Women's Rowing Journal - Julianne Curtis
4/14/2006 8:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 14, 2006
One of the greatest feelings in life is seeing your commitment and dedication pay off in the end. Last weekend at the Lake Wheeler Invitational the varsity four definitely got to experience this as we rowed across the finish line, taking first in our final.
After placing second in our two races the week leading into the Invitational, we were ready to push ourselves even farther and reach for that top spot. We continued to stay focused and dedicated even during the odd weather conditions that were thrown our way. On Wednesday, after a mini-blizzard in the morning, the team came back out to the river in the afternoon. Although the weather wasn't ideal, we still rowed our hardest practice with three 2K pieces at full pressure. With each piece we worked together, fighting against the wind and waves to keep our boat balanced. We suppressed our frustration on the water and tried to learn how to work with these conditions. As the week ended we were excited about the race and looked forward to a relaxing trip to sunny North Carolina. The weather on the other hand still did not want to cooperate. The high winds and rain predicted for the weekend caused a bit of confusion. We were unable to practice on the water the day we arrived and the race day schedule was significantly condensed to make sure everyone was on and off the water quickly.
Saturday morning we launched from the dock for our races, put all the confusion behind us and focused on the task at hand. As we completed our warm-up we quickly realized that we would be dealing with rough waters again. We rowed to the start confident that we could work with these tough conditions and be a strong competitor. Throughout the races we used the knowledge and experience we had gained at practice and pulled ahead of other boats. As we crossed the finish line about six seconds ahead of everyone else we knew that our dedication and determination had allowed us to perform our best.
I look forward to the rest of the season and watching the whole team continue to progress. Each girl on the team gives 100% to every practice and race that we attend and with this I am positive that we will be able to achieve our goals!
- Julianne Curtis `09