Senior leadership propels UW openweights
May 06, 2010 | Women's Rowing
May 6, 2010
The University of Wisconsin women's openweight rowing squad has looked to their senior class for leadership and experience all season, and their game plan will be no different in the postseason.
"Seniors are always important," head coach Bebe Bryans said. "Whether or not they are the physical leaders of the team, they are absolutely the leaders, and so how they are able to perform and the lessons they are able to teach the underclassmen and the new varsity members are critical to our success."
Wisconsin claimed its first-ever Big Ten rowing title last weekend, but the regatta marked only the beginning of the Badgers' postseason. UW will compete in the NCAA South/Central Regionals on May 15-16 in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships on May 28-30. In the midst of championship season, senior leadership will continue to be a key component to the Badgers' success.
"The stronger that the seniors are and the more they are able to teach the underclassmen about how to get through the tough times as well as to stay ahead during the good times, that really will make a huge difference," Bryans said. "That's what we're looking for, putting that into play. We've done the groundwork. This is championship season now."
Despite Bryans' reliance on the senior class, it was not long ago that those seniors were the rookie rowers looking to gain experience and develop an understanding of rowing.
The seniors came to Wisconsin with backgrounds in 11 different sports. When the class came in as freshmen in the fall of 2006, only three of the Badgers had previous rowing experience.
"I knew nothing about rowing when I came in as a freshman," senior Grace Latz said. "It was one of those obscure sports you see in the Olympics, and I had no idea what it was."
Likewise, senior Vicky Opitz played tennis, soccer and basketball at Middleton High School, and senior Katie Hurtis ran cross country and track and played hockey during her high school days in Rochester, Minn. Opitz and Hurtis, who joined Latz and fellow senior Katy Haver as All-Big Ten rowers this season, are two of several Badger rowers with a multi-sport background.
"I had thought about running in college, but I soon realized that that probably wasn't going to be a possibility," Hurtis said. "I kind of came to school looking for something to do. I wanted something that was going to be pretty competitive and give me some structure in my life."
The journey that Hurtis took to arrive on the rowing team is not unlike the paths taken by many of her teammates.
"I was thinking about doing volleyball in college, but I was kind of weighing the decision," Latz said. "Should I be doing athletics in college? It was a really big deal for me to go to a really good school and get the most out of my education. I realized that the benefits from being a part of a team are really worthwhile."
Volleyballs, tennis rackets and track spikes quickly gave way to paddles, boats and the perfected art of "erging" for the Badger rowers. However, not all UW rowers stumble upon the sport with little or no experience; some rowers begin their freshmen year with a vast knowledge of one of the nation's fastest-growing sports.
Seniors Sarah Obernauer, Molly Evjen and Haver fall into the latter category as they all came to Wisconsin with rowing experience.
"I was a coxswain for four years in high school," Evjen said. "I knew that I wanted to go to college and row at a Division I school. As soon as I came to Wisconsin and heard about the history and the legacy, I knew I really wanted to be a part of it and do something in my four years that hadn't been done before."
Despite her rowing background, Evjen's transition to collegiate rowing was also a learning experience. Being one of only a handful of experienced rowers made her an instant leader among the rookies.
"I was so excited when I got here to see 100 powerful girls trying out for the sport," Evjen said. "I just tried to be really patient because I could understand that everyone was learning. Some days were hard because it wasn't what I was used to in high school with experienced rowers, but I just came with the attitude that this is going to be really fun and I need to help people learn as fast as they can. I wanted these people to love rowing, so I tried to play that part."
Evjen was certainly successful in sharing her love of rowing with her classmates as Latz, Hurtis, Opitz, Haver and Obernauer join Sarah Bootsma, Meryl Chaffee, Ahna Olson and Rachel Stern to make up one of the largest senior classes Wisconsin rowing has seen in recent years. The Badgers' 11th senior, Shannon Schlack, is currently in her first year of collegiate rowing after competing in the pole vault for the UW track and field team for three years.
As the seniors near the end of their final campaign as UW rowers, they will use the lessons of the past four years to carry them through the postseason and build on the success they already achieved at the Big Ten Championships. Latz and her fellow seniors know the team has all of the ingredients for continued success.
"I think that what I'll take from rowing is that there is a little strand inside everyone that just can't get beaten out of them," Latz said. "No matter how hard the workout or the race or the waves or the wind, there's always something in you that will keep pushing you to go harder."
Hurtis agreed, explaining another important part of rowing - teamwork.
"In rowing, you just can't do it by yourself. You can't row a boat by yourself. You can't be successful by yourself."
