May 24, 2011
| Maeghan Pardy |
Maeghan Pardy is a sophomore on the Old Dominion women's rowing team who has been checking in with ODUSports.com during the spring season giving insight into the Lady Monarchs' third varsity season.
The ODU women's rowing team wrapped the 2010-11 season last weekend at the Dad Vail Regatta capping off their best season yet.
NOTE: Video of the Lady Monarchs' Varsity Four and Varsity Eight races from the Dad Vail Regatta are archived on ESPN3.com. Watch the Varsity Four race at the 2:23 mark and the Varsity Eight at the 3:17 mark.
It's hard to believe that it's all over for another year, but what a great year it was for the Lady Monarchs. An amazing year, actually. In the past month, we've made some pretty huge strides for a program in its third year. That being said, remember how I told you ages ago, in my last blog, that we wouldn't stop until we had it all? Well so far, we've put up a pretty phenomenal fight and our fans should be extremely proud of the four silver medals now bearing the name ODU (Varsity 4 & Varsity 8 at CAA's, Varsity 4 & Varsity 8 at Dad Vails).
We're still hungry though! We're hungry for that win, we're hungry for victory and we can surely look forward to a super fun winter training season of erging to prepare us for just that! But enough about next year, we'll deal with that in a few months. For now, the memories of our team's mixed successes and heartbreaks at Dad Vails linger in our minds.
We were not even remotely in the same ballpark this year at Dad Vails as we were last year. At the 2010 Vails, we had one of three crews advance to semis, none to finals. At the 2011 Vails, we had people wondering where in the world us ODU girls came from. With only three boats rowing under our name, we weren't a big team, but we definitely made a big impression.
The Varsity 4 started us off on Friday with a bang. First place, one of the fastest times, straight to semis. Varsity 8? First place, fastest time, straight to semis. Second Varsity Eight? Third place, great race (especially after having to wait all day before finally getting to race), straight to semis. No reps for ODU this year. I say "reps", by the way, because I don't think I (or anyone on our team, for that matter) will ever have the slightest clue how to pronounce the word "repechage". So thank goodness we didn't have to race them this year. And honestly, that in itself felt like an accomplishment.
| ODU's Varsity 8 took silver at the 2011 Dad Vails missing a gold medal by less than .4 seconds. |
And with that, day one was over. At this point, we were probably a mixture of shocked and excited about where we stood, but we knew that day two was going to be the killer - both semis and finals were going to be within six hours of each other. Ughh.Well, semis came and went - Varsity 4 and Varsity 8, on to the grand finals. The Second Varsity Eight had a great race and was just shy of making the final. The frustrating part for the girls was that they all knew that had they been in the other semi, with their time, they would have made the final. But I suppose it's the luck of the draw, right? Again, ughh.
Finals. Oh, finals. Honestly, if you think that I seem to be at a loss for the right words to say about this regatta, you're right on. I've actually delayed writing this in order to "collect my thoughts". And yes, I'm aware that this seems melodramatic, but I could honestly spend hours just sitting and thinking about how finals went down this year. Everyone was excited, anxious, and nervous. There'd been rumors going around about who people thought would win in our respective categories and for the first time ever, the name ODU was being passed around like crazy. It was exhilarating. It was also terrifying. After three years of people not knowing who we were or dismissing the name ODU just because we were new, we were finally being recognized.
Going into the finals, we knew that we'd already accomplished things so far beyond what anyone had expected of us. And we were going to show them what the Lady Monarchs were made of right until the very end.
Well, you've seen the results. The Varsity Four put on an amazing show in a tight race for second place. The Varsity Eight raced to a photo finish. Both crews brought home silver medals for the Lady Monarchs.
From here, I can only speak for the Varsity Eight. To say that we were disappointed in our result would be an understatement. But you know what? We raced harder and faster than we ever have before. And I am about 132% positive that none of us will ever forget that race. It's one of those things that sit in the back of your head. One of those thoughts that get you through winter training knowing the possibilities that are waiting for you on the other side if you are willing to give everything you have.
This race, this regatta, gave everyone a glimpse of who we are and what we're after. I have never been more proud to call myself an Old Dominion Monarch. But it's not over. This is just the beginning of us.
The Old Dominion women's rowing just wrapped up its third varsity season with several impressive results. Ending the season with a second place showing by the Varsity Eight and Varsity Four at the Dad Vail Regatta, the Lady Monarchs also had sweeps of Miami and Colgate, wins over six-time Patriot League Champion Bucknell, a third place finish at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, and Grand Final appearances at the Knecht Cup.