Fresh faces give new life to rowing teams

Kelly Capehart Staff Writer

It’s 6 a.m. the sun has barely risen, the air is cold and damp and it’s even too early for rush hour traffic to begin piling up. Most Vassar students are still fast asleep, warm and dry in their dorm rooms. Vassar’s rowing team, however, is already on the Hudson.

Members of the Vassar men’s and women’s rowing teams train hard—at hours considered ungodly by most college students—over the course of nine long months in order to compete in fewer than a dozen regattas each year.

So what inspires the team to forgo late nights, quality sleep and general comfort in the name of rowing? For these Vassar teams, it seems that fresh blood certainly doesn’t hurt.

In their first spring regatta, the novice men’s and women’s teams distinguished themselves. The men’s Novice 4+ trounced Skidmore College with a time of 8:38.1 to Skidmore’s 9:20.7; the women at 8:22.

Assistant Coach Brie Farley explained that a little excitement goes a long way. Novices “are typically very enthusiastic,” she said. “Some varsity athletes are accustomed to the workout, but the novices are very easy to entertain.”

Andrew Tabenkin ’11, a novice coxswain, was certainly eager to become part of the team this spring. “I had never been in sports in high school, and this was something I thought I could do,” he explained. “So far it’s a lot of fun.”

Many novices chalk up much of their excitement to the team atmosphere. For Charmaine Chong ’11, the team dynamic is key.

“I’m a novice, so I’ve never rowed before at all,” commented Chong. The team “is really helpful, and they give me advice.” Tabenkin added. “Everyone’s really welcoming.”

In spite of their zealousness and desire to improve, novice rowers do have their own set of challenges. Unequivocally, “they are absolutely the most difficult to get up in the morning,” said Farley. 5:30 a.m. starts are daunting for many athletes.

Most novices find their own ways to overcome the rigorous schedule. Kyle Chea ’10 is spurred on by a sense of accountability that comes with being part of a team.

“Everyone needs to be in the boat for it to be a good practice, for everyone to get a good row, to just work on everything we need to work on,” said Chea. “If it’s cold out, if it’s drizzling, you just think, ‘Hey, I need to be there; I need to be in the boat.’”

Tabenkin also feels responsible for his team. “Basically, if I don’t go to practice, then none of my rowers can practice,” he said. “No one’s there to take my job. So if I’m not there, then I’m really letting everybody down.”

Chong finds that the workouts themselves are worth dragging herself out of bed.

“In the morning, it’s like, ‘I’m so tired,’” she said. “But once you reach [the water]…you become energized.”

Despite the challenges associated with being a newcomer, novices remain an important and welcome part of the Vassar rowing team.

“Everyone’s been very forgiving, since I’m learning and still having those initial difficulties with the steering,” Tabenkin noted. “In my two weeks, I’ve gotten a lot better, and everyone’s grateful for that.”