At Miami: Two-year letterwinner…bronze medalist in the club eight at the Head of the Hooch…gold medalist in the open eight at the Head of the Hooch…won a gold medal in the junior varsity four at the FIRA State Championships… named to the 2004-05 ACC All-Academic team competed with the Novice eight in 2003-04…Gold medalist at both the 2003 Head of Chattahoochee Regatta and the 2004 FIRA State Championships… Silver medalist at the 2004 BIG EAST Championships…placed fifth at the 2004 Lexus Central/Southern Sprints…enrolled in the College of Arts and Science. Springside HS: Coached by Bruce Lalonde and Silke Brunner…Team MVP and captain as a senior…rowed stroke, three seat, and two seat in 4x…National bronze medalist as a senior…won New Jersey State Championship in novice year.
Q&A
1. Interests and hobbies outside of Rowing: Soccer, running, swimming, reading and writing.
2. List any academic honors you’ve won or class/club offices held: Cum laude, President of Student Gov’t, High Honor Roll.
3. Why did you choose the University of Miami? I chose the UM becuase it offered me the best of both worlds, both academically and athletically. I was looking for an experience that was much different than what I was used to in Philadelphia, and Miami definitely fits that description.
4. What was your first impression of Miami? It may be cliche to say that when I first stepped onto UM’s campus I knew this was the school for me. Everyone was very welcoming, and besides the fact that the campus resembled a resort I could see myself spending the next four years here.
5. Who is your favorite athlete, Why? Lance Armstrong because he is one athlete who epitomizes what it meas to be strong both physically and mentally, and he displays through self-determination and confidence that you can overcome anything to achieve your goals.
6. Why did you start rowing? I chose rowing because I saw it as a challenge. My brother, who is older, rowed for his high school, and everyday after practice he would tell me about his workouts and how I could never do it. I wanted to prove him wrong, so here I am.
7. When did you start rowing? During the fall of my freshman year in high school.
8. What challenges did/do you face as a novice rower? As a novice rower my main challenge was with confidence and with gaining strength and muscle mass. I definitely needed to “bulk up” as my coach put it, so I worked very hard at this throughout the season so that I was able to row varsity my sophomore year.
9. What changes have you recently made to improve your rowing technique? Recently I have been focusing on my core strength ao that I can improve my body angle and swing before I begin to move up to the slide. This will allow me to both gain momentum in the boat and longer, stronger stroke.
10. What is your best rowing memory? Nationals this past spring. The V4X race was so close for 3rd place. We thought we received 4th place. However we found out we actually camin in 3rd place and would be receiving a bronze medal. The memory is special because of the way our boat came together at the last minute to put everything in to this race. (We had only been rowing together a week!)
11. Would you ever consider rowing as a “life sport”? Yes, definitely. The majority of the rowers from my boathouse were well in to their fifties, and still in incredible shape. Rowing is a sport I will continue not only because of my enjoyment but also because of the health and exercise aspect.
12. Any superstitions before regattas? Yes, depending on the boat I was in. Every boat had a “good luck charm”put in the boat beofre each regatta. We would also dip our handles of our blades in the water!
13. What advice would you give young people? I would tell them that they are truly capable of doing antything that they want in life. An obstacle in life is only an obstacle if you allow it to be. Never give up and always believe in yourself.
14. What did you do this summer? I lived in Wildwood. NJ (by myself) for my fourth summer. I worked as a receptionist/asst. manager at Notre Dame and SunRest Hotels (also as lifeguard), and followed my personal workout regimen.
15. What are your goals at Miami both in sports and outside sports? As far as crew I would like to make my experience here as memorable as possible, while pushing my body to its limit. I would like to become an All-American. Academically I also challenge myself as much as possible. I would like to graduate with a 3.8-4.0 GPA and be fluent in Spanish.
