Lamb had reason to be happy. The coach, who has guided the Hawks since 1992, said he was pleased that St. Joseph's team had advanced in all eight sweep events.
"That speaks to the level we're at," said Lamb, who guided the Hawks to the Catholic League championship on April 29 and the Philadelphia City Championship on May 6. Winning the varsity eight today would be a sort of triple crown of rowing in the Philadelphia area.
Weather conditions may have a lot to do with the outcome. Yesterday's conditions were conducive to fast times because of a slight tailwind and tail current.
Some coaches, such as Bishop Eustace's Chris DeYoung, like it fast because they train on the rapid Cooper River. Others, such as Mount St. Joseph coach Mike McKenna and Lamb, would rather have it rough because that is the usual condition on the Schuylkill.
Rowers in the lightweight events have to wear yellow plastic bands on their wrists to signify that they made weight. They're not permitted to remove them until the finals.
So Moorestown's Matt Jungclaus went to his junior prom last night with the bracelet tucked under the sleeve of his suit. Emily Nixon, a member of the Moorestown girls' team, said the team planned to wear corsages atop the wrist bands if they had advanced. But they didn't.
Mount St. Joseph senior Stephanie Farris and junior Megan Schluckebier, whose varsity eight crew qualified for today's event, spoke about their way of loosening up before their race yesterday.
"We had a dance party on the dock to get warmed up," Schluckebier said. "It gets us pumped."
"The focus is always on the varsity eight," Lamb said. "And this will be only their second race [together] since the city championship."
Coxswain Pat Dolan, Brad Adams, Mike Gennaro, Dan Morison, Mike Protesto, Kevin Kennedy, Nick Barnes, John Scanlon and Matt Horn today will attempt to lead the Hawks to their second varsity eight crown since 2005.
