Kendall graduated from Cal in 2016 and is currently set to race 3-seat in the United States W4- at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
1. What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
I was told by one of my soccer teammate’s parents that I had a good physique for rowing so I decided to give it a try. I went to a learn to row camp at Mile High Rowing Club in Colorado and I remember doing blasters on the erg and I was beating one of the actual rowers who was helping out with the camp. I could definitely tell that she was pissed that a girl who had never rowed before was pulling faster numbers than her. This girl ended up being my pair partner for the next two years so she probably got over 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?
I remember doing my first 2k on the erg and having absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I guess I did something because my coach immediately texted the Junior National Team coach, Liz Trond, and I was invited to the JNT camps and the rest is history.
3. Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
I’m not sure if the 2015 HOCR was my best race, but it’s definitely my favorite. Cal hadn’t been to race at the HOCR in basically centuries so we started second to last from the back of the pack with bow number 32. We passed at least 5 boats before we even went through Weeks Bridge. Our bow seat had to keep screaming “YIELD” to other coxswains because they weren’t listening to our coxswain and everyone just got so hyped up. We ended up winning by 25 seconds.
I remember my worst practice so well, and so does Liz Trond. Two words can sum up this practice: red t-shirts. We had just gotten to the 2012 Junior World Championships in Bulgaria and obviously the boat has to wear matching outfits to row in so we chose our red t-shirts. The practice was so bad that Liz told us that we can never wear red t-shirts ever again, and to this day I don’t like to row in red t-shirts.
4. Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
My teammates and I were at a party in college and saw a big NCAA trophy on the shelf. It was the first place NCAA Women’s Rowing trophy that Cal had won in 2005 that had gone missing for over a decade. One Saturday morning after practice we drove the team van to the frat and knocked on the door to get our trophy back. The guy who answered the door was 100% hungover and 100% had no idea what we were talking about, but we were patient and waited until we got the trophy back. We came out victorious!
5. Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
It’s ok to lose and it is ok to fail. You learn more from your losses than you do from your wins. How you handle your shortcomings and what you do after is what separates athletes with grit from athletes with complacency.
Birthplace: San Francisco, CA
Current Residence: Philadephia, PA
Club Affiliation: New York Athletic Club
Began Rowing: 2010, Mile High Rowing Club
Date of Birth: August 25, 1994
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 175 lb
High School: Mullen High School
Undergraduate Education: University of California, 2016
Training Location: Princeton, NJ
Current Coach: Tom Terhaar
National Teams: Seven - Junior, 2011-12; Under 23, 2014-16; Senior, 2017; Olympic, 2020
International Results: Finished fourth in the four at the 2017 World Rowing Championships...Finished third in the eight at the 2017 World Rowing Cup II...Won gold in the eight and finished fourth in the pair at the 2016 World Rowing Under 23 Championships...Won gold in the four and eight at the 2015 World Rowing Under 23 Championships...Won gold in the four and eight at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships...Won silver in the four at the 2012 World Rowing Junior Championships...Served as an alternate at the 2011 World Rowing Junior Championships.
National Results: Won silver in the varsity eight and won the team title at the 2016 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships...Stroked the varsity eight to a silver medal and finished second in the team standings at the 2015 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships...Finished third in the varsity eight and third in the team standings at the 2014 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships...Won gold in the varsity eight and finished second in the team standings at the 2013 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships...Won gold in the pair and finished sixth in the four with coxswain at 2012 USRowing Youth National Championships...Finished third in the junior women's event at the 2012 C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championships...Finished third in the pair at 2011 USRowing Youth National Championships.
Personal: Kendall graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on health and illness in society. Kendall was a Sportswomen of Colorado award recipient for her achievements in rowing in both 2014 and 2015. She was PAC-12 Athlete of the year in 2015 and 2016. Kendall was the 2016 PAC-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year. She made the Division I Pocock First Team All-American in both 2015 and 2016. She also made the PAC-12 Women's Rowing All-Academic team in both 2015 and 2016. When Kendall isn't rowing, she enjoys watching TV, consuming large amounts of calories, beating all her friends in liars dice and cards, making and watching TikToks, and she LOVES playing outside. Kendall has always loved the water. Extreme jet skiing, reckless tubing, wake boarding/surfing, and river rafting are just a few of Kendall's favorite things to do on the water. Kendall is also a Survivor enthusiast and hopes to one day compete on the show. Kendall is a LGBTQ+ advocate and hopes to help rowers and other LGBTQ+ youth find a safe space within the sport of rowing.
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by:
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by: