Haverford Crew is entering championship season. With five Manny Flicks behind them, the rowing team is now competing for the medals and trophies they’ve been eyeing for the past several months. Much of the spring season to this point has been about getting the younger rowers opportunities on the water, but now, with the biggest events on the horizon, it is all about winning, and it is time for the more experienced rowers to shine. The varsity boats are hoping for a successful spring season, and one member Varsity Quad is hoping to end his Haverford Crew career on the highest possible note.
Sixth Former and captain Ryan Brewington has been part of Spring Crew for the past four years, and has been rowing full-time for the past two years. Heading into last summer, he was selected as one of the four captains of the rowing team.
“There’s more unspoken roles that come with being a captain,” Brewington said. “There’s not a ton that you’re assigned to do, other than wear your blazer, but there’s a lot of other things, like being a role model for the other guys, and I know it sounds cliché, but also living Haverford Crew, especially all throughout the spring.”
One of the unspoken responsibilities arose this past weekend, when Haverford Crew alumni visited to christen a donated boat, an event that Brewington has watched the captains partake in for the past two years.
“It’s a cool thing to be a part of,” Brewington said. “A really big part of Haverford Crew is that there’s a lot of alumni support. We have top-notch equipment; we have a really nice boathouse. The alumni want to see who the current rowers for Haverford are, and how they’re representing the team, and, hopefully, how they’re succeeding.”
For Brewington, captaincy has also involved leading the team on the waters, and helping to show the younger rowers the path to success.
“We’ve got a lot of strong juniors and sophomores who are really looking to win this year, and the senior class holds more experience than those guys,” Brewington said. “We’re kind of showing them, like, ‘This is how Haverford Crew does it. This is how we win; this is how we do things in the spring.’”
Rowing is not considered the most enjoyable sport in the world. Training consists of long hours on the erg, building fitness, and pushing your muscles and lungs to the limit.
“It’s definitely grueling, especially on the east coast and up north. We have months where we’re not even looking at the river and we’re just at Roberts Road erging,” Brewington said.
Brewington feels that the payoff in crew comes with victory, when the hours of work translate to medals and trophies in the spring.
“I think that’s the same for everyone on the team — winning is the fun part of the sport,” Brewington said. “The sport isn’t erging; it’s rowing. You want your hard work to pay off in the spring.”
Along with winning, Brewington also points to the camaraderie between rowers as a rewarding aspect of the sport.
“When the weather gets nice and we’re all out there every day, everyone’s in a good mood,” Brewington said. “Right now, it’s like the peak — peak culture, and, hopefully, peak racing.”
Brewington, along with most varsity rowers at Haverford, will be participating in the Conshohocken program over the summer, hoping to maintain his fitness as he prepares to compete at Harvard University. For now, though, he has his sights set on the last few races of his high school career. Two years ago, Brewington watched as his older brother, Jake Brewington ’22, won the Stotesbury Cup and Nationals as a captain. Ryan now hopes to emulate that success with his younger brother, Fourth Former Brooks Brewington, in the same boat, and keep the trophy home.
“Watching my brother win Nationals and Stotesbury his senior year, in the [Varsity] Quad, and having the opportunity to do that, and sort of carry on the legacy, that would be really meaningful to me,” Brewington said.
On Sunday, May 5, the Varsity Quad began the medal season on the right foot with a win at the City Championships. In the final month of Spring Crew, Brewington hopes that each member of the rowing team will “live Haverford Crew” and help each other to win the most meaningful races in their sport.
“Whether you’re a captain, whether you’re a freshman, whether you’re in the top varsity boat or whether you’re in a novice boat, just trying your best, and giving it your all regardless of what happens, day after day, on and off the water — that’s what truly matters.”
