Even as the season draws to a close for UCLA women’s rowing, the Bruins say their focus remains not on the competition but on the team dynamic itself.
“We are maturing as a group and our growth has been substantial,” said sophomore rower Sierra Bronkhorst. “It’s all coming together.”
No. 20 UCLA started the season sweeping both San Diego State and Loyola Marymount in two dual meets before going on the road where it struggled to finish above high-ranked teams at the Pac-12 Challenge, the San Diego Crew Classic and the Clemson Invitational.
“We go into each competition with the same mindset that every race is the same despite who the competition is,” said senior rower Alice White. “There is a very strong internal focus.”
The Bruins looked to sweep the Trojans for the first time this past weekend at the annual crosstown dual meet, but instead were swept themselves. The recent losses, though, haven’t caused the Bruins’ confidence to waver one bit, according to Bronkhorst.
“The consistency is getting better and better each time,” Bronkhorst said. “Practice is very significant for us.”
The Bruins’ team this season remains a very young one. The majority are freshmen, but that hasn’t affected the team’s maturity at all. The varsity eight boat only has three rowers who are upperclassmen.
“The maturity is actually much higher than it has been in past years,” White said. “More than ever, we all want to pull for each other.”
For the past two weeks, UCLA has remained in the No. 20 spot as its season comes to a close. All of the regular season races are over, but the team has the Pac-12 championship this weekend before a possible berth in the NCAA championship.
“We don’t focus too much on rankings,” Bronkhorst said. “We just believe that if we give all we have, we will continue to climb and come together as a team.”