{"id":2408,"date":"2016-06-06T13:45:11","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T17:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/ebuckhor\/?page_id=2408"},"modified":"2016-06-06T13:45:11","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T17:45:11","slug":"celebrating-womens-rowing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/features\/celebrating-womens-rowing\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Women’s Rowing"},"content":{"rendered":"

40 years as a varsity sport<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Maura King Scully<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"rowing_bw\"<\/a>

Photo: John Lester<\/p><\/div>\n

Debbie Packer \u201976 had chased after a few tennis balls in high school, but an athlete she was not. Nor was Cuyler Overholt \u201976 or Catherine Clark \u201976, but when Overholt and Clark saw signs posted around campus for a new women\u2019s rowing club in the fall of 1972, they decided to find out what Trinity was offering in a sport that was dominated by men on a campus that had only recently begun to admit women. \u201cThey had us try out rowing in the indoor tanks on campus, and it piqued our interest,\u201d recalls Overholt, who later \u201cdragged\u201d Packer into it as well.Soon, there were nine women signed up for rowing \u2014 all first-years. \u201cAt the time, it was novel for a group of women to come trooping down to the river,\u201d recalls Packer, now a director with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe women\u2019s rights movement was in its infancy,\u201d explains Overholt, a novelist. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t been brought up with the idea that we could do whatever we set our minds to. Crew taught us that lesson. When your body tells you that you don\u2019t have another stroke in you, and you manage to pull it off, that really stays with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulling it off was no small feat in those early days. \u201cWe would race in our mismatched sweats and in heavy old wooden boats which nobody else wanted to use. They were clunkers,\u201d recalls Overholt. \u201cWe had to learn quickly to dig deep and stop complaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, as the College celebrates the 40th anniversary of women\u2019s rowing as a varsity sport, it\u2019s hard to imagine the great gender divide in sports at the time. Title IX, the comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity, had only recently been passed in 1972. \u201cRowing was very traditional. Very male. Very structured. Athletics for women were not on the radar screen,\u201d says Ric Ricci \u201973, a three-year varsity oarsman at Trinity who went on to spend his career as a collegiate rowing coach.<\/p>\n

Gary Caldwell, the women\u2019s team\u2019s first coach, recalls that the idea to start a women\u2019s program was generated by women on campus with the support of the then-head coach, Norm Graf. In turn, Caldwell recruited Ricci to come back to campus and coach the women during their second season. \u201cI thought, \u2018Women rowing, really?\u2019 \u201d recalls Ricci. But he was quickly hooked and even agreed to coach the women on a volunteer basis.<\/p>\n

In the early years, the women rowed only in the fall, a \u201cbugaboo\u201d according to Caldwell since competitive rowing was a spring sport. In addition, the women had to be up and out on the river by 6:00 a.m. \u201cAt the start, we were rowing around the same time as the men, but one day we were standing out on the dock waiting for the men to come in and the coxswain ran the boat right into the dock,\u201d recalls Overholt. \u201cCoach decided we were a distraction so we had to get up at 5:30, but eventually the men got used to us and started taking us seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since that time, women\u2019s rowing has evolved into one of Trinity\u2019s signature sports. Christine Smith Collins \u201991 was a high school track runner with no background in rowing. But when she arrived at Trinity, she was attracted to the idea of doing something completely different. \u201cIn rowing, you can be a superstar, but you\u2019re only as good as the people around you.\u00a0You really have to have a great team to be successful,\u201d says Collins, who went on to win eight national championships, four world titles, six world championships, and an Olympic bronze medal in rowing. She is now associate general counsel for Boston University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a\u00a0race I\u2019ll never forget,\u201d says Collins. \u201cIt was cold and rainy and my back was hurting. And Norm [Graf] had caught me eating a candy bar before the race. It was a miserable day, but we started to slowly move out. The boat was going really well. And it\u2019s in a moment like that that you forget about the coach berating you for eating a candy bar. You forget it\u2019s miserable. We won the race. I remember thinking this is why I do this: it\u2019s so hard, but when you triumph through all of the challenges, it makes the finish so much sweeter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of equal importance were the friends Collins made. \u201cAt Trinity, rowing gave me the ability to find a group of friends and an environment that felt comfortable,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt surrounded me with hardworking, like-minded people who were really focused but also fun and liked a good time. We were a support network for each other. When you spend so much time together and work so hard side by side, a bond develops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Packer echoes that sentiment. \u201c[In rowing], you basically live together through trying times, you exert yourself, and people see you at your best and worst and still like you,\u201d she says. \u201cYou have to rely on each other to have the boat run smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning championships and big races are exciting moments in rowing, but it\u2019s the small day-to-day things that make the experience so memorable,\u201d says Ren\u00e9e Jones, interim head women\u2019s rowing coach. \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong. Winning an NCAA championship title, the Women\u2019s Henley Regatta, or medaling at the Head of the Charles are big moments that bring out a feeling of success, team accomplishment, and happiness, but I\u2019m not sure if these would be the first things talked about when standing in a room with alumnae rowers. Sharing the small moments and reconnecting with friends are what come to mind when I think about women\u2019s rowing at Trinity.\u201d<\/p>\n

