Pitt’s student-athletes are pushed in every aspect of their collegiate lives, whether that be in the classroom or on the field. As a result, much of their college career is centered around their commitment to athletics, with a varsity bag or electric scooter to signify their status.
But without the staple of a Pitt-administered backpack, it’s easy to miss the student-athletes on campus who compete at a similar caliber but lack the varsity title.
The Pitt Rowing Club athletes are an example of this oversight. The club offers a chance for undergraduates to participate in a competitive sport. These student-athletes train six days a week and compete across the East Coast in the fall and spring. When it’s warm enough to go out on the water, the club hosts their practices at the Allegheny River Boathouse. During the winter months, the team practices indoors on ergs.
Prior experience with rowing is not required — but hard work is. The club welcomes anyone willing to try the sport and often caters to those who competed in other endurance sports in high school.
Eliza Callahan, a junior and recruitment chair for the rowing club, had never rowed before joining the club in her first year. She participated in swim and track in high school and was looking to continue her athletic career.
“My freshman year, our whole group of women’s novice rowers were new,” Callahan said. “There were only two people who had rowed before, so we all really worked together to learn, and our coaches supported us on the water.”
The club has six total coaches, one for each of the varsity men’s and women’s teams as well as men’s and women’s novice teams. Formerly a rower on the Romanian national team, Daniel Grancea is in his 21st year as head coach.
There are two competitive seasons, with regattas in the fall and late March until June. The races are split up so that novice rowers race against each other while varsity rowers compete in separate races against other clubs or even varsity Division I teams from different schools.
During the fall season, Pitt Rowing Club competes in several regattas, including the annual Head of the Ohio here in Pittsburgh and the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. Those on varsity that qualify get to compete in the Head of The Charles Regatta in Boston. Teams travel from across the country to Boston to compete in the world’s largest three-day rowing event.
Senior engineering science major Carina Rose got the chance to compete in the Head of The Charles Regatta this year after the team qualified for a bid last season.
“I had never been to a regatta that big,” Rose said. “Everyone is so excited to watch. Like, not only are people like rowers and people associated with rowing there, but people just in Boston go to watch.”
During the spring season, the club competes in another nationwide contest — the ACRA National Championship Regatta in Tennessee.
Senior men’s varsity co-captain Owen Aherne competed on the biggest stage the club has to offer against some of the most competitive rowing schools. In his junior year, the computer science major made it to the semi-finals and got the chance to go head-to-head with one of the best lightweight programs in the nation.
“We were, like, neck and neck with MIT,” Aherne said. “Just being in that position and racing that hard, I don’t think I’ve ever raced that hard in my life.”
Because the spring season features competitions late in the year, many of the regattas take place after the semester is over. As a result, veterans on the team will host first-year students at their houses or apartments so that everyone can get the chance to compete. For Aherne, his experience being housed as a first-year gave him his closest friends and roommate.
“It was great,” Aherne said. “We were sleeping in a tiny room in our friend’s house, and we were, like, squished together, but it was so much fun because it was, like, six rowing guys in the house all on the same schedule, just like eating 40 eggs for breakfast.”
Novice rowers often practice at different times than varsity rowers, and to foster a spirit of unity, the club gives novice rowers a chance to get to know their varsity counterparts during spring break as well.
Every year, the team takes a trip to Camp Bob Cooper, a recreational and lodging facility in South Carolina. After spending the winter on ergs indoors, this is the first time the team gets to train on the water since the fall season.
“It’s the best bonding experience the team has,” Rose said. “Especially for varsity and novices … you don’t really spend a lot of time together outside of rowing, but at Bob … that’s when I felt like I really get to know the novices because we’re eating all our meals together [and] living together.”
As a senior, vice president Abby Toth has seen the club grow in the four years she’s been on the team. While the club now offers the opportunity for undergraduates to row at a high demand, COVID-19 took a toll on the team’s size and commitment in recent years.
“COVID and everything kind of wiped out the team,” Toth said. “We’ve slowly had to rebuild. It’s a lot more competitive than it was just before I joined. They couldn’t fill a lot of the boats. So it’s good to see that the team is back, and I’m glad that we get to leave it that way too.”
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