Racing with “insanely powerful” champs
Asha Vassar Youmans ’89, left, and Lynda Vassar, center, surrounded by members of their family, dedicate a shell in memory of T.J. Vassar ’68.
Betsy McCagg Hills ’85, left, and Mary McCagg-Larin ’85 out on the water before christening new shells in their names.
On Oct. 4 2014, alumni, current students, and friends of Lakeside rowing gathered at the Ayrault Shellhouse in Kenmore for the 2014 Alumni Row and Boat Dedication. To start the morning, five shells with a mix of alumni and student rowers took to the water for a friendly race. In a blog post, Aneesh Sachdeva ’15 shared what it was like to join former Olympic rowers Betsy McCagg Hills ’85 and Mary McCagg-Larin ’85, both 2012 inductees to the National Rowing Hall of Fame: “Not only were the McCaggs insanely powerful but all the alumni in our boat also brought a refreshing intensity and excitement to our row. This feeling is what we now strive for during our practices…I guess having Olympians in our boat is a decent explanation for why we went so fast.” Back on dry land, three new shells were christened in honor of Betsy and Mary and in memory of T.J. Vassar ’68.
Student and alumni rowers, from left, Sofia H. ’17, Gus V. ’17, John Kelly ’84, Annie Hankins ’85, Bruce Moses ’83, Eric Ayrault ’83, Mats Edwards ’16, Emma Mitchell-Sparke ’16, and Kathryn Li ’15.