On Oct. 4th, Smith’s crew team competed in their first regatta of the Fall 2019 season, “Head of the Riverfront Regatta.” On October 1st, I spoke with captain Anna Freund ’20 about her experience with crew and how the team has been preparing to get back on the water.
When did you start rowing?
I started rowing in the fall of my first year – September of 2016.
Why did you start rowing?
I love a good pain sport because I played hockey in high school. I read a book, “Boys in the Boat”, and I thought it’d be a good sport to try. But I didn’t want to [do crew] in high school because I didn’t want to feel like I was missing something in college that I had in high school because I didn’t want to be a coxswain.
What about the sport connects with you?
I like how you have to keep each other accountable in the work you’re doing on the water and off the water to make sure the team goes fast and the boat goes fast. But I also really enjoy the rhythmicness [sic] and peacefulness of the sport, and being outside and being in a place where there’s moving scenery.
How has the team been preparing for the season?
We’ve been working really hard in the offseason to stay fit and keep building from where we left off in the spring and making sure that we’re physically ready for the 5k season [in] the fall, where there are longer, harder pieces. We’ve also been working in the weight room to make sure that we’re lifting as hard as we can and getting our technique better so that our boats are crisper on the water.
How are first years and other new members acclimating to the team?
I think they’re acclimating well. I think it’s hard because, especially for new rowers, crew is really special because you can walk on with no experience and play a varsity sport, whereas with others, you need some prior experience to join even if you aren’t recruited. It’s a hard sport to learn, and it’s so technical. And there are so many things to focus on that you just don’t know where to start sometimes. But I think our team has worked really hard to bring in the first year recruits or transfers and new team members who joined through the walk-on program. We’ve been really working to bring them into our team culture and make them feel like they belong and are helping us get faster and pushing each other to keep driving.
What can fans expect to see on Sunday?
I think it will be a really good showcase to see where we’re at against some of our favorite competitors and see how the work we’ve been doing over the summer and up till Sunday have paid off. But it’s also a good guide for things we can improve on and how we can get faster.
What’s something about Crew that you wish more people understood?I wish more people understood how mentally tough you have to be to be a rower – to go all out for 8 to 20 minutes depending on your season. And you have to be on yourself and keep yourself honest – like “yes I’m pushing as hard as I can.” We, in a sense, have to give into the mentality of “everything I do and all the pain I go through is for the team. It is worth it in the end.” That and also that rowing is truly a full body sport in the sense that all parts of your body and your mind are worked.
