By Julian De Ocampo ’13
THE ROUNDUP

They walk away from practice with aching bodies and calloused hands, but it’s a small price to pay for the experience that is crew.

Those on the crew team spend their time rowing across lakes in the fastest time possible.

Rowers said a crucial part of the experience of crew if the kinship that members feel.

“Crew is a sport that really promotes unity over individual achievement. The team comes first,” said Jackson Bentley ’13.

The team recently finished off their fall season, in which the members focused on long distance rowing events.

Head coach Dr. Ryan Krch said he thought Sean McMahon ’13, Matt Nelson ’12, Carter Radcliffe ’11 and Briggs Hoyt ’11 really excelled over the past season.

Although Dr. Krch said he believes that they had a successful season, the team had little time to rest, as they are now well underway for spring competition.

The team was quick to point out that the workouts were no easy task.

“It’s like every single muscle in your body is working at the same time,” said rower Trevor Laity ’13.

This training is necessary for the upcoming events. Spring competitions are events that focus more on short-distance rowing than what the team was used to doing in the fall.

In the fall, the usual practice location, Tempe Town Lake, dried up, leaving the students unable to practice.

The team was forced to use another location, Firebird Lake, for the beginning of the fall season. After their brief stint at Firebird, the team has now returned to Tempe Town Lake to finish off the season.

“We’re anticipating a strong spring season,” Dr. Krch said. “There’s a lot of rowers who joined this year that I think are going to do well in the coming months.”