story by Leigh Campbell, photos by Maria Donnelley
The first time St. Teresa’s senior MaryKat Hoeser rowed, she had to wake up at 5 a.m. Overwhelmed by the plethora of new information about the sport and tired from her early wake up call, she was completely clueless as to what to do.
However, the moment she got out on the water, she knew it was all worth it.
“It was 6 a.m. and the sun was just rising over the dam when we rowed out of the cove, but I couldn’t even see 10 feet in front of me because of how thick the morning fog was,” Hoeser recalled. “The water was so smooth and the sunrise barely broke through the fog.”
Similar experiences have made rowing an increasingly popular sport in Kansas City, according to STA senior Lauren Zastrow. According to the NCAA, in 1981 and 1982 there were only 43 colleges that offered women’s rowing. Today, more than 142 colleges sponsor rowing.
Zastrow first decided to row after her mom encouraged her to try it.
“I love being outside and being in water,” Zastrow said. “I didn’t want to pursue swimming as much anymore, so I thought rowing would be good to try.”
Last summer Zastrow attended the University of California San Diego’s rowing camp. One of only ten raw beginners, Zastrow was initially very intimidated.
“In California, rowing is one of the biggest sports, so all the kids there knew how to row,” Zastrow said. “They were just like, ‘Why did you come from Kansas to row?’ I was in a boat with all guys and they were just really mad at me because I didn’t know what to do. But it gets better.”
After Zastrow’s experience in San Diego she decided to pursue rowing in Kansas City through the Kansas City Rowing Club.
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Similarly, Hoeser began rowing with the KCRC after hearing about it from STA alumna Paige Wendland.
“I used to carpool with Paige Wendland, who was a senior at the time,” Hoeser said. “She joined KCRC a year or so before and told me all about it, telling me stories about watching the sun rise over crystal clear water. So a year later, in the summer of 2013, I joined the team without any experience or any idea how the sport worked and immediately loved it.”
Zastrow and Hoeser drive 45 minutes four times a week to Wyandotte Lake for practice.
“For the fall season, we usually work on distance and endurance, so once we’re all in a boat we typically row four to six kilometers up and down Wyandotte County Lake Park,” Hoeser said. “And we will also stop and do certain drills if we are struggling with balance or togetherness.”
Additionally, they have competitions on weekends.
“Our competitions are like track or swim meets. Several teams come together, and there are certain races at certain times that we participate in,” Hoeser said. “Races require much more concentration and dedication because you are fighting against the clock and it depends on everyone in the boat to put in equal effort. Finishing a race, especially a long one like a 5K, is such a rewarding feeling.”
According to Zastrow, there can be one, two, four, six or eight people in a boat. There are also two styles of rowing the oars – scull or sweep.
“Sweep is where you just have one oar and sculling is when you have two oars at the same time,” Zastrow said. “Sculling is a lot harder.”
Despite its difficulty, both Zastrow and Hoeser agree that they love the sport. However, they are unsure if they are going to row competitively in college.
“My advice to anyone interested is to take a chance and try rowing out,” Hoeser said. “I joined the team not knowing what to expect and it turned out to be such a great sport to be a part of and I love it.”
