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Bucknell Women's Rowing Journal - Gillian Carter
June 11, 2009
Here we are sitting on the endless plane ride home from a trip that was filled with uncertainty from the beginning: the budget, the people, the bout. How was it all going to work out? Then there were the 3 weeks of training in Lewisburg --- a tedious workout plan of three-a-day practices and some occasional lifts. We never thought the day we left for California would ever come. Once we left, it was over in a blink of an eye. Eight days, so many practices, two different homes, and a race of a lifetime, all over in what seems so much shorter than this plane ride home. How did this time fly by so quickly? Perhaps it was the fact that we were traveling to new territory, or was it because we were finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it was because we finally realized that this was real. We were on a mission to compete with the best lightweight women in the country and it was our excitement and anticipation for our competition that sped up the time for us. From the beginning this idea of uncertainty was something we had to overcome. Now that we were in California, one of the biggest uncertainties was about to be confronted...how would we match up with the best in the country? Unlike the other crews we would line up against, we had never raced a full 2k with out boat line-up. Not to mention the fact that these crews also had been rowing together, building boat chemistry, for the past semester as we only came together for 4 weeks. But like years past, we all came together at the perfect instant when it really counted. It just so happened that we were able to make it straight into the grand final, surpassing the Princeton Tigers at the very last instant in our heat. Although that gave us a small boost of confidence, nothing can really be inferred from the heats because come race day, the true test, anything is possible.
On race day, anything truly is possible. As Katherine said with 500 meters to go, "Let's unzip...let's get naked," we left everything out on the course to cross the line within the top three! Once again this plague of uncertainty reigned over our heads as we were yet to find out how we finished, second or third. To our amazement we came out in second, inching out Stanford as we had Princeton in our heat a day earlier. SECOND! In the nation! In the words of Coach Kish, "It was insanity!"
It was the perfect ending to a great season, a great year, and a great time at Bucknell. Four weeks, four years all gone by within the blink of an eye. What a great experience. It is exciting to see where this team is going to go. We have so much youth, talent, spirit, and desire. Good luck Bison! Whoop Whoop! Missing you guys already! - Gillian Carter '09 P.S. This boat was REAL!!! |
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