Every college has its story about the way crew began. Some had sputtering starts over years. Others had quick lift offs. But, the story of rowing’s birth at Bryant University is relatively simple.
In the spring of 2010, a high school senior named Nicola Dechamps was looking at prospective colleges. The search brought her to Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., an established and well-respected school of 3,400 students just 10 miles west of Providence. She loved the campus and the school’s academic programs, but something was missing.
Then, somewhere along the campus tour, she met a man who introduced himself as Mr. Ron Machtley, President of the University. He asked the young woman if she liked the school and whether she would enroll. She said she was wavering because Bryant didn’t sponsor crew. She had rowed in high school for four years and loved the sport and she told him that it was her passion.
So President Machtley quickly responded with a suggestion that would change the makeup of Bryant sports, “Why don’t you come here and start a rowing program?”
And with the support of the President, the Athletic Department and the Club Sport Department, that is exactly what Nicola did.
Her freshman year was consumed by planning logistics of starting a team—finding a location to row, acquiring equipment and hiring a coach, among other challenges. But her dedication and determination to the program she was creating provided her with quick solutions to every obstacle, and just one year later, Bryant had its crew program which Nicola captains and 18 novice rowers who competed for the first time during 2012.
So far, the Bulldogs have found success in each of their races, rowing against such schools as Bowdoin, Clark, Endicott and Merrimack, and the team will see UMass Lowell and the University of Vermont later this season. Bryant will then travel to Philadelphia May 11-12 for the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta to compete on the storied Schuylkill River in the Women’s Novice Eight and Women’s Novice Four.
The Bulldogs are led by head coach Mark LaBossiere, ( 1-401 368 4846 or [email protected]) who joined the fledging program in September 2011. LaBossiere knows the scene of collegiate crew, having spent four years racing for the University of Rhode Island, and adds coaching experience with Narragansett Boat Club and St. Mary’s Bay View Academy to his racing resume.
The speedy development of Bryant’s rowing team has been due to the generosity of the Chase family, who enabled the program to acquire such capital equipment as docks, boats and the rental of a boat bay on Woonasquatucket Reservoir.
In its infancy, the program also received hands-on guidance from two other sources within the Bryant community in Senior Associate Athletic Director John Ruppert and masters rower George Shuster.
Ruppert, who rowed for Dr. Gavin White at Temple University, serves as the team's advisor and has plenty of experience at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, having medaled there twice. White has repeatedly fielded Men's Varsity Eight boats that have won the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s. Shuster provided the experience and knowledge needed for the team to begin land training, teaching the novice rowers form and technique before they even hit the water.
Looking back at it all, a simple and quite casual conversation between a person with a passion and president with a vision was all it took to spark something great. Now, Nicola Dechamps '14 and her fellow captains, Sarah Dziadzio '14 and Marybeth Wallander '14, lead a squad that totals 16 rowers and two coxswains. Thirteen of the women are totally new to the sport.
"I think of Nicola as the Pied Piper," said LaBossiere. "She went out singing a tune of boats and oars, and she was able to get many to follow."
Now, the team's new-found skills will be tested on the waters of the Schuylkill.
What are the coach’s expectations for his team's first visit to the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta?
“Let’s just say I aim high," LaBossiere said cautiously. "We’ll go down there, test the waters and see how our novice squad compares. I feel honored to be part of this organization. If Bryant is this competitive now when it is just starting to build its team, just imagine what this program will accomplish once its foundation has been set in stone.”
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