Boston College Athletics
Women's Rowing to Begin Spring Season Saturday
March 11, 2006 | Rowing
March 11, 2006
Coming off a second-place finish at the 2005 Big East Championships followed by a strong fall campaign, the Boston College rowing team has a variety of reasons to be optimistic when the Eagles begin their spring season at Clemson on Saturday.
In BC's first year of ACC rowing competition, the Eagles' spring schedule is highlighted by three fast championship regattas - the ECAC/Metro Championships, the ACC Championships and the EAWRC Championships (the Women's Eastern Sprints).
Seventh-year head coach Steve Fiske hopes that the veteran leadership from BC's five seniors and 12 juniors will jump start the Eagles in their new conference.
"The second-place finish was a nice accomplishment, and it was good to go out of the Big East with our highest finish," said Fiske, who earned Big East Coach of the Year honors in 2005.
The 2006 team features five seniors, including co-captains Sarah Burns and Elizabeth Millar. Last year, Burns helped lead the second varsity eight to a first-place finish in the Knecht Cup and second place at the Big East Championships. Millar has rowed in the varsity eight in each of her previous three years at the Heights.
"Liz Millar has been a key member of the program since she's been here," Fiske said. "She's working hard, and she was in the varsity eight this fall. We are expecting good things from her. Similarly, Sarah Burns has been a strong rower and become a good leader."
Kate Donovan, Lauren Ferrara and Katie Rankin round out the team's five seniors and all made important contributions to the 2005 team's success. Donovan has been an exceptional leader as coxswain of the varsity eight, and Ferrara coxed BC's second varsity eight, leading the boat to "Crew of the Year" honors. Rankin has had success in both the second varsity eight and varsity four in the past, and the senior looks to challenge for a seat in the varsity eight this spring.
Among the Eagles' biggest reasons for optimism lies with the team's 11 returning juniors. Claire Arpin and Bridget Regan both rowed in the varsity eight last season and look to challenge for seats in the varsity eight this spring.
"In terms of building from last year, I think we had a phenomenal sophomore class," Fiske said. "They're juniors now and they're getting faster. Bridget was in the varsity eight last year and has been one of our team leaders this year. She and Claire will be two of our key members."
The rowing program has welcomed a host of walk-on novice rowers under the guidance of first-year assistant coach Wendy Wilbur. With 20 novice rowers on the squad, BC has added significant depth that should improve the team beyond 2006. In December 2005, the rowing program inked four high school rowers to national letters of intent.
"It's important to realize that the future looks bright," Wilbur said. "For the first time, we have signed recruits that are coming in for next year. We have a really strong walk-on novice team that started in September. They are pushing the varsity team to get faster, and they are doing really well."
BC's upperclassmen will lead the rowing program into the ACC, a conference that now features six rowing teams - Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia. Duke and Virginia have both competed in the NCAA Championships, with Virginia finishing second in the 2005 NCAA Championships.
"We are really looking forward to the ACC Championships," Fiske said. "Virginia has been one of the fastest programs in the country, and Duke, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina are all strong programs. We can't wait to get started."
BC will get its first taste of ACC competition in the spring season openerat Clemson on Saturday, March 11 - the culmination of BC's spring break trip to Lake Hartwell. In a race that Fiske describes as a "one-shot deal," the Eagles will compete in the ACC Championship on Saturday, April 22, at Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C.
On Sunday, May 14, the rowing team races in its season-culminating race, the Eastern Sprints at the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. "Our regular-season races are very important for seeding at the Eastern Sprints," Fiske said. "We race against six or seven Eastern Sprint programs throughout the course of the season. Earning a good seed at Sprints is really important."
BC's spring date in the Eastern Sprints, also known as the EAWRC Championships, marks the program's third-straight invitation to the race. "The past two years, we were invited to Eastern Sprints based on our speed during the regular season. This fall, we were thrilled to be voted in as probationary members of the league for the next two years. This race has more tradition than any other in women's rowing and is a great fit for BC. It gives our athletes a chance to race for an invitation to the NCAAs."
