Conquering Cougars
PULLMAN – Out of the corners of their eyes, all nine people on Washington State’s boat had to see Stanford’s boat pulling ahead not long after their race began on the Snake River Saturday.
The gap grew from one seat, then two, three – maybe even four – as the Cardinal crew pressed forward.
But no panic could be seen on the faces in the Cougars boat. Coxswain Kelly O’Brien’s voice didn’t strain as she instructed her teammates.
And just as they’ve done all spring, WSU’s varsity eight boat hit the halfway mark and began to dominate.
In the third 500 meters of a 2,000-meter race the Cougars charged ahead, closing what was left of the gap and opening one of their own, eventually claiming a full boat-length’s lead and winning by more than three seconds.
“I don’t know whether this is good or bad, but I kind of view this team as just being a team that just finds a way to win,” WSU coach Jane LaRiviere said. “They’ve had close races with all their opponents. We haven’t blown anybody out of the water, but at the same time it only matters what happens at the very end.”
Rowing is not a sport that claims much of the spotlight at WSU, or in the NCAA. No stands were needed on the river bank for the cheering crowd.
But at WSU this spring, the rowing team’s place is on solid ground.
LaRiviere’s team gobbles up 20 scholarships – more than any other non-football squad – and as such helps push the athletic department into accord with Title IX requirements. And it’s this team that’s having more success than any other at WSU these days.
The Cougars’ top boat is ranked seventh in the country, and has already defeated Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee and Stanford, all top-20 competitors. More significantly, it beat Washington’s top boat for the first time ever in a springtime race.
LaRiviere is in her fourth year at WSU after spending eight as an assistant at Oregon State, and in this season she’s found a group that may make her queasy at times, but has ultimately brought tremendous success from top to bottom. (The Cougars also sport a competitive second varsity eight boat and a varsity four boat, both of which would join the top boat if WSU makes the NCAA championships as a team.)
“I am confident in them,” LaRiviere explained. “That doesn’t mean I don’t get wrinkles or gray hairs. They win hard.
“I don’t see perfection. I see lots of little things going wrong all the time. But the great thing is, I can tell them and they’re keen to work on that. They’re just happy to figure out how to get faster.”
This is not, the coach will tell you, the most athletically talented of crews. But with three seniors in each of the top two boats, superior technique and an improved level of fitness, the Cougars have found the ability to put away almost all comers.
“We have fun in the boat, but we know when to turn it on and turn it off,” said Sarah Lende, a junior from Alaska who rows with the varsity eight. “I think that’s a really important balance. Because it’s casual and it’s relaxed but when it’s time we can show up and be aggressive.”
Adds sophomore Tiana Rodriquez: “It’s one of the first times I’ve been in a boat where you get in there and it’s not like being down phases us. We’ve been down so many times that we believe we can do it. We never think, ‘Oh, it’s over.’ “
The Cougars have one more race on the Snake this Saturday against Oregon State before heading to California for the Pac-10 Championships, where a top-three finish will send the entire team to New Jersey for the NCAA Championships.
WSU has gone that far twice before in LaRiviere’s first two seasons. But the coach seems to think this group might have the moxie to do more than just make it to the year’s final races.
And thus far, they’ve done little to prove her wrong.
“We may not be the fastest crew, but I’m confident they’re going to at least get good races out there,” she said. “I really like them. They’re good kids. They’re character kids. They’re mentally strong and they’re really fit. I’d take that over pretty much everything.”