Thursday, February 5, 1998
Real Bruins
REAL BRUINS:
By Carol McKay
Daily Bruin Staff
There are not many people at UCLA who are awake at 4:30 a.m. At
Rieber Hall, front-deskers and access monitors await a sunrise, and
students slowly trickle from the elevators. Nell Shuttleworth is
one of these early-risers, and she does it with grace.
Early Monday morning, the first-year member of the women’s
novice crew team rolled her eyes at the weather and covered her
head with a hood. The windy rain falling meant one thing: land
practice.
"Ugh," she said. "I’m totally bummed ’cause we have a race on
Saturday. If it keeps raining, we’re not going to be able to row
until Friday."
Due to "something about the bacteria level," Shuttleworth
explained, there is a 48-hour period after rain that dictates land
practice for both the men’s and women’s teams.
"Which is really stupid," she added. "It’s something about
sewage, but I don’t really understand it. We just think it sucks
and that’s all there is to it."
Piling into cars at the top of Bruin Walk just before five, the
caravan traveled to Marina Del Rey and the UCLA boathouse, where
grueling circuits awaited them.
"It’s all about transportation. It seems kind of silly because
there are just five of us (on women’s novice), so if one of us
can’t come …" she trailed off, looking out a hazy car window.
"But we’re all really committed, and we depend on the guys for
rides."
The numbers have dwindled, Shuttleworth said, from dozens to
just enough to fill the boat. "In the very beginning there were
between 30 and 40 of us when we had meetings and early practices
last quarter. Now it’s just us five."
In a locker room, the five novice women and their varsity
counterparts stretched and shed layers of sweatshirts, nylon pants
and raincoats.
Shuttleworth, flash cards in hand, used the extra minutes before
the workout as study time.
"I’ve got a philosophy midterm later today, and we don’t know
what the test is going to be like at all," she complained. "So
yesterday was devoted to philosophy, of which I still know
nothing."
On a nearby couch, three-fifths of the novice team huddled for
warmth, discussing classes, comparing socks and tattoos, and
dreading the workout that lay ahead of them.
Joining the men’s teams in the boathouse, the women took
position and the circuits began: sets of push-ups, jumpies and
squats. Two minutes of crunches, 20 seconds of rest, a half dozen
exercises for half an hour. And then all over again.
"The boys and girls are segregated," said Joyce Mui, a
second-year undeclared student sitting the bench with a cold. Just
then Billy, the unofficial team mascot – and coach’s dog – ran
through the maze of students doing push-ups, shaking water onto the
last athlete.
Despite audible signs of the difficulty of the workout, the two
teams were surprisingly upbeat, with constant sarcasm, celebrity
impersonations and bad renditions of pop hits.
During a set of exercises called the "superman," a group from
the men’s team broke out in an R. Kelly tune. "I believe I can fly,
I believe I can touch the sky," they sang in unison. And in unison,
they trailed off, the next verse escaping them. "Na na na na na na
na na na."
After practice, a team meeting determined a change of practice
plans in hopes to beat weather forecasts. "Hopefully, we’ll get to
row by Thursday," Shuttleworth said, returning to the carpool to
get back to campus in time for class.
At first, adjusting to dorm life and sharing a room with two
other students was difficult for Nell.
"A triple in the dorm was my sixth choice. It is so cramped.
Girls have a lot of stuff. But now, I’m not there enough to let it
bother me."
She leaves in the morning for practice when it’s still dark
outside, and when she returns from classes, studying on campus and
working at the child care center on Bellagio, it’s dark again.
"I’m more or less just sleeping when I’m there (her dorm room),"
Shuttleworth said.
Despite the fact that Shuttleworth must be awake hours before
most students, she doesn’t go to bed unusually early.
"It’s kind of hard for me to go to sleep early because of my
roommates and homework and stuff," she said. "So it’s usually
around 12:15."
Less than five hours of sleep each night also doesn’t slow down
the philosophy student. Coming out of her midterm Monday afternoon,
she credits coffee for her successful state of wakefulness.
"I’ve got my caffeine," she said, tossing an empty paper cup
into a nearby trash can. "I think the midterm went fairly well. I
actually finished pretty early. But then, I don’t know whether
that’s a good thing."
Having gotten through half of her day, Shuttleworth’s hours of
studying could begin. At Powell Library, she attempted to figure
out Orion. "This thing is just too huge," she sighed with
frustration. "I have to find research so I can do an annotated
bibliography."
A student of Environmental Studies 1B, Shuttleworth said that
the class is fun, but challenging. "We get to go on field trips
like to the Hollywood Mountains and the planetarium. Most of us
fell asleep there. It was cool."
Shuttleworth has found many of her classes at UCLA challenging,
the biggest hurdle being just settling in.
"It’s been difficult adjusting," she said. "It’s really cool.
Everything was so exciting and new last quarter. But nobody
prepared us for midterms."
Shuttleworth is no stranger to change, however. Most recently
from Thousand Oaks – where she lived for her last year of high
school – she’s done a lot of traveling. But the place she calls
home is Australia, where she lived most of her life.
"The climate in Australia is the same. But the people are very
different," she said. "I suppose that where you grow up, that’s
where you call home. I’m going to go home this summer."
Having lived in Chicago for most of her high school years,
Shuttleworth had planned on returning to the Midwest for college.
After her mother passed away during her senior year, however, being
close to her family in Southern California became top priority.
"It was all about being close to my dad and choosing the best
school," she said, adding that her final choice came down to two
UCs: UCLA and UCSB.
"I’m glad I chose UCLA," she said, adding that getting involved
in some kind of sport, whether it was an NCAA or not, was
definitely part of her plan.
Joining the crew team, however, was not so premeditated.
"It was really random," she said. Her interest in the sport grew
when she took a rowing class last summer. "I did it for four
Sundays and I just fell in love. My fitness level isn’t fantastic,
but I know I can feel the difference."
Recalling the team’s growth over the course of the last quarter,
Shuttleworth said the team has much to be proud of. "Considering
how much time we’ve had on the water, how many girls we had, we did
really well," she said. "Plus the fact that we’re on the quarter
system. Other schools have had a lot more time to prepare."
Being an athlete is tough, she said, when you’re living in a
residence hall. "We’re supposed to be eating a lot, but I just
cannot put that stuff in my body. Whenever I go to Rieber to eat, I
never go to the right towards the grill stuff.
"I end up eating way too many carbohydrates," she said.
Despite the $60 monthly dues that come with being in a club
sport, Shuttleworth said that she isn’t too disappointed that the
team isn’t sponsored by UCLA.
"It’s kind of upsetting because (sponsored athletes) get all the
free clothes," she said, in her smooth Australian accent.
"But I guess it’s a good thing too, because if they did sponsor
the sport, they’d probably bring in all the good people to row.
Then I’d have to watch."