Cari Griggs, Senior Staff Writer
The spring brings no break for the female rowing team.
The athletes spent Spring Break preparing for upcoming regattas in March and April in Tulsa, Omaha, Catoosa, and at home.
Photo: Jenna Jackson
The team had two practices on the water each day during Spring Break and spent an additional two times each week weightlifting.
The team competed in their first regatta of the year March 5-6 in Austin, Texas.
The team placed first in the “quad” and second in the “four,” Coach Melanie Borger said.
“It went well,” she said. “We won every race we entered.”
The difference between a four and a quad is the four has four rowers with one oar each and the quad has two oars for each rower.
The team competes differently in the spring and fall, Borger said.
“Rowing is very similar to cross country and track,” she said.
The team competes in long distance races in the fall called three-mile headraces.
Instead of racing head-to-head, rowers race the clock in 1.25 mile-long stretches in the spring.
The main event the team focuses on is the championship regattas in May.
Borger said her goal is to win at both regattas in Philadelphia and Princeton and that performance—as a team—is what is most important.
“Because everyone is in the boat together, I can’t pick out one person to watch,” she said. “It’s not like other sports: there’s no pitcher or quarterback.”
The team has five seniors this year, Borger said.
“It’s been fun in that their freshman year was my first year here,” she said. “It’s like we’ve come full circle together.”
Senior Rower Briana Hurley said she shares these high hopes.
“The women’s team has been consistently training and seeing improvements since we first arrived in August,” she said. “The majority of our team is seniors and wants to go out knowing that they left it all on the race course after their final collegiate competition.”
This article was originally published in the March 30 edition of The Campus.
Leave a Reply