UP's new varsity crew team glides into first season
There are no words, Cloe Hussey says, to describe the energy of the women in her boat as they soar across the water to the finish line of a race.
鈥淲e might be a couple feet from the finish line, but none of us stops pulling our hardest,鈥 said the University of Portland student. 鈥淐rew athletes gets the ultimate high when their bodies are screaming only inches away from the finish line.鈥
That energy level will only increase this year for UP鈥檚 women rowers and their fans. For the female rowers, the university has elevated the student-run club into an official varsity sport, competing in the NCAA Division 1 competition in the West Coast Conference. The school hired Bill Zack, former assistant coach with the UCLA women鈥檚 rowing team for nine years, as the first head coach of the newly formed team. He started June 1.
UP鈥檚 director of athletics, Larry Williams, said Zack is the perfect leader for the new program.