April 27, 2006

The Patriot league Championship. I mean what can I really say about them? It's what we have been working towards. After a year's worth of training spent in the field house, gym and on the water, it's been leading up to this point. Behind every athlete is a dream. Our team has a dream. With every rep on the bench press, every 1,000-meter piece on the erg, we got one inch closer to our dream, Navy's bow ball.

Now don't think I have forgotten about Colgate, Holy Cross or Lehigh. I haven't, and neither has my boat or my team. Navy swept all three events last year at Patriots, and our hungry bison eyes have been set on them. My boat, the varsity open eight, has had the chance to see Navy a couple times already this season, as with the fantastic four, and superior second eight. However, unlike the other two boats in our varsity squad, we haven't yet been victorious against the racing shells with hidden guns. We know that a top finish in our boat is crucial to our team's success. Our boat doesn't want to let anyone down. As the top boat we want our teammates to feel like we're leading the way, not dragging the team down. We know what we must do to win the battle. We must be heavyweights. We must execute each stroke with more precision, more power, more grace. We must leave all of ourselves on the water. We can't take any prisoners

In the fall, at the Head of the Schuylkill, we rowed a 4K, and our 8 came in 66 seconds after Navy. The number 66 is posted throughout my room as a reminder for every practice. This spring, at the Murphy Cup, we were 3.28 seconds behind. Then we flew six hours to San Diego to knock off another second, 2.09 seconds behind. Come Sunday, we get our last chance this year to make our dream happen. I've got 8 other girls in my boat, living/breathing/sweating/hurting/pushing/punishing/ thriving/driving all for the same thing...Navy's bow ball.

- Brittany Kaplan '08