For a team that was recruiting players off Bruin Walk only four
years ago, the women’s rowing squad has made serious strides
toward becoming a national contender.
In only its fifth year as a varsity sport, the team is looking
to build off of a No. 15 national ranking last season by starting
the year strong against local rival Loyola Marymount on Saturday at
the UCLA Boathouse in Marina Del Rey.
Despite losing eight seniors to graduation, coach Amy Fuller
Kearney is optimistic about their chances to be competitive at the
highest level.
“It’s hard to lose that experience,” Fuller
Kearney said. “But we do have talent, and the younger class
has really stepped up.”
Some of that talent comes in the form of senior stroke and
co-captain Liz Pallas-Jacobs. As a four-year varsity rower,
Pallas-Jacobs provides experience and leadership on a team that has
only four seniors.
“She has been an integral part of our program for the past
four years,” Fuller Kearney said.
The squad is carrying 15 freshmen, six of which are projected to
row for the Varsity Eight, Varsity Four or Second Varsity
Eight.
Some coaches might view this as a potential disadvantage, but
Fuller Kearney has no second thoughts about the young contributors
who are a positive group of athletes with a wide range of
abilities, she said.
The young rowers will have a chance to prove themselves against
a competitive Lions team who took home the West Coast Conference
Championship title in 2004 and third place last year. In their
first race at the Parker Cup Regatta on Mar. 4, LMU’s boats
won one race and placed second in two others, competing against San
Diego State University and UC Irvine.
“They did well against SDSU,” Fuller Kearney said.
“We’re not taking anything for granted.”
The Bruin squad is determined to improve on last year’s
numbers and does not expect to easily repeat the success of last
season.
“We are going to continue to improve and build up
speed,” Fuller Kearney said. “We’re all excited
to get this season underway. We can all feel the excitement and
desire.”
However, the schedule that looms ahead includes many top-ranked
teams such as Pac-10 foes USC and the defending national champions,
California. To Fuller Kearney, this is more of a challenge than a
hazard.
“If we want to be a top program, then we have to race top
programs,” she said.
To be ready for these top-notch squads, the Bruins have been
training since October and have incorporated a “grueling
training regimen.”
Despite the Bruins’ rising national recognition, Fuller
Kearney has not forgotten her dedication to giving opportunities to
willing walk-ons. As a former walk-on at UCSB, she went on to
become a three-time Olympian and a world champion on the U.S.
National Team.
“I’m always thinking of the future Olympian walking
on Bruin Walk,” Fuller Kearney said.