(Vallejo, Ca.
1 April 2008) The Men’s Novice
Four – Damien Casken, Mick Diddams,
Robert Lindsay, George Schneider,
Steve Shults, and Alex Walker
(coxswain) have earned the Athlete
of the Month honor for the month of
March, 2008.
The crew
team’s men’s novice four was
extremely competitive the entire
month of March, with a win at the
Blue Heron regatta and two close
races earlier in the month. Despite
having different line-ups in each
race, the four, which actually
consisted of five rowers – Damien
Casken, Mick Diddams, Robert
Lindsay, George Schneider, and Steve
Shults – as well as coxswain Alex
Walker, did an excellent job against
much larger universities.
At the Davis
Invitational in early March, the
four of Schneider, Lindsay, Diddams,
Shults, and Walker led UC Davis,
Santa Clara University, and Sonoma
State University after 1600 meters
before an injury to one of the
rowers forced them to row with only
the bow pair for the final 400
meters. Although they finished
fourth, they worked together well
throughout the entire race. At the
Pete Archer Spring Regatta in Long
Beach, the four of Schneider,
Casken, Diddams, Shults, and Walker
led after 1500 only to be foiled by
the elements. On a cold, windy
morning, the start of the race was
significantly delayed, chilling the
rowers before the race. With 500
meters left in the race, one of the
rowers, affected by the temperature
and the strong headwind, caught a
crab, forcing the team into second,
behind Long Beach State. Despite a
valiant effort trying to catch up,
the boat came in second behind Long
Beach but well ahead of UCLA.
Finally, at
the Blue Heron Regatta March 29th
in Eureka, with their previously
injured rower back in the boat, the
four of Schneider, Lindsay, Casken,
Shults, and Walker took first in the
men’s novice four. Competing head
to head with the Humboldt State
crew, and with race-time
temperatures in the forties, the
Keelhaulers found themselves down a
seat after a slow start. However,
the crew maintained their composure
and kept to their race plan, moving
through the Humboldt boat and
holding them off for the win.
Despite the earlier setbacks, the
crew maintained their confidence and
worked hard to adjust to the
different boat line-ups. “It can be
very difficult for a group of rowers
to get used to each other in a very
short period of time – to get the
timing down, to understand each
rower’s tendencies and
personalities. Fortunately, the
entire team, not just this boat, has
had a great team mentality, and it
shows,” says coach Mike Tressel.
