By: Olivia Foster ’18

The tension-filled air was palpable as teams of rowers sat in their boats anxiously waiting for the flashing of the red flag to signify the start of the 2017 San Diego Crew Classic. This race sets the tone for the rowers’ power and ambition in the upcoming season.
On April 1 and 2, two teams of eight rowers from the Saugatuck Rowing Club participated in the annual regatta in Mission Bay, San Diego, California. The girls’ high school boat of eight took home the gold in both the varsity and junior varsity races, and the boys’ high school boat of eight placed 12th.
“As a boat, it was an incredible feeling to see our hard work paying off,” Kelsey McGinley ’18, a member of the girls’ winning team, said. “Over the winter you can see your times and how you are improving as an individual every day, but this was the first test of our improvement as a boat.”
While the race can be nerve-wracking at times, the girls start out the race day with a group breakfast and a short walk. Once at the event, everyone listens to their gameday playlists and prepares for the grueling day ahead.
Although the winter weather was not in favor of either of the two teams, the snow storms and freezing temperatures were no match for the players who practiced on erg machines, indoor rowing machines, and worked on conditioning until they were able to hit the water. For two weeks, the crew practiced every day for two and a half hours and even spent time before school in hopes to land a spot in the first race of the spring season.
The girls’ varsity team was essentially the same as last year, so they were eager to beat Marin, a team from California that beat them in the sprint (the last five meters of the race) last year by one second. Unlike the girls’ varsity team, the boys’ team graduated seven seniors and expected to face tough competition from the west coast teams such as Newport, Oakland and Marin.
In order to beat these competitors, both teams saw the importance of mental strength. “Mentally preparing for a race is tough. You have to be at your best and you have to be confident,” Michael Cantor ’18, a rower on the boys’ team, said. “If you’re not ready at the start you won’t get another chance.”
The strong mindset of both the girls’ and boys’ team stems from the immense amount of trust and chemistry between each squad. “Everyone wants to give up at the end of the race but you have to trust that the people behind and in front of you aren’t going to give up, so you can’t either,” Isabelle Grosgogeat ’18 said.
Grosgogeat, a coxswain (the person who steers the boat) for the girls’ team, spends the race calling out motivational sayings and telling her teammates the boat’s placement in the race.
“I’ve been doing this for four years, so I feel more comfortable and I have a lot of trust with my teammates,” Grosgogeat said.
To help them win their third gold medal at this event, the girls’ team started out strong and was able to capture an early lead, which they then focused on lengthening throughout the race. Although the boys’ team didn’t finish with the results they expected, both teams are looking forward to competing in upcoming races.
In an interview with the Westport News, Gordon Getsinger, head junior girls coach, is prepared for more “strong performances throughout the season,” which she credits is a “testament to the team’s depth.”
Sharon Kriz, head junior boys coach, followed Getsinger’s sentiments in saying, “it’s always valuable to see how we measure up against top teams from the West Coast and beyond early in the season.”