Far from a tropical locale, the varsity and novice crew squads will spend spring break doing three-a-days and eating team dinners. This week's practices are crucial, because lineups for each boat are not set yet, and the chemistry necessary for a successful boat still needs to be formed.
Senior tri-captain Rachel Steward has been impressed with how well the team has done in practice so far even though they have only been on the water for two weeks.
"Already the boats are moving well together, which isn't always the case this early in training," she said. "Spring break training is an opportunity to relax, to focus on crew and just crew."
Training week, which starts this afternoon, will offer the team a chance to make technical adjustments for the upcoming season, which kicks off with a home regatta on April 2 against Mount Holyoke, Simmons and the University of Vermont.
"This week is really good for technical changes, because if you mess up in the morning you can apply that immediately in the afternoon," Steward said.
Spring break, Steward said, is also valuable as a bonding experience, especially for the sophomores who are new to the varsity squad and all of the freshman rowers, who row novice regardless of their skill level. Steward herself was a walk-on as a freshman after playing soccer in high school, and now, three years later, she is a varsity captain.
Steward's goal for the season is to win more races leading up to the big regattas, which is important both for improvement and morale. Last year, the varsity team didn't perform as well as it hoped, finishing eighth at the ECAC National Invitational Champions last spring and landing in the bottom half of the petit finals.
But things are looking up for the relatively young varsity team, as the novice eight boat took first place and a gold medal at last year's ECAC meet. Many of the Jumbos who excelled at this meet now make up the varsity team.
"I'm really excited to have some of our hard work pay off at the end of the season, and the new sophomore rowers will help us get there," junior tri-captain Kathleen Holec said.
The team spent the offseason working out and staying healthy, doing its best to avoid the back and shoulder problems that are common to the sport.
"I'm really proud of the girls for taking the time to understand what they needed to do for themselves, while still pushing to be competitive. We need to be ready to race in two weeks," Steward said.
After the season starts on April 2, the team will have a regatta once every week to prepare for their two biggest regattas, the New England Rowing Championships on April 30 and the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta on May 8.
