By Samantha Myer
After a long and successful fall season, the Cleveland State University club rowing team is in full swing, ready to take on the indoor season.
During the fall they experienced great success at their home regatta, called the Head of the Cuyahoga, on Aug. 18. The group competed as a team, participating in many events, including the women’s varsity double, the men’s varsity single and men’s varsity pair.
They placed well overall and had many top three finishes. One crew that experienced great success was the woman’s novice team. The crew, made up of sophomore Allison Durham, freshman Sarah Patton, freshman Sarah Burhans, freshman Zoe Laboda, freshman Karen Nguyen and sophomore Haley Fox, secured a third place finish.
On Jan. 26, the team traveled to Pittsburgh, where they faced teams, including John Carroll University, Case Western Reserve University and Pittsburgh University.
Currently in their indoor season, the rowing team competes in ergattas, an indoor rowing race, where they compete individually on rowing machines, also called ergs, to receive the fastest time and highest score.
This past ergatta featured junior Tiffany Roberts, who placed first out of nine competors to win the 1k distance race. Junior David Hooper also excelled on the men’s side, snatching a personal best time last weekend. He finished the men’s open 2k distance race, with a time of 7:33.6.
When asked about how this year compared to last year, sophomore team captain Gabby Gamon is very happy with how the team has progressed.
“I’m really proud of us,” Gamon said. “Last year, we started with eight people, and now we have between 18 and 20 people. We definitely grew as a team, but not only did we just grow as a team, but we got closer, stronger, and better.”
On Feb. 9, the team hosted their home ergatta, The Hammer Ergatta, in the Cleveland State recreation center. There were 15 local teams, which included Case Western Reserve, John Carroll, Steel City Rowing Club and Western Reserve Rowing Association. This meet is very important as it is only hosted at Cleveland State once every four years. Clevelant State had 15 entries and had a par of rowers finish in the top three.
As the season continues, the team hopes to fix any issues before they compete in the Championship Regatta.
“It’s a group sport for sure, but every individual knows there’s stuff they need to work on to improve,” Gamon said. “Personally, I need to work on my technique in the boat, while others need to work on their endurance in the boat.”