By Jackie Abellada
Daily Bruin Contributor
With their boats and oars on hand, these women will try to tame
the waters of America knowing that this year will be different
““ in fact, it will be special.
This fall, the UCLA women’s crew team will prepare for its
first meet of the season at the San Diego Fall Classic on Dec. 5.
But unlike the previous 10 years, this time they will proudly
represent the Bruin blue and gold not as a club team but as an
officially sanctioned varsity squad.
“This year, we are looking to kind of set the foundation
for the future, work on the construction, build morale, and get the
team focus on what our potential is and where we need to go,”
said newly appointed head coach Amy Fuller.
The rebuilding process will take a while as the team must make
some modifications not only in its workouts and roster but also its
mentality.
“We’re going to have to change sort of the morale
and get people believing in themselves ““ believing that UCLA
should be in the top echelon,” Fuller said. “We need to
make that move and get people just fired up to go head-to-head with
the Cal, Washington, USC of the world and move forward from
there.”
Day in and day out, these women have shown their commitment to
their team and the sport. They regularly attend their 5:30 morning
workouts followed by afternoon weight training. But unlike other
NCAA endorsed squads, the members do not receive the perks, such as
priority enrollment.
With all their hard work and determination, their dues have
finally arrived: the team will receive new equipment to replace
their outdated gear, a boathouse to call their own and in 2002, two
full scholarships.
However, the team does have several major roadblocks in its
path.
Ever since the squad lost its varsity status in 1991, interest
and popularity for the sport on campus have plummeted. Many people
were turned away by the very fact that they must pay for dues,
totaling nearly $180 per quarter, and for any new necessary
supplies.
But this year the squad will try to counteract that mode of
thought. From Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, the coaching staff and several of
the current team members will be on Bruin Walk to recruit new team
members and to answer any questions that the UCLA student body may
have.
“That first week is going to be just getting as many
people and as many new faces in the team as we can,” said
Delia Lucas, a returning rower.
Fuller, who did not start rowing until she was a sophomore in
college, notes that the walk-ons will be a huge part of the new
program. The team welcomes any female who has some athletic
background and wishes to carry on the UCLA’s tradition of
excellence.
Within three to five years, the squad expects to reach the
pinnacles of the national ranks, something they have not done since
they captured the 1985 National Championship title. Last year, they
finished with a seventh national ranking in the Women’s
Lightweight 8.
With Fuller in the lead, Guillermo Lemus ““ the previous
head coach ““ staying on as one of the assistants combined
with the presence of several other returning team members, they
might just do exactly that.
“I feel that we have a strong team that is willing to work
very hard, despite old, heavy boats and slightly
“˜antiqued’ equipment,” said Kathy Kennedy, rowing
for her second year. “If the determination that I saw in my
teammates last year remains this year, as I hope that it will, then
I feel that that alone will give us a good chance at performing
well.”
The Women’s Crew Recruiting Reception will be held at the
Press room in the Hall of Fame at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 3.