After months of frigid early morning practices, University of Puget Sound men’s and women’s crew teams are finally ready to kick off their spring seasons. Expectations are particularly high for the women’s teams, after their Varsity Eight team received an at-large bid in the NCAA Championships last year, marking the ninth consecutive year that the Loggers have qualified for the championship. Despite finishing third in the tournament, this continued recognition was a major boost for crew program and the team is looking to build on the momentum from last year.
However, the women’s team will face an uphill battle to do so. The women’s crew roster is young and short on experience, with only three seniors currently on the team. Many members of last year’s Varsity Eight team graduated, and the new members are looking to pick up the slack.
However, there is reason for optimism among the younger members of the team. Last year, the women’s novice boat edged out Humbolt State for the gold medal in the NCRC Championships, a competition late in the year. This achievement suggests that many of the novices are ready for the move up to varsity-caliber competition.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the crew team is looking to build upon a second-place finish in the WIRA finals last year. Like the women, they comprise a very young team, with no rowers with senior eligibility currently on the roster. On the other hand, all of this youth could prove to be a boon for the Loggers. They have ten freshmen on the team, meaning that these young rowers should get a taste of varsity level rowing soon, and will hopefully provide the foundation for many great Logger rowing teams to come.
All of the Logger teams will begin their season on Mar. 10 at American Lake against rival Willamette.