April 21, 2005

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 15th of the 2004-05 school year, is by Emily Glunz, a senior from Charlotte.

We were all sitting around the trailer on Sunday when I suddenly heard the four magic little words I'd been aching to hear all day: "Bow, who is bow?" My heart jumped, I quickly rose to my feet, and graciously extended my hand - offered a "thanks" to the Louisville rower - and proudly took hold of her school's betting shirt. That's right, our second varsity eight claimed first place at SIRAs this past weekend, allowing us to garner both a gold medal and betting shirts from the teams we defeated. It was a magnificent day.

SIRAs, however, were just a steppingstone for the opposition that lies ahead. This upcoming weekend we face some of our toughest competition as we head to Clemson, S.C., for the ACC Championship regatta. Our competition includes UVA, Miami, Clemson, and Duke, some of the top-ranked teams in the nation.

Nevertheless, we have something great on our side: we Tar Heels are ready to fight, with everything that we have, in order to excel this weekend. From the varsity eight and down, we have coaches who believe in and inspire us, we have seniors ready to put everything on the line to leave a legacy at ACCs, we have juniors fighting to perfect every aspect of their technique or coxing to get us across the finish line first, we have sophomores persevering relentlessly to inspire their boatmates and teammates, and we have freshmen setting what seem like unachievable goals and absolutely obliterating them. It's an honor to row with such a vibrant, dedicated group of girls.

It's been an exciting year for Carolina Rowing, and it's going to be an exciting weekend as we get a chance to show the ACC what the Heels have to offer...