1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
I was unhappy, out of shape and wanted to be part of a sports team again, so I walked onto the Cornell crew team my senior year. I played volleyball, and track & field my first two years of college (at SUNY (State University of NY) Cobleskill). I transferred to Cornell my junior year and just focused on my studies. After talking to some people who had rowed before in college, they suggested I try rowing because the coaches love tall, athletic people and it was okay that I had never picked up an oar before or even seen a boat. My first practice was a run down to the boathouse (about 20 minutes...I almost died), ate hamburgers, hot dogs, drank soda, mingled with other novice/varsity rowers, and then had to run back up to campus. I just remember thinking, "Oh man, there's going to be alot of running involved....this is going to suck." I hated running long distances and was horrible at it.
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?
My very first practice with the varsity, we had a 30 minute test on the erg and I pulled the second fastest score. I didn't realize I was being moved from the novice team to the varsity, so after going down to the boathouse, I had to go back up to campus where the varsity was taking their 30 minute erg test. I showed up half way through the test, not really realizing it was a "test". I just remember the coach telling me to go harder than steady state and try to go faster each 10 minutes. One of my teammates, Nicole Sylvester, came over to my erg after finishing her test and cheered me on, telling me what splits to hold. When I finished, I thought it was hard but not horrible. Afterwards, my coach, Melanie Onufrieff, came over to me and said, "So, you had the second fastest score, behind Nicole." I was blown away and completely surprised. That evening I called my parents to tell them the news. I was so excited. I remember thinking, "I think I found my sport."
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
Best race would have to be 2008 Lucerne World Cup. Coming from behind and passing Ukraine, Germany and Great Britain to claim second was exciting, surprising and fun. I learned alot from that race..........and I also learned alot from my worst practice. This just sticks out as my worst because I hated it so much. It was the middle of summer, high temps, high humidity and we did 2 minute pieces for an hour. I forget the specifics, but I learned how important it was to hydrate and have enough water/snacks in the boat.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
I have never flipped while rowing. I did flip while on the dock (not sure how that happened) and someone pushed me in while I was doing a wet launch (water was maybe up to my knees).
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Listen to your body. Stretch, massage, and give your body a break from rowing when you can. Experience other sports if possible. If you're really serious about rowing, there will be plenty of time in the future to row full time.
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