Syracuse, NY (U-WIRE) -- It takes an exceptional athlete to row in the stroke seat of a varsity college crew, an exceptional athlete with a true passion for the sport.

It also helps if that athlete is 6 foot 5.

In preparation for the Goes Cup this weekend, in which SU faces No. 8 Yale and No. 11 Cornell, head coach of the Syracuse men's rowing team Dave Reischman made a few changes in the varsity boat. One of those changes was moving sophomore Justin Stangel to the all-important stroke seat.

"Justin is a fiery guy," Reischman said. "He brings determination and length, and he really loves to race."

Stangel started rowing as a freshman in high school because he didn't play a spring sport.

"My neighbor was the captain of the crew team and he convinced me to try the sport out and I just stuck with it," Stangel said.

After an extremely successful high school career, and an appearance on the U.S. junior national team, Stangel faced a tough decision.

In addition to being recruited by Syracuse, Washington was very interested in Stangel, who is from Madison, Wis.

During Stangel's recruiting visit to SU, Reischman presented him with an enticing deal.

"I told him that this was going to be a challenge and we were building a program at Syracuse," Reischman said.

Stangel was impressed with what the coaching staff had to say and ended his recruiting trip enthused about the prospect of participating in the rebuilding process.

Reischman knew at that moment that Stangel was a kid who wanted to have an effect on a program instead of just being another rower in a stacked Washington crew.

Dan O'Shaughnessy, a senior on the varsity crew, speaks volumes about his teammate.

"Justin has a never-say-die attitude and he's always pushing," O'Shaughnessy said. "He is a big strong guy who is able to use his strength to his advantage."

After losing consecutive races to begin the spring season, Reischman hopes that Stangel can provide a spark from the stroke seat.

After losing consecutive regattas to start the spring season, the pressure is on the Orange to prove itself.

"We were down after the loss to Rutgers," Stangel said, "it lit a fire underneath us."

Reischman believes SU has to race hard and focus on its own boat. He emphasizes that the biggest problem during last weekend's loss was letting Rutgers dictate the race.

Stangel anticipates a very competitive race.

"We gotta go nuts," Stangel said. "We gotta go nuts, but we also have to be controlled. We gotta have a controlled nuts."

(C) 2004 Daily Orange via U-WIRE