Club Crew

Motivation comes in all shapes and sizes. For the University of Richmond club crew team, a coach and a new boathouse led the team to having one of their best years yet.

“Last semester was most definitely a transition period for the team,” says vice president Jennifer Billings, ’14. “We were in the process of changing the executive board and transitioning from the old idea of the team—one that thought of the team as more of a social club—into the current executive board members’ vision of the team over the next year.”

This vision, according to Billings, includes making a championship club into a true athletic team, complete with “tryouts, cuts and increasingly difficult training.” The team currently has 35 rowers and is predominantly male. Part of this vision was realized when coach Tamara Highsmith joined the team last semester. Highsmith rowed at Cornell as an undergraduate and then coached crew at the University of Tulsa after graduating. She is currently the director of Dining Services at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“We truly have moved into a new era for the team,” Billings says. “The cohesive team bond is really extraordinary, both in and out of practice. Coach Highsmith is an integral part of this team, motivating us to set the bar higher for ourselves everyday.”

The evolution of the crew team continues with a new boathouse at Rockett's Landing in downtown Richmond. Funding for the boathouse came from more than $10,000 in donations this year alone, which Billings says opens new doors for the team. The boathouse was built with an eye toward accommodating team expansion in the coming years. In addition, two more “new elite boats” were just added to the team’s fleet in order to meet the needs of the rowers.

“It allows us a place not only to have our base of operations for water practices and a secure location to keep our equipment, but to come together even more as a team,” Billings says. “We have cookouts on warm weekends and just hang out and catch up after the usually hectic school week.”

The new headquarters also gives team members a reason to get off campus and explore what the city has to offer. “I didn't row the first semester I was here and I got tired of the same thing every weekend, so crew added a way to travel and do something different,” says Matt Sorensen, ’15. “Practicing six days a week has also given me more structure and makes me manage my time more efficiently.”

Armed with new practice facilities, additional equipment, and a fresh outlook, the team competed and performed well in the Head of The South Regatta in Augusta, Ga in early November. And they’re ready to face off in four more regattas coming up this spring.

“The biggest change I have seen on the team in the past few years has definitely been the collective attitude,” says Eric Grasso, ’14. “When I got here as a freshman it seemed that most of the people were interested in rowing and having fun, but were not all that willing to put in the necessary work to succeed at races.”

In the winter, the team mainly trains indoors on rowing machines. The team also competes in rowing machine competitions.

And while the team usually practices on the James River, they can sometimes be found making their way across Westhampton Lake—a location that brings its own set of challenges. What did the team members immediately identify as being annoying? The geese.

Pictured, from left to right: Christian Voto, Eric Grasso, Jennifer Billings, Matt Sorensen and William Meier