ROWERS FIND COLLEGES, COLLEGES ARE FINDING ROWERS
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Throughout the years area rowers have advanced to the collegiate level and continued to participate in their sport while some local athletes discovered the sport on their college campuses and both returned to Saratoga Springs on Saturday with their respective teams for the New York State Collegiate Rowing Championship on Fish Creek.
Current Rochester Institute of Technology freshman Andrew deVries returned on Saturday to compete with the RIT second freshman/novice eight on his former course in the backyard of his high school team, Saratoga Rowing Association.
“I always see people I know, say hi to coaches, my parents can always meet me, my sister can, they always bring a lot of food and stuff for me to take back,” Andrew deVries said. “I really like this course. I have a lot of good memories here.”
deVries, an electrical engineering major, chose RIT early on during his college selection process.
“It was really like the first college visit I did and I did a lot of courses related to RIT in high school and I really liked it,” deVries said. “I liked the area and fell in love with the campus.
“I didn’t want it to be too complicated with the process or go for all of these crazy reach schools. I did get a junior scholarship there. I did want to row in college, wanting to continue to do that because I rowed for many years in high school. I visited the (RIT) boathouse and had been in contact with the coach. I knew RIT rowed here, so I could get to come back too.”
deVries competed last week on Fish Creek during the Liberty League (Division III) championships, again fitting in with his college plans.
“I knew I could be competitive in a Division III sport, so I didn’t want to go for a crazy team where I wouldn’t even be able to participate,” deVries said. “I knew I would be able to contribute and to help out on a Division III team, with my fitness level and stuff. I was really happy that RIT had the team and we have a great thing going on.”
The RIT women’s rowing team gained another Saratoga Springs athlete in junior Emma Kate Flanagan, but not from any of the Blue Streaks playing sites or the SRA boathouse.
“I rode horses on the national level at Rolling Oaks Farm in Gansevoort,” Emma Kate Flanagan said. “Rowing found me.
“People talked about rowing in high school because I’m so tall. During orientation week they have booths and stuff and they basically grabbed me, pulled me over because I am so tall. I just started, I was a novice and I just fell in love with it and here I am.”
Flanagan and her second varsity eight rowed to a silver medal Saturday afternoon during the wind-shortened NYS Collegiate Rowing Championships along with another second-place finish last weekend on Fish Creek at the Liberty League championships.
The choice of college was easy and then rowing found her.
“I wanted to go to RIT for my major, I’m an industrial engineering major and it was the best program,” Flanagan said. “I looked at other schools, but when I visited RIT I just fell in love with it, also because of the co-op program.”
Often the introduction to rowing can be unkind; mainly the notorious rowing machine called an erg or ergometer, utilized throughout the winter by athletes to stay in shape and is a test mechanism to gauge fitness and rankings with in a team.
“Ergs are horrible, I still don’t like ergs,” Flanagan said. “It was just completely different. My strengths through riding were completely different than rowing, so it was a huge culture shock for me.
“Instead of having to stay on a horse, I had to use my quads and pulling and stuff, so it was different. I think I had good balance through horseback riding and I think that transferred into the boat.”
Flanagan has not only embraced the sport, but also the entire culture of a crew team.
“In horseback riding I have my best friends, but it’s different because we weren’t competing together. Being a part of a team has been such a great experience for me because I found a family at RIT. I love it, it’s good because if you are having an off day your whole team is there to support you and it’s not just you.”
Any chance to return to the Spa City is welcome by Flanagan along with a chance to row on Fish Creek.
“I tell people it’s really nice here, I love Saratoga, I love the fact that I can see my parents,” Flanagan said. “Usually my extended family comes, which is nice because I don’t get to see them, my dog comes, that’s the most important part. It’s nice to come home and show people this is where I’m from.”
Former Saratoga Springs track athlete Erik Ostrander not only found a new sport at Binghamton University, but he found a passion for it that has inspired him with the crew club.
“I was actually on the track team at Saratoga and I was a thrower,” Erik Ostrander said. “Going into college I wasn’t about to make the DI team for throwing, but I was like ‘I’m from Saratoga, Saratoga is good at rowing, I might as well give it a shot, see what happens.’ I went from there and it’s been pretty awesome ever since.”
The 6-foot 2-inch men’s eight rower immediately passed the “eye test” for the then Binghamton University crew team that was looking for new athletes for their club.
“There is a Rec Fest thing for incoming students that first weekend, so just walking around I really wanted to find a club or a sport to do,” Ostrander said. “I’m really into sports, lifting weights and wanted to improve myself physically.
“There were just people walking around with these giant oars and one guy came up to me and he’s handed me this slip for a GIM (General Interest Meeting) and he’s like ‘You look like you could row!’ and I was like ‘Well there you go. I’m all set, ready to do it.’”
During his first year as a true novice in the men’s program Ostrander focused on his sport, but he was inspired by the Bearcat upperclassmen at the end of the season.
“After the banquet it was just amazing seeing the influence the team had on all the seniors,” Ostrander said. “Our coach now, Dylan (Hartwick), he was one of the co-presidents my novice year, he had a really heartfelt speech at the end and it really motivated me to really become a bigger part of the team.
“One of the positions, the secretary, they couldn’t do it, so I ran my sophomore year. It was voted by the team, I won that position, then ran for co-president my junior and senior year.”
Ostrander has a semester left at Binghamton and looks to continue with the sport in the years to come.
“I’m thinking about doing some kind of volunteer coaching with the team,” Ostrander said. “Being around Saratoga I’ve asked Saratoga Rowing Association if I’m in the area about becoming a member and rowing over the summer.
“I’ve met some people in the local YMCA, one of the masters rowers and he’s telling me about all the places he’s gone, Europe, all this stuff and it sounds like a blast with people who all enjoy rowing and everything like that. I want to continue rowing for a while.”