Sport Management students in Brendan O’Hallarn’s Sport Media and Public Relations class came up with ODU Athletics feature story ideas, then reported and wrote these pieces for a class assignment. The assignment was created to provide feature content for the ODUSports website, and offer students the real-world learning experience of writing a story for the ODUSports website.
By: Chris Barco
Drexel University, University of Alabama, and Old Dominion University — three choices for higher education. For Ashley Nardiello, one university stood out more than the rest.
Nardiello always knew she was going to go to college and become a student-athlete. She just wasn’t sure what sport she would pursue. When she was younger, the possibilities of swimming and soccer were on her mind. With the influence of her uncles, Nardiello figured out what sport she would call her own: women’s rowing. Nardiello is a third-generation rower in her family and was extremely excited to share her choice to attend Old Dominion University as a student-athlete. She enjoyed the location, the scholarship awarded and the familiarity that Old Dominion offered to her.
Nardiello began attending rowing clubs in the summers of seventh and eighth grade, and began competing competitively during her freshman year of high school. Entering college, Nardiello knew the workouts were going to get tough, because the races were longer. It entailed more endurance, longevity, and cross training with running.
“Oh gosh, my first workout was not fun,” Nardiello said, recalling her first Old Dominion practice. “I threw up three times, if that was even possible. They knew how to push me to a new level of competing, and while I knew it was hard for me, the team was surely benefitting.”
Former assistant coach Mike Lucey and current head coach Daniel Garbutt were a big part of Nardiello’s recruiting process. Garbutt is from New Jersey, so she assumed it wouldn’t be a tough adjustment. Nardiello starts her day at 5:15 a.m. weekly with 6 a.m. practices. Running two or three miles, rowing over a 10,000 meters using timed intervals, and competing for positions in the starting lineups, Nardiello was not ready to wake up so early to such an intense workout that happened daily.
“The only day I have to sleep in is Sunday,” said Nardiello. “But, because every day I get up so early, sleeping in to me is until 7 a.m.”
Despite the challenges, Nardiello pushed through the obstacles that life threw at her. Her freshman year she tore the muscle that connects her lower back to her hips. Shortly after, she tore her meniscus.
“I believe the injuries drove me to be better on and off the water,” said Nardiello. “Since I was now behind the rest of the team, I had to train harder and longer to get back into the competing boats.”
Nardiello quickly regained her seat back in the second Varsity 8 (number two of the top three boats), and moved into the first Varsity 8 boat her junior and senior year.
It was clear in Nardiello’s words that Old Dominion was the right choice for her. By turning down Alabama, and one of the most prestigious rowing schools, Drexel, ODU had to offer something that she enjoyed. Old Dominion’s women’s rowing team took off in 2008 in compliance with Title IX regulations. In football, there are 85 men on full scholarships and in order to counteract women’s rowing was created.
What really encouraged Nardiello to choose ODU was the fact that she didn’t have to share a boathouse with a men’s team. Drexel and Alabama both have men’s and women’s varsity teams and other club teams that row out of their boathouse.
“I enjoy ODU’s facility and the fact that I don’t have to share it with any other teams,” said Nardiello. “We have state-of-the-art static and dynamic ergs in addition to new stationary bikes. The more traffic flow through the boathouse causes wear and tare of equipment and wasted practice time.”
Nardiello also found that Old Dominion reminded her of her beach hometown in South Jersey. Given that she was five hours away, something relating to home could comfort her with such ease.
Nardiello will graduate with above a 3.0 as a student-athlete in May of 2016 with a degree in Park, Recreation, and Tourism Management. She would like to pursue a career as a wedding planner.
“I love it here, and am proud of my decision to row for Old Dominion,” said Nardiello. “The connections I have made here are endless.”