Feb. 1, 2008

Throughout the season, members of the UNC rowing team will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at the Carolina program and the experience of being a varsity athlete at UNC. This installment, the fifth of the 2007-08 school year, is by Chandler Sours, a junior from Atlanta.

Since we have returned from winter training at Lake Lanier, we have been enjoying our last few weeks of winter training and the eight hours per week practice schedule. The erg workouts have been challenging, especially with the hot conditions in the erg room, but everyone has been persevering and getting stronger every day. From our test battery to our everyday practices we have worked through pain, tears, nausea, you name it. But we all know that when we get to that final spring at ACCs this year, it will all be worth it. We have started our new spring weight room program, and thanks to Melissa, I can honestly say that everyone on the team has found it a little more difficult to walk up stairs lately.

As we approach our upcoming season, we are all looking forward to moving out of the erg room and weather permitting on to the water in order to prepare for our first race in a few weeks against Duke. This year our team is in a new place. We are stronger, fitter, and more dedicated to each other than ever before; therefore we all have high hopes for the spring season. We know that we have worked harder than our competition during our "off season," and that we have the confidence to beat teams that we have in previous years thought unbeatable. We are throwing out our preconceived notions of which crews are faster than us, and we plan on racing each crew as an opponent to be beat. This is Carolina Rowing's year, and we are all prepared to see all of our hard work show in our results.