DYLAN FOREMAN
Sports Writer
Foremadf@plu.edu
After winning a stellar four out of six races at Hagg Lake Invitational against Lewis & Clark and Willamette in Oregon on March 19, the Lutes headed into spring break, but it was no vacation.
The team took the week off from competition to stay at school and train. It can be a tough pill to swallow but sophomore rower, Camille Lemke, knows it’s all apart of the process and an expectation if their team wants to succeed.
“It’s a little bitter at first because everyone else gets to go home or go on vacation,” Lemke explained. “But it is an expectation from day one that our team stays and trains, so we kind of know what to expect.”
Though the team was working on technical aspects of their rowing like their stroke and maintaining pressure and power, the women found time to sit poolside and at least pretend like they were on spring break.
The women took a practice in the PLU swimming pool where they floated around and played the new popular intramural game at PLU: inner tube water polo. They took the practice to swim around, have fun and ultimately become closer as a team.
“Through the hard work and fun we get a lot closer as a team…” Camille
Lemke; Sophomore Rower
“Through the hard work and fun we get a lot closer as a team,” Lemke stated. “As hard as it is, it’s more fun than anything.”
The brilliant work ethic mixed with the fun environment of the team orchestrated by senior leadership has undoubtedly led to success. Already, the Lute’s top two boats are faster than last year’s according to Lemke.
However, the team’s goals are far from achieved. The women are pushing for a conference win and will not settle for anything less.
“I am looking forward to conference especially because last year we did okay but not great,” Lemke stated. “This year we are expecting success and a conference win.”
Under the coaching of Andy Foltz, the Lutes first three races have produced a stellar performances which only look to improve in further conference races.
The term “no days off” exemplifies how PLU wants to go about their season as shown by their willingness to put in the extra time to improve. The Lutes have back-to-back races at American Lake this Saturday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
“We have competed well in the races we’ve had and are continuing to get faster, stronger and more focused on achieving success in the important races we have coming up.”
