HEAD OF THE CHARLES '06: Not So Stern

In a crowded Kirkland dining hall last week, George Kitovitz and Otto Stegmaier begin protesting about their apparent height deficiencies.

At 6’2 and 6’1, respectively, they certainly are not short by layman’s standards, but in the world of men’s heavyweight rowing, they are below average.

“If you look at pictures of the varsity when I was in the seven seat, it looks really funny,” says Stegmaier, “because I’m pretty small for a heavyweight and I have a really short torso, so I look really tiny in the boat—it’s like a little baby at the seven seat.”

Kitovitz laughs and agrees that “neither of us is actually that big” compared to a lot of the other varsity heavyweight rowers.

But what they lack in height the pair have made up for with their dedication. As sophomores, both were moved up from an undefeated second varsity into the varsity eight for last May’s Eastern Sprints, Kitovitz as stroke and Stegmaier as seven-seat. They both continued to jockey back and forth in the stern pair of the top boat for the rest of that season.

Today, however, the two are eager to play down their sophomore achievements.

“It was pretty huge for me to go all the way to the V1,” Stegmaier says. “I really set out sophomore year just trying to do the best I could, and I was definitely happy to be in the JV at the start of the season, so a chance to be in the V1 was just the icing on the cake.”

“Honestly, this time last year we certainly weren’t in the top eight guys,” Kitovitz adds. “It just shows that if you work hard all year you can really move up the rankings and improve a huge amount.”

The heavyweight boats underwent a shake-up after a win against Northeastern to end the dual season. Head coach Harry Parker put them through their paces in even boats, searching for a spark after a somewhat lackluster season for the first varsity, which won Sprints and IRAs in 20005.

Even boat racing involves short, three-minute races between pairs of boats, with one oarsman being exchanged with another in the other boat after the completion of the first piece to see which lineup has better results.

The heavyweights went through two weeks of this grueling routine before Eastern Sprints, after which Kitovitz and Stegmaier were moved up into the first varsity and the three seniors they replaced were put in the JV in their places.

But, Kitovitz says, there was no bad blood between the rowers over the decision. “Honestly, I’d say for all the boat-changing there was, there was still a really good atmosphere.”

“Once you’re off the water you’re still friends, and even when I got moved back down to the JV [later in the season], I wasn’t bitter about it,” supplements Stegmaier. “I mean, it was a stressful year, it was a really long season because of all the switches, and I felt like I was on my toes every single day. But I think it ended up being very good for me.”

Commenting on the reasoning behind the switch, the pair emphasize that crew is not so much about individuals as how the whole boat rows together. It was, however, a season far different from 2005, which featured steady lineups throughout the dual and championship runs.

“For however good each one of us is, we’re probably better together,” Kitovitz says of his and Stegmaier’s frequent coupling as stern pair and the responsibility inherent in the position. “And while [the rest of the oarsmen] rely on us to set the rhythm, we rely on them to give all the power and energy.”

“The boat together is about a ton,” Stegmaier says. “One person’s strength has so little effect on that much weight.”

“Going to Eastern Sprints, I was nervous,” Kitovitz admits. “But you’ve got to accept that Harry Parker is a legend, and if he has faith in me, I have faith in me.”

Despite the role they shared in the stern last season, the pair shared little prior to their decision to come to Harvard and row for the storied heavyweight program.

Kitovitz started rowing at school in England, in order to “avoid cricket” and “get stronger and fitter for rugby,” but Stegmaier, from the plains of Iowa, is a rather more surprising oarsman.

“There’s not much rowing there so that’s quite an achievement,” Kitovitz says. “There are like three rowers from Iowa or something.”

Stegmaier first became interested in the sport after seeing his sister rowing for her club on the Mississippi River.

“I went to one of her races and saw her single flip into the river and I thought it looked fun,” he says.

This sense of humor and delight in all of the ups and downs made the pair an indispensable part off a young varsity looking to fill the shoes left them by the 2005 crew.

Both Kitovitz and Stegmaier are optimistic about the heavyweights’ chances this year, as the Princeton boat that beat Harvard three times last year lost nearly everyone to graduation.

Harvard, by contrast, returns the bulk of last year’s varsity as well as a second varsity that won a national title in Camden.

Stegmaier highlights the returning members of the varsity and junior varsity, and the entire freshman squad, which should provide yet more depth and talent to an already foreboding varsity lineup.

“We’ve got a very deep team,” he says. “So we should do well in the spring.”

“I’m actually really enjoying the training we’re doing at the moment—the competition within the squad,” Kitovitz adds. “But in the official season, I want us to win Sprints, IRAs, Harvard-Yale, go undefeated, you know?”

“I’d like to see us do really well at the Head of the Charles,” Stegmaier adds.

But they both emphasize that every year is a fresh start, and you never know what’s going to happen, who’s going to improve, and how the lineup will change.

“That’s the scary part of a whole new year again,” Stegmaier says. “What we did last year was great, but I feel like I’m at the bottom of the food chain again.”

“And we have to work our way up it,” Kitovitz interjects. “No matter what was achieved last year, now it’s back to square one.”

The line-ups for this weekend, however, have the pair back in the stern of Harvard’s varsity eight entry, keeping Kitovitz and Stegmaier together at the front of the Crimson’s 2006-2007 campaign.

Perhaps one of Iowa’s lone three oarsmen and a former rugby player from London have more staying power on the Charles than they profess.

—Staff writer Alexandra C. Bell can be reached at acbell@fas.harvard.edu.