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Winter Park Crew
Origins[edit]
1962: The Beginning
Winter Park High School Crew began in 1962 with a hand-me-down racing shell sponsored by the North Orlando Optimist Club. The ten-man crew competed against the junior varsity teams of schools in competition with Rollins College. Now, over forty years later, the hallways of WPHS are adorned with trophies from state, regional and national rowing championships. A note in the 1962 WPHS Yearbook alluded to the future: “It is hoped that other schools in Florida will follow Winter Park’s lead and sponsor their own teams.” Through the years Florida high schools have added crew teams and Wildcat rivalries have grown to include Edgewater, Boone and Lake Brantley in the Orlando area and Leon, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Tampa, Melbourne, Sarasota and Miami statewide.
1966: Crew starts again
After the initial 1962 season, crew was dropped until 1966, when Don Ogilvie coached 27 rowers. In subsequent years, Winter Park has been coached by Jay Gustavson, a member of Rollins varsity crew team (1967); Jack Lyden, a former WPHS rower (1968); Bruce Cepuran (1969); Clark Wray (1970 - 72); and Paul Skogsberg, whose teams captured four straight state AAAA titles (1973 - 76).
1974: Women’s Crew Begins
Women’s crew got its start at Winter Park High School in 1974 when it was the only women’s team in the area and raced against local colleges. In 1977, Tom Lineberry arrived at WPHS and began his initial four year period of coaching WPHS crews. As coach of both the men’s crew and women’s crew, Lineberry led the school to its first national championships in 1979; a senior 4 women’s boat and a junior varsity men’s boat. That year a WPHS men’s 4 represented the South at the Olympics Sports Festival in Colorado.
1982: Separate Coaches for Men’s and Women’s for the first time.
Separate coaches guided the men’s and women’s crews for the first time in 1982. Ralph Bateman, who had rowed for WPHS from 1970 - 72, succeeded Lineberry, while Julie Scott, a former Rollins rower, coached the women. Scott Lyden, a WPHS rower (1974 - 76), next coached the men. Lyden and Scott coached through the late 80’s along with Jim Cooper of UCF. Julie Scott coached the women’s Varsity 4 boat to a gold at Nationals in 1987. In 1988, Pam Chase and Ashley Tarr, both former Rollins rowers, signed on to coach the women. In 1990, Chase and Tarr guided the women’s varsity 8 to a national championship at Stotesbury Regatta.
1990: Dan Bertossa Comes to Winter Park
Dan Bertossa, a former rower at the Florida Institute of Technology, arrived with the 1990’s. Coach Bertossa, along with Ashley Tarr, who had become head coach for the women, directed the Wildcats to the State Championship in 1990, 1991, and 1992.
In 1992, the women’s varsity 8 was undefeated in Florida and was fourth in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, and the women’s varsity 4 won Scholastic National Championships in Virginia. Tom Lineberry returned for the 1993 thru 1998 seasons to coach the women’s crew and Dan Bertossa continued to guide the the men’s crew.
WPHS captured the State Championships in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. During that same time, (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 ) at the Stotesbury Cup in Philadelphia, WPHS rowers came home with gold, silver and bronze medals hanging from their necks as national champions.
1998: Millennium Rowing Association is formed.
The end of the 1998 season brought a major change to Winter Park High School Crew. The team had rowed off of a site on Lake Howell loaned to the crew team by the Wilson family for WPHS Crew boathouseover 20 years. Throughout the years, Winter Park Crew has touched the lives of hundreds of student athletes and their families, and a commitment existed in the community to continue this outstanding program. To ensure the continuation of Winter Park Crew, parents of Winter Park Crew rowers and alumni established the Millennium Rowing Association (MRA) with the purpose of securing a permanent home for the team. In August of 1998, the MRA acquired property on Lake Howell with plans to complete a new boathouse. Through the efforts of many parents, past and present, and the community as well, this monumental achievement was accomplished and Winter Park Crew established the legacy of a permanent home for the team beginning with the 1999 season.
1999: Mike Vertullo Joins Winter Park as Head Women’s Coach
Mike Vertullo took over from Tom Lineberry as head coach for the women’s team beginning with the 1999/2000 season. A winning standard for gold was set at FIRA and the Hood Cup by the women’s team, while the men’s Freshman boat reigned as one of the fastest in the nation. The men’s junior four earned Stotesbury gold. The 2000/2001 season saw WPHS Crew clinch the city and state championships. The men’s freshman team took gold at the 75th Stotesbury regatta. A number of seniors went on to join college crew teams including Georgetown, Miami, Rutgers, and Virginia. Two members of the women’s team and one member of the men’s team were selected for the junior national rowing camps. One of the women rowed on a championship boat at the Canadian Henley. Coach Bertossa’s leadership was recognized with a boat dedicated in his honor.
Dan Bertossa[edit]
Men’s Coach: Dan Bertossa Dan Bertossa’s career in crew, both as a rower and as a coach, can be summed up in one word: WINNING.
Now in his eighteenth season at Winter Park, Coach Bertossa has coached boats that have captured state championships for thirteen seasons since 1990 as well as medaling at Stotesbury regattas and earning gold at the Nationals.
