SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's rowing team is looking for walk-ons who are new to the sport but wish to continue to their athletic careers in college at the Division I level.
"Every year we have a group of athletes join the team who have never been exposed to the sport, but cannot imagine a life without athletics," said Bronco head coach John Wojtkiewicz. "Its a very fun experience because it is a great way to meet a group of similarly-minded athletic students, make quick friends, try something new, and at the very least you walk away with a very specialized athletic skill that you can take with you for the rest of your life."
Missy Giorgi '13, the team's novice coach, elaborates on the process of learning: "We teach you everything, from boat handling to the specific rowing technique and how to row in team boats. We do start everyone in small one person singles though which is really fun, it allows everyone to move at their own pace at first and sets a good technical foundation."
The rumors are true, says Wojtkiewicz, about morning practices. "Its not that bad really, we meet at 6 a.m. weekdays and we're back from the lake before all 9 a.m. classes. You get used to the mornings pretty quickly, and it actually sets up a great foundation for the rest of the day. Plus the men's and women's teams will take over a good portion of the dining hall in Benson for truly epic breakfasts. Saturdays start a little bit later at 6:30 but we're still done by 10 so there's plenty of time for the rest of your weekend."
This year's team captain, Molly Walker '16, had some thoughts about the team and training. "We're a pretty tight team and we work very hard. Its important to understand that while this is an opportunity for anyone willing to try, the training can be very intense. This is Division I rowing team after all. We're also about maximizing every part of school and rowing together. We're just as strong in classroom as we are on the water and we take pride in sustaining that balance as representatives of the best Santa Clara has to offer.
Anyone interested in finding out more can reach out to Novice Coach Missy Giorgi '13 at mgiorgi@scu.edu or team captain Molly Walker mwalker@scu.edu.
Coaches and current team members will be available at each freshmen orientation session to answer any questions.
