Women's Team Fall 2024 Uopdate
By Head Coach Michael L. Eichler
As the Head Coach of Oregon State Women’s Rowing I have the awesome privilege of guiding this program. While I am in my first year as Head Coach, this is my 8th year as a coach on staff. The past two I have been the Associate Head Coach & Recruiting Coordinator and the previous five an Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator. As a program we have discussed our goals and our pathway to achievement.
The strength of Oregon State Women’s Rowing will come from a champion’s mindset. A mindset that allows for perpetual growth and a constant search for mastery.
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It is not enough to say “We’re going to win the championship,” you have to be a champion first then when the time is right we will become champions. For Beaver Women’s Rowing, that means working to win the day, every day. This vision extends beyond the water, it encompasses all that our student-athletes do and who they are while at OSU and beyond. As humans, students, athletes and rowers we ask of them to win the day.
A speech I have discussed with the team this fall is Roger Federer’s 2024 commencement speech at Dartmouth. Federer discusses his idea of “it’s just a point.” One of the greatest tennis player to live, an athlete that has won nearly 80% of his matches, but as he illustrates, he has only won 54% of all of his points. Striving to be in the plus column will allow for great successes for these members of Beaver Women’s Rowing in all facets of their lives. If we can stay true to being highly focused on the task at hand; win the moment then we can win the day, the month, the year, and live each day with a champions’ mindset.
This mindset has started to take hold and the athletes have done a tremendous job so far this fall. At the Head of the Spokane hosted by Gonzaga, most athletes raced twice in different boat classes. In the pairs race, Sophomore Lauren Garrett (stroke) and 5th Year Annelise Norkitis (bow) finished first with Freshman Linda Weitmann (stroke) and Sophomore Reese Wyatt (bow) finishing second. In the Collegiate 8s, our 1V8 and 2V8 won their respective categories finishing 1st and 4th overall.
This past Saturday, the team raced at the Head of the American in Sacramento hosted by the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. Similarly, 18 athletes doubled from the pairs into the eights and half of the first varsity four. In a much deeper field, Garret and Norkitis once again pulled out the victory against numerous west coast rivals. The next 3 Oregon State pairs finished 4th, 5th and 9th out of a field of 44. In the afternoon, the squad doubled into the collegiate 8s, with the 1V8 coming away with a Bronze medal effort and a 7th place finish for the 2V8 out of 34 entries. To finish off the day our 1V4 secured a silver medal finish in the Collegiate 4+s in a field of 17.
As our athletes embrace a champion’s mindset, I ask of all of our parents, supporters, donors and alums to continue to champion this program with your time, talent and treasure. We want and need your stories, your lessons learned, your humor, your defeats, your victories and as clear as I can be, we need you.
If you are interested in learning how to support these intrepid individuals, please reach out.
Sincerely,
Michael L. Eichler
Head Coach