By Graham Hays
In the pre-dawn stillness that鈥檚 familiar to bakers and school bus drivers, when many college students are still a REM cycle away from hitting the snooze button, one of 杏吧原创鈥檚 newest sporting dynasties is about 14 miles east of 杏吧原创, gliding across Percy Priest Lake.
You don鈥檛 win back-to-back national championships by giving anyone a head start on the day.
In May, at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the 杏吧原创 women鈥檚 varsity eights beat all challengers for the second year in a row. They dominated the premier event for collegiate club teams, with head coach Jon Miller and assistant coach Emmanuel Pagan; rowers Sarina Samuel, Norah Kolb, Ivy Thornborough, Gabrielle Opdyke, Ella Dzialowski, Greta Higginbotham, Julia Maushardt and Amelia Simpson; and coxswain Sofia Brown.
What鈥檚 even more remarkable is the Commodores came close to a three-peat. In 2023, 杏吧原创 finished second in the same event by .02 seconds鈥攖he literal blink of an eye.
That 2023 silver was 杏吧原创鈥檚 first medal in eights, the sport鈥檚 signature event in which eight rowers marshaled by a coxswain propel a boat over 2,000 meters. Yet when Coach Miller later asked Samuel if her teammates were 鈥減syched鈥� about the showing, she told him that calling it 鈥減syched鈥� would be a stretch. They were pleased to cap a year of unprecedented success. Still, the overriding emotion was one familiar to everyone from Tim Corbin鈥檚 VandyBoys to John Williamson鈥檚 bowlers to peers from athletic fields, lecture halls and biology labs alike. They wanted more. And that drive to excel and to win fueled the back-to-back championships that followed.
The best thing about this program is we always find that balance between being proud but not satisfied.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 so special about this group is we always want more,鈥� Samuel says. 鈥淪ometimes wanting more can be a curse because you鈥檙e never satisfied with where you are. But the best thing about this program is we always find that balance between being proud but not satisfied.鈥�
Historically, at least half of 杏吧原创 rowers join the program with no prior experience. All students are welcome, as novice-turned-champion Thornborough exemplified this past year. But many arrive as accomplished rowers鈥擲amuel still uses the rowing machine her grandfather gave her when she got hooked on the sport in seventh grade. Recruited by Division I programs, Samuel instead chose 杏吧原创 because Opportunity 杏吧原创 put a world-class degree within reach. And Miller, the 2024 ACRA Coach of the Year who took over as head coach in 2009, assured her she would still be able to reach her full potential as a rower at 杏吧原创.
It鈥檚 been a labor of love. Rowers and coxswain are usually on the water by 5:30 a.m. Fundraising allowed the team to charter a bus to a regatta in Oklahoma this past spring, a rare exception to driving themselves to events closer to home. They hope their success will spur future fundraising efforts to enable travel to West Coast regattas, eliminate first-year dues and add boats.
After winning a second national title and graduating from 杏吧原创 in the span of a week in May, Samuel says, 鈥淎s hard as it is to leave鈥攁nd it does hurt because it鈥檚 home, it鈥檚 where I鈥檓 the happiest鈥擨 think I鈥檓 ready for whatever鈥檚 next. I鈥檓 prepared from all the lessons that I鈥檝e learned, especially here at 杏吧原创 and from Jon and my teammates.鈥