AHN 2014 Crew rows to success

%28From+left+to+right%29+Emily+Musselman%2C+Alexis+Erica%2C+Natalie+Smith%2C+Ronnie+Fair%2C+and+Anna+De+Guzman+

(From left to right) Emily Musselman, Alexis Erica, Natalie Smith, Ronnie Fair, and Anna De Guzman

This year, the successful crew team took home many top finishes in their regattas. In the Head of the South regatta in Atlanta, GA, the team placed in the top-three in five of their six events. The team also took home many first, second, and third place finishes.

However this success does not come easily. Not only do the girls train on the water, but also on land. Head Coach, Megan Kelly, pushes her rowers to bring home the win every chance they get. Many hours of this intense training has paid off as shown in their regatta finishes.

Proving to be a successful and growing sport, senior, Victoria Martinez, officially signed her letter of intent to row at the University of Texas.

Junior, Olivia Brink, shares some of her insight on the latest crew seasons.

“Our number one team goal for this season is to have every boat we race qualify for Nationals in May.”

Olivia talks about the difficulties faced during land training and its benefits.

“Land training is difficult and definitely pushes us to our limits, but believe it or not, land training is the easiest part of being a member of the crew team. Even though land training can be grueling and painful at times, the results that can come from it are awesome and you always feel so good about yourself after a great workout.”

Being on the crew team, it takes a lot more than just being able to row a boat while turned backwards. The girls spend multiple hours of their personal time to contribute to this growing sport.

“The Academy of the Holy Names crew team practices every day after school and Saturday mornings spending over 12 hours a week down by the river. Regatta or not, we are practically always on the water.”