminating with the nationally renowned Dad Vail Regatta on May 7-8.

“Everything is geared towards the Dad Vail,” said Mott of the event that is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, bringing in over 100 colleges and universities to compete on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

The women's team, captained by seniors Christina Peltier and Caroline Jolley looks to build off a strong fall season.

“The women got stronger throughout the season, particularly in their performance at the Poughkeepsie Regatta,” said Mott. In that race, on October 3, the women's varsity 8+ finished in sixth out of seven teams in a time of 27:28.91, beating out neighborhood opponent and host Marist College (28:05.25). The Brewers also raced against renowned programs such as Cornell University, Syracuse University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Army.

“Freshman Emma Russell has been a strong standout as our top pound-for-pound performer,” noted Mott. “Senior Nicole Clark has been strong in the early goings as well as our captains. I'm excited to see what we can do because we have one of the most experienced varsity 8's we've had, and we'll also have an open 4 and a lightweight 4.”

Led by senior captains Nicholas Perry and Kyle Chea, Mott hopes the men's team can return to the form it showed early in the fall.

“The men had good performances and then tailed off because of some injury and illness that hampered them, so we're looking forward to getting back on track,” said Mott.

“Freshmen Kyle Sullivan and Vincent Marchetta have been big impact people for us, and juniors Morgan Mako and Peter Muhn have really stepped up this year,” said Mott.

Mott is also pleased with the leadership of his four senior captains.

“They have all taken on big leadership roles and are working really hard to bring the team together,” said Mott.