SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara women's rowing season will wrap up Sat., May 16 at the WCC Championships on Lake Natoma in Sacramento. The Broncos are looking to finish the season strong despite some injuries. Santa Clara Broncos (SCB) spoke to Bronco head coach John Wojtkiewicz (JW) about the upcoming races.
SCB: How is the team doing physically after dealing with so many injuries?
JW: We still have two key varsity athletes out with late season injuries in Kelby Nardoni '17 and Hollynd Boyden '17. Kelby was five seat in our Varsity 8, and Hollynd was our Varsity coxswain. They are missed, but we moved up Brenda Arellano '15 into the coxswains's seat and Britney Belme '15 into three seat and they have admirably stepped up into their role. Britney has made some fantastic changes technically that have allowed the boat to take the next steps forward, and Brenda has seamlessly meshed with the boat from a motivational perspective and the crew is really taking to her leadership.
SCB: How has the team been doing in practice?
JW: The few weeks leading up to WIRA's were rough with the injuries and a few other outside distractions, but we made the commitment as a team that we were going to use the three weeks leading up into WCC's as a time to truly focus on our rowing. The first week we spent making some critical technical changes, the second week we spent applying the changes under pressure, and this week we've started our taper and just made a point out of refinement and achieving perfection.
SCB: What are you looking for from the team in this final race of the year?
JW: We tend to do our best when we have a cohesive race plan. Based off of our strengths we've put together a plan that focuses on the body of the race, of sustaining our work, and not really stressing too much about the first 20 strokes or the last 20 strokes. All our crews are going to be wholly focused internally, and on executing our race plan from start to finish.
SCB: Where has the team seen the most improvement since the start of the season?
JW: The biggest improvement has been in team culture. We're lifting more and our ergs are better, but most importantly we've gotten a little closer to commitment to our goals, loyalty to each other, and complete trust in the athletes in front and behind. This is the first year since I have been here that I can honestly say I think everyone racing this weekend has trust and respect for each other. That is a huge step forward and knowing that we have so many returning, we can only continue to build from here.
SCB: What will be a successful weekend for you guys?
JW: If all crews execute their race plan, row cleanly and cross the finish with the fulfilled potential of 11 months preparation, it will be a great weekend.
Lineups
Varsity Eight
C Brenda Arellano
3 Britney Belme
2nd Varsity Eight
Varsity Four
