UNC rowing novices come out strong in DC, Virginia

The wind kicks up, the temperature drops, and there are white-topped crests ripping across the lake, but still Erica Patella sits at the front of her boat urging them to victory.

Going into the race Saturday in Washington, D.C., Patella, a junior coxswain, knew it was not going to be easy. Usually a novice eight, her boat raced as third varsity eight.

“There is a difference,” she said. “The third varsity eight is usually more experienced and tougher.”

Patella’s boat was one of two first place finishes for the Tar Heels with the second varsity eight and varsity four taking second. Varsity eight fell to both Georgetown and West Virginia, coming in last.

Although they did not have as many first place finishes as they would have liked, the team recognized the importance of building off such races.

“The beauty of racing back-to-back in the same weekend is regardless of how well you did on the first day of racing, obviously they are athletes and competitors,” Coach Sarah Haney said. “You can say, ‘We are going to do this and this better,’ and you can change within 24 hours.”

North Carolina raced again on Sunday in the Occoquan Sprints in Virginia.

“I thought (Sunday) was a really good day for our program,” Haney said. “Everybody went in and placed in the top ten across the board.”

The UNC novice program came out strong with the novice eight once again taking first place overall, and novice four placing second.

“(Novice) is really good at sticking together and trusting what we know how to do,” Patella said.

The biggest change from Saturday to Sunday, though, was the weather.

“The weather (Saturday) definitely made it hard for us — it was really cold and really windy,” said senior varsity coxswain Sarah Eastley. “Sunday the sun was out, and it got warmer throughout the day.”

With the temperature hanging around freezing, and wind gusts up to 20 mph, it was less than ideal rowing conditions on Saturday.

Although all three teams had to race in those conditions, it was particularly difficult for the Tar Heels who are used to the warmer conditions of North Carolina.

The team is looking forward to spring and warmer days, but is also focused on coming together as a team more and improving as a whole.

“What (novice) does really is well is just attack the race, so they are just going to continue to work on that,” Haney said. “And on the varsity side we are working on the technical side of things.”

With more sun in the forecast and time to refine their techniques, the UNC women’s rowing team is hopeful for a continued successful season.

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