ORLANDO, Fla. – After an eight-day spring training trip that included 18 practices, the Nova Southeastern rowing team is fully prepared to take on the 2018 spring season, which officially starts this Friday, Mar. 16. The Sharks will travel back to Orlando to compete against host University of Central Florida, University of Connecticut and Jacksonville University.
 
Head coach Devin Fay and the rest of his coaching staff were very pleased by the team's improvements over the week dedicated solely to moving the boat better and becoming a team. During this yearly training session, all distractions are removed and the coaches and rowers can put all of their focus towards getting their movements ready for competition. 
 
Below, Fay recounts the week as a whole:
 
"We had a spectacular spring training trip this year. We did a lot of hard work and we had several people return to training at a high level. Our team did a good job recovering for the next workout, we were focused and began to see who is making boats go fast as we get closer to creating spring racing line-ups. Of course, we also had a lot of fun.
 
"Our focus on the trip was to get better at rowing competitively for long stretches and making our teammates better by seeing who could suffer more with hard pulling at low stroke ratings. To that end, we started seeing the payoff as we moved through the week in our fitness as well as toughness below race cadence. There were multiple practices where we had two boats that were evenly matched for the first half of a head-to-head race until one found a better rhythm, was more determined or both and the faster crew would then prevail. However, both groups in these situations learned a lot about rowing hard when at or near physical and psychological limits.
 
"It was great to see the competition between teammates and boats on a daily basis, yet we still spent a good amount of time teaching and learning to row better.  Timing is an essential component of boat speed and throughout the week we found ways to row better together until we saw certain combinations start to emerge.
 
"This trip also showed us the progression of our athletes and we saw many standouts during the trip. Sophomore Barbara Sansur, who started rowing this past fall, made huge leaps forward in their rowing ability. She is a great teammate and her enthusiasm has already made our team better. In addition, freshman Miranda Sadlow has adapted well to her role in the coxswain seat, driving well and making an impact on getting rowers better. Another walk-on from last year, sophomore Mikayla Switzer, continues be a valuable stroke seat and lead several boats to great rows over the week of training.  At the junior level Lisette Villarreal, also a walk-on, showed that even though she isn't the largest or the fastest woman on the team, her consistency of toughness, training and fitness is helping to raise the level of competition on the team. Our freshman class is also pushing to make boats fast.  Emily Stewart was hindered slightly with a thumb injury coming from our winter training cycle, but is making an impact in whatever boat she is in.  She drives hard and she swings even harder, her teammates know when she is going for it.  Kassie Moss and Jasmine Morris also have spent time in line-ups at the top 16 of our squad this spring so far and are working hard to keep us competitive and going faster.
 
"Finally, we will lean on returners like Sophomores Ayelen Vegas and Ariel McAffrey, Juniors Rayna Stuart, Marnie McLean, and Nicole Baliszewski, plus seniors Victoria Porretti and Danica Buse all to step up and lead the team if we are going to have a successful campaign this spring. True competition and selflessness are important in any team's success and if this group can get them right we will truly be a force this spring.
"We had several parents host the team to dinners and lunches, which gave the trip a hometown feel as several local families came out to show their support.  Thank you to Kelley Switzer, Melissa Lopez and Candice Nichols for making the trip and the NSU Rowing Family better.
 
For complete coverage of the Sharks throughout the spring, log onto NSUSharks.com or follow the rowing team on Twitter @NSU_Rowing.