LIVE From the Henley Royal Regatta

Henley-on-Thames, England — In just over 24 hours, hundreds of eager coaches, oarsmen and fans will gather at Town Hall in the center of Henley-on-Thames.  At that moment, with anticipation thick in the air, “the draw” for the 2011 Henley Royal Regatta will be announced.  Crews from around globe will learn their fate as the brackets for the single-elimination regatta are pieced together one-by-one.

With that, Henley will officially be underway for the Florida Institute of Technology.

Florida Tech, the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta-sponsored heavyweight eight, is one of 64 entries in Henley’s Temple Challenge Cup.  Head coach Jim Granger’s team is joined by five other American crews entered in field.  Harvard, Hobart, Cal-Berkley, Yale and Virginia, a fellow Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta participant, will appear alongside FIT on the bracket.

The first races for the Temple Challenge Cup will begin on Wednesday, June 29 with half the field — a whopping 32 crews — being eliminated.  The bracket will be whittled down to 16 teams the following day and will continue with quarterfinals on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. 

After finishing second to the University of Michigan at the Aberdeen Dad Vail, Florida Tech’s varsity eight essentially disbanded as its foreign members — Jonas Karalius (So., Stroke) and Mindaugas Beliauskas (So., 7 seat) of Lithuania, Spencer Freeman (So., 5 seat) of Canada, and Plamen Ivanov (So., 4 seat) of Bulgaria — all returning to their native countries.  Last week, for the first time since mid-May, the boat was reunited in full at the Eton Excelsior Rowing Club in Windsor, England.  

“The guys got to work and got focused in Windsor,” Granger said.  “Our initial practice exceeded our expectations and they got back up to speed after a few practices.  It went much smoother than we thought.  It made us feel a lot more comfortable sending those guys away for a few days.”

Those two guys are Karalius and Beliauskas, who had to return to Lithuania for Under-23 National Team selections after training in Windsor and will rejoin the crew on Sunday night.  Florida Tech will hit the River Thames for practices on Monday and Tuesday of next week in preparation for Wednesday’s opening heat.  In the meantime, the remaining crew of Freeman, Ivanov, Alec Bertossa (Fr., bow), Troy Toggweiler (So., 2 seat), Frank Campione (So., 3 seat) and David Crooke (Jr., 6 seat) will work to adjust to the grandeur of Henley and the Thames.

“Focus is our No. 1 issue on the race course right now,” said Casey Dalal, the boat’s senior coxswain.  “There’s a lot of things that people aren’t used to seeing, like spectators everywhere.  That’s what we’ll work on and get that out of the way over the next five days.  Everyone has adjusted well thus far in terms of the time difference.”

Despite having a piecemeal crew for the better part of a month, Granger is looking for a solid showing from Florida Tech.

“We certainly feel like we’ll be competitive,” he said.  “Henley is something that you have to merit coming to.  It’s not just an event on the calendar that you go to experience.”

As head coach at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va. from 2001-07, Granger brought his varsity eight to Henley in 2004, 2006 and 2007, reaching the quarterfinals in ’06 and ’07.

After arriving in Henley earlier this week, FIT had the opportunity to visit the Aberdeen Asset Management office in London on Wednesday.  The crew was welcomed with gift bags and given an inside look at an operation that controls £181.2 billion in assets.

During its 10-day stay in Henley, FIT is staying in a historic rectory on the banks of the River Thames opposite Henley's finish line provided by Aberdeen. The Rectory’s ideal location enables the crews to maximize the time they spend on the river by eliminating travel to and from the Thames. 

As it did with Purdue University’s pursuit of the G.P. Jeffries Cup at the Women’s Henley Regatta, www.dadvail.org will follow Florida Tech’s every stroke and provide its readers with constant updates and behind-the-scenes access that can’t be found anywhere else.

Dadvail.org will also keep a close eye on Philadelphia-area crews from Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep, as well as a slew of other crews with ties to Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row and the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta.

More information on the Henley Royal Regatta can be found at the regatta’s homepage and the official site of the regatta’s radio broadcast.  Information on Florida Tech crew can be found on the school’s athletic department Web page.