RIZELLE ROSALES; Magazine Editor; rosalera@plu.edu
The Pacific Lutheran University Women’s Rowing team trekked across the country April 8 to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to compete against other nationally-ranked collegiate teams.
The Lutes spent the weekend competing in the McLaughlin Cup against other Division III rowing teams including defending national champion Bates College, host Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Smith College and Wesleyan University.
Women’s Rowing Coach Andy Foltz explained that the motivation to travel east was to race with the big players outside of the Northwest Conference teams.
“Part of the whole idea of the trip was to get familiar with them in a more relaxed atmosphere as opposed to just seeing those teams at national championships,” said Foltz. “Seeing that they train like we do, they struggle like we do. It humanizes the teams in a sense.”
The first varsity eight boat proceeded to the finals after winning their preliminary heat and ranking third overall, finishing the race at 6:52.61. They placed among the winning Bates College and runner-up Hamilton College.
The second varsity eight boat placed second in their preliminary heat and proceeded to place fourth in the finals with 7:03.2.
The McLaughlin Cup has been held annually for nearly 20 years, and was named after a rower on the women’s team at WPI who passed away two years after her graduation. She was married to a member of the men’s rowing team, as well, and her passing greatly impacted the WPI rowing community as a whole. The cup race was dedicated to her legacy, and WPI set up an endowment and named a boat to honor her.
“We felt really honored that we were invited by them to row in that race,” said Camille Lemke, a senior and captain of the team. “It’s not an open race to just anybody. It’s kind of special within that community, so it was really cool to be a part of that.”
Collegiate rowing is separated by East and West Coast teams, and it is rare that a team from the West would travel to compete with East Coast schools. This brought the Lutes up in the national rankings as well, which is determined by a board of coaches that rank teams based on speed, improvement and involvement. The team jumped from 11th to 7th in the rankings, and now sits at 8th-ranked before taking off to compete in the Northwest Conference Championships on April 22.
The competing eight boats were cheered on from home by the other half of the rowing team, who were scheduled to compete the same weekend in the Covered Bridge Regatta in Eugene, Oregon before it was canceled due to unfit weather conditions. The third and fourth varsity eight boats will be competing against University of Puget Sound later in the season.
The women’s rowing team as a whole has seen vast growth and improvement in the past four years, doubling their numbers and increasing their speeds, conference wins and rankings. An integral part of their success is the teamwork and supportive learning environment.
“I think the model here at PLU especially is that it encourages people to try new things, and that’s really what we’re doing is introducing something completely foreign to people and trying to help them excel,” Foltz said.
Four years ago, Lemke herself was one of these newcomers, and since then has competed across the country and built friendships along the way. “A lot of my closest friends and best relationships have come out of the rowing team,” Lemke said.
Each varsity boat is comprised of students who are studying subjects across the board including biology, nursing, Hispanic studies and history. Some students have even taken finals while on the road to national championships.
After the Northwest Conference, the Lutes will compete against Division I and Division II players in the Windermere Cup. The Cascade Cup, also after conference, is in May against University of Washington and other regional teams.