LOOKING BACK, ROWING FORWARD<\/strong>
\nFirst endowment dedicated to women\u2019s crew<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/a>

Sarah Melnitsky \u201902, Elizabeth Droney \u201979, Karen Boudreau \u201982, P\u201916, Alison Schmidt \u201908, Elizabeth Guernsey \u201906, and Cionna Buckley \u201978, P\u201917 celebrate at the boathouse on March 5, 2016, at a brunch, where women rowers \u2014 past and present \u2014 reminisced about the sport\u2019s history at Trinity as well as recent triumphs. At the annual crew banquet later that day, Andy Anderson \u201975, renowned as \u201cDr. Rowing\u201d because of his popular column in the Independent Rowing News, was the guest speaker.
Photo: Frank Poulin<\/p><\/div>\n

As Trinity celebrates the 40th anniversary of women\u2019s rowing as a varsity sport, we invite alumni and friends to contribute to the Women\u2019s Rowing Endowment. This new fund \u2014 among the largest for women\u2019s athletics \u2014 will be used to purchase new shells for the team every three to four years. The goal is to raise $250,000 through the end of 2016. In recent years, the women\u2019s rowing team has triumphed at a number of races. Among its wins: In 2015, the varsity eight won its fourth national title and second in a row in the NCAA Division III Championship Regatta, while the team finished second overall in the team standings. Entering the dual-race season in the spring of 2015 as the No. 1 team in the country, the Bantams posted an 11-0-1 mark following a 23-second victory over Wesleyan to win the Trudy Harding Emerson Trophy for the fourth year in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to christen the first shell from the endowment at the Head of the Riverfront Regatta in October 2016,\u201d said Kevin MacDermott, head coach of men\u2019s rowing and interim director of rowing.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Women\u2019s Rowing Endowment, please contact \u200bJennifer Wrobel \u201907, assistant director of leadership giving, at (860) 297-4235 or jennifer.wrobel@trincoll.edu<\/a>.<\/td>\n

1970s<\/strong>
\nSeptember 1972<\/em>
\n20 women try out for first-ever Women\u2019s Rowing Club at Trinity, racing against Wellesley College, Smith College, Vassar College, the University of Massachusetts, Marist College, and Wesleyan UniversitySpring 1973<\/em><\/p>\n
\"1973<\/a>

1973 Trinity Women’s Rowing team (Photo: Tom Weil Photo Archives)<\/p><\/div>\n

September 1976<\/em>
\nWomen\u2019s rowing named official varsity sport at Trinity (40 women on team)<\/p>\n

\"1979<\/a><\/p>\n

October 1976<\/em>
\nPlaces 12th at Head of the Charles Regatta<\/p>\n

Spring 1979<\/em>
\nUndefeated season: 8-0<\/p>\n

\"1978-1979<\/a>

1978-1979 Rowers (Photo: Courtesy of Karen Boudreau ’82, P’16)<\/p><\/div>\n

1980s<\/strong>
\nSpring 1980<\/em>
\nUndefeated season: 6-0 capped by win in Dad Vail Varsity 8 race; second place in Points Trophy Standings<\/p>\n

Spring 1981<\/em>
\nUndefeated season capped by fourth-place win in Dad Vail Varsity 8 race; wins Bretton Trophy for finishing atop Points Trophy Standings\"1982\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring 1984<\/em>
\nUndefeated season: 9-0<\/p>\n

\"tank<\/a><\/p>\n

1990s<\/strong>
\nSpring 1990<\/em>
\nUndefeated season: 9-0<\/p>\n

\"1984\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2000s<\/strong>
\nSpring 2003<\/em>
\nTeam invited to NCAA for first time<\/p>\n

\"2003NCAAteam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring 2005<\/em>
\nVarsity eight wins NCAA, New England Rowing Championships, and ECAC (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference); undefeated season: 6-0<\/p>\n

Fall 2005<\/em>
\nWins Head of the Charles Regatta for first time<\/p>\n

\"2005b<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring 2008<\/em>
\nVarsity eight wins NCAA and GP Jeffries Cup for Senior 8+ at Henley Women\u2019s Regatta<\/p>\n

\"2008henley\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2010s<\/strong>
\nSpring 2014<\/em>
\nTeam wins first NCAA Division III National Championship Regatta; varsity eight also wins NCAA<\/p>\n

\"2014<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring 2015<\/em>
\nVarsity eight wins fourth NCAA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

40 years as a varsity sport By Maura King Scully Debbie Packer \u201976 had chased after a few tennis balls in high school, but an athlete she was not. Nor was Cuyler Overholt \u201976 or Catherine Clark \u201976, but when Overholt and Clark saw signs posted around campus for a new women\u2019s rowing club in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"parent":1464,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2408\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}