By outreach@cw.ua.edu (Alain DeSaix)
You go we all go.
That is the mantra for this season’s Alabama rowing team, and it is what keeps the Alabama Rowers giving maximum effort even at this late point in the season. With only three events left, the Knecht Cup starting Saturday, a home match against SMU later in the month and the Big 12 Championships, the team knows that being in sync is of the utmost importance.
Even after splitting the team into two separate groups to compete in Sacramento, California and at home against Drake last month the team remains unified. Coach Larry Davis said splitting the team into two groups helps give the team confidence heading to the Knecht Cup in New Jersey.
“Splitting the team is something that you don’t normally do, and it’s a big risk but the girls responded well to the situation,” Davis said.
That experience helped Alabama become a deeper team, and it might need that depth this weekend. Although the field looks like it is the toughest it has been in the last couple of seasons, Davis expects this year’s squad will raise the bar.
“Last year we picked up one medal and had every crew in the grand finals last year and this year we would like to meet or exceed that and have a couple of crews medal this year instead of just one,” Davis said.
Madeleine Evans and Miller Tuohy, both senior rowers, said they are happy with the stamp they have left on the Alabama Rowing program. Both said they look forward to competing against quality competitors this weekend.
“We would go up to New Jersey before and we would try to scrape into a final, but now we are competing for medals and we are getting into the grand finals,” Tuohy said. “A stronger team dynamic is in place and we want to build as a team and not just get better as individuals.”
Evans said the end of the season is bittersweet and filled with pressure, but she is excited to see the team turned over to younger rowers.
“You go we all go,” Evans said. “It’s going to hurt and it’s going to be hard but if the other girls are going we are all going.”
Source:: The Crimson White Sports
