1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
Someone walked up to me at a party in college and said I should come check out crew. I remember going to the informational meeting and filling out the questionnaire. The next thing I know I'm driving to practices every morning.
2. Was there a practice, race or other event when you fell in love with the sport, or when you knew you might not be too bad at rowing? When you thought you could make the national team?
That's a tough one. My first 2k test in college I think I went 6:36.6 or something like that -- I asked a few of my friends who rowed in high school and they said it was a solid start. It felt pretty good to start something off on the right foot so I just kept chasing goals from there. I didn't aspire to be on the national team until much later on, for the most part it was just a matter of seeing how fast I could go every year.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
My favorite race was in Lucerne, 2013. Henrik was the only guy who really knew if we were fast or not because he had some experience in that boat class internationally. Mike [Gennaro] and Grant [James] were grounded because they had been around a lot, but I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I remember before we shoved off Mike came up to me on the dock and said "You take care of the 750 move, and I'll take care of the 1250 move" -- I think I was torched by the 800 meter mark, but we had a solid lead and Mike kept to his word and closed it out. It was an incredibly cool start to my international career. For one of the worst, Carlos Dinares and I once did 70' on the row perfect at a 38 -- I think that one fits right in the middle of the Venn diagram!
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
Hmm...I shredded an oarlock at the World Championships in 2013 because I kept pulling the oar out at the finish -- I distinctly remember Volp (or Cam, I can't remember) saying: "That's some novice level sh-t right there." I'm pretty proud of breaking 90:00 for the 20k loop on Lake Samish in the 1x -- that took a lot of miles to get right.
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Seek experiences and ask questions. Go to ID camps, attend and race regattas you have no business being at -- put yourself into the arena and do your best. It's simply the fastest way to learn what is important and what is irrelevant. When you're done, ask the people who won how they did it and what they do everyday.
DATE OF BIRTH: 3/9/87
HEIGHT: 6'6"
WEIGHT: 215
BEGAN ROWING: 2005, University of California – Davis
HOMETOWN: Menlo Park, Calif.
BIRTHPLACE: Palo Alto, Calif.
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Princeton, N.J.
HIGH SCHOOL: Menlo-Atherton High School
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: University of California – Davis, 2011
TRAINING LOCATION: Princeton, N.J.
CURRENT COACH: Bryan Volpenhein
CLUB AFFILIATIONS: USRowing Training Center – Princeton, Lake Samish Training Center
National Teams: SENIOR, 2013-2016
International Results: Finished fourth in the four at the 2016 World Rowing Cup II...Won gold in the four at the 2016 World Rowing Cup I...Finished seventh in the four at the 2015 World Rowing Championships…Won gold in the four at the 2015 World Rowing Cup 2…Won silver in the four at the 2014 World Rowing Championships...Won bronze in the four at the 2014 World Rowing Cup II...Won bronze in the four at the 2013 World Rowing Championships...Won gold in the four at the 2013 World Rowing Cup 3.
National Results: Finished fifth in the pair at the 2016 National Selection Regatta I...Won the pair at the 2014 National Selection Regatta 2...Won gold in the four and pair at the 2013 USRowing National Championships...Finished second in the pair at the 2013 National Selection Regatta 2...Finished first in the pair at the 2013 National Selection Regatta 1.
Personal: Seth grew up windsurfing and sailing in the San Francisco Bay. He discovered rowing his freshman year at UC Davis and continued to train there for the next six years. The most influential people in his life are his family, especially his parents, Alice and Arthur. He lists his personal hero as Scott Dolff.
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