By Bradley Rosenberg

The Northeastern men’s crew team will be rowing in the National Intercollegiate Rowing Championships (IRA) on New Jersey’s Cooper River this weekend. Despite such top-level competition as Brown, Dartmouth, and undefeated Harvard rowing beside them in the weekend competition, the Huskies like their prospects.

“I feel we’ll make it to the grand final,” said senior rower Brad Burns. “If we can put a good race together, I think it’s a definite possibility we’ll win a medal.”

Burns said that he feels confident due to what he calls a “great season.”

“I think it’s been a good year,” said Burns. “We had a difficult race against Harvard, and a tough, heated Sprints [tournament], but we’ve bounced back. I feel we’re peaking right now [and] at the right time.”

Other crew members agree.

“We’re going to do really well,” said senior teammate Mark Shamp. “Things are going well, practices are going well, so we’re looking optimistic for this weekend.”

Shamp said that his spirits were in no way dampened by the Huskies’ 4-2 campaign.

“This year’s been one of the most up and down years that the crew’s had, but things are coming together,” he said. “We’re on track to do real well.”

Last year the varsity placed 8th in the IRA championships, in 2001 they placed 6th, and in 2000 they placed 12th. History has not discouraged Burns from dreaming of medals, however.

“That would be the perfect end to what’s been a great season,” Burns said.

Burns said that his dreams have a great likelihood of coming true, though, because of the reality of a great team.

“We’ve got a lot of really good, strong, experienced guys from all over,” Burns stated. “We’re not the biggest and the strongest in the world, but when we’re working together, we get it going pretty good.”

Burns attributes the creation of such a great team to head coach Jon Pojednic.

“He has really high standards,” said the rower. “He demands a lot out of himself and out of us. He’s a really important factor in our success this year.”

Shamp agrees.

“Our coach … has brought the best out of what we have,” said Shamp.

In addition to the varsity boat, Shamp expects the freshmen to perform well.

“The freshmen should do as well as the varsity crew,” he said.

Despite their 3-3 record, Shamp does not think any less of the novice boat’s chances.

“They’re [still] pretty strong,” he said.

Hope is ever present on the team. Only time will tell if that hope was in vain, or if it was the driving force of champions.