A 1986 graduate of Florida Institute of Technology in Ocean engineering, Coach Bertossa rowed from 1983 through 1986. At the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia in 1984, he was a bronze medal winner in the straight pair. He took gold medals in the JV8 in 1985 and 1986.
As a coach, he is recognized in national rowing circles for the conditioning and techniques of his rowers. Coach Bertossa became a coach to stay close to the sport, after a hip injury forced him from rowing. “Coaching keeps me attached to rowing” he says, “and I like to see what it does for the kids”. Coach Bertossa invests time in the individual rower’s development.
In the summer of 1994 two members of the WPHS men’s team were selected to participate in Junior National Selection Camp. Only three high schools in the nation were represented by more than one rower. Both young men were chosen to represent the U.S. on a 19-member team and compete in the World Competition in Germany. They finished fifth and thirteenth in the world.
In the summer of 1995, Reade Palmer, a 1995 graduate of WPHS, was named top coxswain in the country and participated in the World Championships where he received the silver medal. James Blythe in 1997 and, most recently, 2001 graduate Derek Richmond were also sent to the Junior National Selection Camp. Perhaps the biggest wins in Coach Bertossa’s career have in recent seasons.
In May 2000, a WPHS JV4 boat won a gold medal from the Stotesbury Regatta in Philadelphia and followed that victory a week later with a silver medal at the Scholastic Nationals in Delaware. The 2001 Freshmen 8 became the first WPHS men’s crew ever to win at a national event in an 8 as they took home the gold from Stotesbury. His rowers won the silver medal at the 2002 Stotesbury Cup Regatta in the senior men’s 4 with coxswain.
In 2004 both the Varsity 8 and the 2nd 8 made it to the finals at Stotesbury. The 2nd 8 (the JV crew) brought home the silver medal. In 2005 the men’s Freshman 8 A boat rowed as 3rd 8 in in-state races and was undefeated as was the MV8. The Freshmen 8 and the MV8 each won bronze at Stotesbury and went on to Nationals to medal again - Freshmen taking Bronze and the MV8 won the gold. The accomplishments of the 2004-2005 rowing season for the Winter Park Crew men’s team is the result of many years of fine coaching, talent, hard work and unstinting support from all of the rowers and crew family.
2005-2006 saw another State Championship for Winter Park Crew. The Men’s Freshman 8 brought home bronze from Stotesbury in Philadelphia. At both Stotesbury and SRA Nationals all the Winter Park men’s team entries made it to finals. Another first as well as testament to great dedication on the part of both coaches and rowers. In July of 2006, Katelin Snyder, coxswain of Winter Park’s National V8, coxes the W8 in Belgium for the National Under 23 team. Winter Park goes international.
Coach Bertossa teaches Honors, AP, and IB Physics at Winter Park High School. Dan and Jeanne have three children: Alec , Ellie, and Cameron.
Women’s Coach: Mike Vertullo Mike Vertullo is entering his fourteenth year of coaching at the high school level.
Mike began coaching at Winter Park High School with the 1999-2000 season, and was named Florida Women’s Coach of the Year at the end of the 2001-2002 season.
For the past five years at Winter Park, the women’s program has made its mark at both the Stotesbury and the Scholastic Nationals Regattas:
- V8: undefeated (FL) and State champs 2 years in a row 2001-2003 - V8: 4 straight years in the V8 final at Scholastic Nationals (only program in the US to accomplish this), winning bronze in 2003 - Lightweight 8: bronze at Stotesbury in 2001 Team: undefeated 1st-3rd V8’s in 2002 - 4 straight Hood Cups V8 - 5 straight Metro Cups V8 - Freshman 8 in finals at Stotesbury and Nationals in 2004 - W Jr 8 takes silver at Stotesbury - 2006 - WSr8 & Ltwt8 take silver at Stotesbury - WSr8 takes bronze at Nationals and competes at US Rowing National Youth Championships for the first time. Prior to joining Winter Park Crew, Mike coached at F. D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, New York, for seven years. Mike coached the freshmen boys for two years and then resurrected the women’s program to national prominence. He sent 14 women’s 8’s to the Nationals finals from 1995-1999. His team won the 1998 and 1999 NYSSRA Women’s Team Points Trophy. In 1996, his Lightweight Eight won the SRA Championship and was named National Champions.
The Poughkeepsie Journal named him Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1999. In 1998, Mike along with the assistance of other area coaches, founded the Hudson River Rowing Association, a community based rowing club where he served as Head Coach and President. In 2003, FDR High School dedicated a boat, the Michael W. Vertullo, in his honor during the Stotesbury Regatta. Mike has his own achievements as a rower.
He rowed from the 8th through 12th grades and two years at Rutgers. In high school, he was a bronze medal winner in the Junior 8’s at the Stotesbury Regatta. Coach Vertullo received a Bachelor of Arts-Statistics from Rutgers University in 1991 and the NYS Provisional Certification in Mathematics education from SUNY at New Palz. Mike teaches AP Statistics and Geometry at Winter Park High School. He also currently coaches in the morning for the Orlando Rowing Club for their Masters Program. Mike and Heather are the proud parents of son Nicholas, born in 2003 and Lucas born in September 2004 - during a hurricane!