Andrew J. Hawley
Crew
Graduation Year
1987
Induction Year
2005
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
Harvard Athletic Achievements
Hawley was a three year letter winner for heavyweight varsity crew and helped the 1985 men’s heavyweight crew team to its induction in the Hall of Fame. This crew achieved a remarkable record, including victories in the Eastern Sprint Championships, the Harvard-Yale Race, the National intercollegiate Championships in Cincinnati and the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. No other crew from Harvard or any other university has duplicated this accomplishment. The crew recorded victories over every other major university crew in the United States and England over the course of the season and stamped themselves as one of the outstanding university crews of all time. The crew recorded a decisive victory over Princeton, Brown, Navy and the rest of the eastern universities in the Eastern Sprints Championships. They then switched gears very effectively and rowed to a convincing four length victory over Yale at New London, ending Yale’s four year win streak in the race. Just one week later the crew made the difficult adjustment back to the 2000-meter distance and rowed perhaps their best race of the season. In the finals of the National Intercollegiate Rowing Championships the crew rowed through a greatly improved and determined Princeton crew in the last few strokes of the race. It was both the closest and the fastest race for the Championship. Shortly after winning the National Championships, the crew traveled to Henley, England to compete for the coveted and prestigious Grand Challenge Cup. Olympic and World Championship crews often win the cup and only one US crew had won it in the previous 26 years. Undeterred, the crew entered the event full of confidence and went on to row three outstanding races over the 1984 Danish World Champion Lightweight eight, Cambridge University and, once again, Princeton. No other university crew from the United States or elsewhere has won the event until Harvard did it again in 2003.
Hall of Fame
Remembering Harvard Athletics
Three month ago I was driving west on I-290 in the Worcester area when I happened to glance out of the window and there I was looking down the Sprints course on Lake Quinsigamond. The last time I took in that view was 20 years ago (I can’t believe it’s been 20 years!) and twenty years ago, I was under the I-290 bridge in a boat. On queue, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I heard that oh so familiar echoing countdown reverberating in my head, five, five, five; four, four, four; three, three…. it’s a wonder I didn’t crash the car. I have to say, the whole thing freaked me out. It’s clear to me that moments like that come from the formative etching that is the Harvard Rowing experience. Twenty years on and I still remember every moment of every race in great detail. I remember the intensity, I remember the laughter and of course the rivalries – particularly luck Larry and his 7-Up Crew! One experience in particular stands out in my memory was the 1986 Sprints final. We were second to Penn by 2 feet. Not favored to win and up against a great Penn crew, we had made it to the finals. Back in our hotel room at the lunch break, Curt Pieckenhagen and I sat in our dimly lit room, curtains drawn. As we contemplated the upcoming finals we figured that an early sprint would give us our best chance. If we were close at the 1000 meter mark we would go for it, hope to rattle the Penn crew and steal a victory. We got off to a rough start and found ourselves behind. By the 1000 meter mark we had made up some ground and now had contact with the Penn boat. As we approached 900m to go I croaked “up” to Curt and we went for it. The cadence jumped to 38 strokes per minute, then 39, then 40. We were closing the gap with every stroke. Everyone was flat out, committing everything, confident that we could catch them the way we had caught Washington at the Nationals the year before. Unfortunately, this time we came up short by 2 feet. During that sprint I defined for myself the meaning of “full commitment”. I pushed myself harder than I ever thought I could, I committed myself completely for the team and for the win. The end result was a loss and a two day stay in the hospital. Five minutes after entering the emergency room, they wheeled Curt in next to me. Later he told me that all he needed to hear was “up” and he knew I was with him. Moments like these are etched in my brain. Understanding the meaning of a full commitment to one’s self and one’s team, are now a permanent part of the person I am today. I can’t think back on those years at Newell without stirring up tremendous emotions and without acknowledging how formative my four years as part of the Harvard Rowing program were for me. Thank you Harry and thank you fellow teammates for the etching!
