As rowing regatta season approaches, our Marymount Sailors are hard at work, practicing daily at the UCLA Aquatic Center in Marina del Rey in preparation for their upcoming competitions. A regatta is a rowing tournament consisting of a series of boat races. The Marina Aquatic Center (MAC) Rowing Club is a competitive rowing program made up of athletes from high schools all over LA, including Marymount. On the weekend of February 24th, our Sailors traveled to Oakland, CA to compete in the Fault Line Face-Off, one of the biggest regattas of their season. Our Marymount girls won numerous medals, and Kendall Fisher ‘20 and Rachel Cuneo ‘21’s boat earned 1st place.

We interviewed Marymount junior, Sarah Fry ‘19, a member of the Varsity Women’s MAC rowing team, about her experience rowing and how she got started in the sport. “I started rowing the summer before sophomore year,” she said. “I went to Learn to Row Camp and I fell in love with it from the beginning. It’s challenging but it’s helped me to grow a lot as a person.” Sarah also explained that “rowing has also turned [her] into a better student, helping [her] learn how to manage [her] time better and stay on top of [her] work.” This year, she “was able to get into the Varsity eight,” which she described as unexpected and very exciting. Sarah is extremely talented and we look forward to seeing her compete in her upcoming regattas!

We also interviewed Marymount sophomore, Caitlin Cowan ‘20, a member of the Varsity Women’s MAC rowing team. She has been a member of the rowing team since her freshman year at Marymount and continues to contribute to her team as a coxswain. She says that she “loves being a part of such a fun and supportive team.” In Caitlin’s words, as a coxswain, it is her responsibility to “steer the boat and give information to the rowers. I let them know how fast they are going and motivate them to row harder.”

We also spoke with Marymount freshman, Rachel Cuneo ‘21, a member of the Novice Women’s MAC rowing team about her involvement in rowing so far. Rachel was initially nervous to try out because she had no prior rowing training and was unsure of what to expect, but when welcomed by her older teammates, her worries were alleviated and she grew eager to begin. “When I walked into the first day of tryouts, I was greeted by an older girl who had been rowing for a long time,” Rachel explained. “She saw that I was worried and reassured me, and then told me a little bit about the rowing program and what to expect. Her encouragement convinced me to try out and do the best that I could.”

Our Marymount rowers are Ananda Smith-Taylor ‘18, Effie Hirzel ‘18, Charlotte Fuller ‘19, India Bland ‘19, Sarah Fry ‘19, Caitlin Cowan ‘20, Georgina Watts ‘20, Kendall Fisher ‘20, Shannon Dutton ‘20, Rachel Cuneo ‘21, and Elise Keith ‘21. Our Marymount rowers are excitedly awaiting their next regattas! Come out to cheer on our Sailors!