The Rowers

As my first post I wanted to tell everyone a little bit about each rower. We have a good mix of guys from various colleges and clubs throughout the northeastern United States.

Our bowman, Will Kelly is the second oldest of four, all of whom row. He is from New Canaan, CT. His older brother, Nate is going to the U23 World Championships in the men's heavyweight double with Columbia rower Sebastian "Seabass" Kirwin. Will is the youngest member of the quad, a rising junior and was the stroke for the second varsity at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. A talented rower and former Junior National Team member in the quad, Will is the jester of the group. After a large cup of coffee, Will is known to talk so much that random strangers find it necessary to tell him to "shut his loud mouth." Always with a funny comment or fresh dance move, it is hard not to laugh when you are around Will. As this is the first time Will has ever rowed lightweight, his is finding rather quickly the deep appreciation and attentiveness most lightweights have for each meal and the numerous conversations that revolve around milkshakes, fast food, desserts, and any other artery-clogging meal that infiltrates every lightweight's nightly dreams.

Pete Orlando, or "Grandpa Pete" as his boat mates call him, is two seat in the quad. He is from Pelham, NY and a recent graduate from Ithaca College and member of New York Athletic Club. Pete is a very relaxed guy. Always taking his time, whether it is on the dock getting set up for a long row, sipping coffee for hours at a coffee shop, or when simply making his daily bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, Pete rushes for nothing or nobody. He is the one who keeps us in line on long rows by commenting on our technique or relaxing our rhythm. Watch out though, because if you upset Pete he has been known to quip teammates with such outdated insults as "goober" or "dillweed" (whatever that is). This is Pete's last year of U23 eligibility, and after having such a rewarding summer at GMS under head coach G-Man, it is likely you will be hearing more of his rowing success for years to come if he decides to stick around and continue his training here.

Mike Nucci sits three seat in the quad and hails from Blue Bell, PA. Mike is the weight-maker of the boat, meaning that he helps fatties like yours truly and Will make average weight by weighing in under the boat average (FISA boat average is 70 kilograms or roughly 154.3 lbs.) Mike is a rising senior at Columbia University and has been in Columbia's varsity lightweight 8 for the past two years. I've known Mike since we were both 13 and there hasn't been a season of rowing where we haven't rowed on the same team. We started rowing our freshman year at St. Joe's Prep and somehow managed to end up rowing lightweight together at Columbia. We began sculling (rowing with two oars instead of just one oar while the rower is designated to one side of the boat) at Malta Boat Club in Philadelphia where we both won gold in the intermediate lighweight quad at Club Nationals in 2007. Mike is a comical character and my best friend, but can be a little too excitable at times for those who are constantly around him (take for example his boat mates who eat, sleep, and row with him everyday). An example of this anxiousness is on any random night Mike will get the urge, perhaps unyielding fixation is a better term, for candy, and is restless until this craving is satisfied with a quick run to the local Rite Aid. His weakness is anything chocolate or his all-time favorite candy, Sour Patch Kids. Even with this vulnerability, Mike is still both light and fast when it comes to rowing, so we can't help but laugh whenever Mike has another urgent craving.

And that leaves me, Bob Duff, as stroke of the quad. I am a rising senior alongside Mike Nucci at Columbia. I am from Huntingdon Valley, PA and the second oldest of five in a line of siblings who all row. My older brother, Shawn, is class of 2008 at the University of Delaware who was the first Duff to spread the crew gene to his brothers and sisters. He currently helps coach where he first learned how to row at St. Joe's Prep in Philly. My younger brother, Jimmy, just finished his freshman year at Marist. Both my brothers are big guys at 6'4-5" and at least 200 lbs., yet somehow I managed to get stuck with the puny lightweight gene. My younger sister, Johanna, just graduated from Mount St. Joe's after a successful season capped with a trip across the pond to Henley. My youngest sister, Mary, a rising senior at the Mount was also in the boat. Johanna heads to Northeastern as a Husky in the fall. I'm not sure why rowing became so popular amongst my siblings because both my parents never touched an oar before their kids started rowing. My uncle Jim McGlone, though, started rowing at the Prep in the 70s and then went on to row for Yale, and his two sons followed suit rowing at the Prep. The eldest, James, rows lightweight at Princeton while the other, Patrick, still rows at the Prep and just earned a spot on the Junior National Team this summer.

I hope you learned a little something about the guys in the quad. Stay tuned for more posts from us and a post following our arrival in the Czech Republic on Sunday.

<3 Bob