Nov. 20, 2006

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 eighth of the 2006-07 school year, is by Chandler Sours, a sophomore from Atlanta.

Going into the Romp last weekend, we remained optimistic and confident in spite of the fact that we would be racing some of the fastest teams in the nation. However, due to a glitch in the timing system, all of the results for our first race were lost. The coaches made an executive decision to scratch the small boats and repeat the race. As a team we had a difficult time dealing with not only the severe weather, but also the last minute change of plans. We were not mentally or physically prepared for this, especially after we all put our hearts into the first race only to find it did not count. While we all ended our second race disappointed, we had a five hour ride back to Chapel Hill to think it over.

After our initial let down, we have all banded together and chosen not to let our poor results disappoint us, but rather to use our frustration to make us stronger and to reaffirm our commitment to our goals. As we have gone into our last week on the water before winter training, we have vowed to keep ourselves accountable, on the water, in the erg room, at weights and even outside of practice. Our disappointment furthered our dedication to "starting the legacy," and we are going into winter training ready to work harder than ever in our off-season so when we can come back in the spring and we will show all the teams that beat us this fall that we will not sit back and let it happen again.