The word of Duke's season is “elevate.” Head coach Robyn Horner has made it her goal to bring the young program to elite status since she took the helm in 1998. This weekend the Blue Devils will have the opportunity to “elevate” their performances in more than one sense of the word.
Duke will race Saturday and Sunday at the San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay, facing off against numerous top teams after finishing second in most events in its spring opener at Clemson March 14.
“The team also realizes that our window is getting smaller and smaller,” Horner said. “We really are trying to elevate everyday and make adjustments in the boat that makes the boat better everyday…that’s kind of our focus, 'How can we take a step up everyday?'”
A top performance in their races this weekend could earn the Blue Devils a push back into the top 20 ranking in the CRCA/US Rowing poll. The team will also look to raise its stroke count after finally getting in needed time on the water that they lacked early on due to preseason weather.
“When we went into Clemson, because we hadn’t been on the water, we tried to row at a little bit of a lower stroke rate,” Horner said. “The biggest adjustment is now we’re back to a normal racing rate and we’ve put several different kind of strategic moves into our race plan to kind of be ready to go out to California.”
Duke headed out to the West Coast Thursday, following their boats which were driven out by Old Dominion Monday. In order to get used to the differences in water current, the team planned to get in two practice rows on Friday, as well as a warm up Saturday morning before the first official race.
“The biggest thing at San Diego that’s really different from what we experience here is our water at Lake Michie is almost perfect—it's flat all the time, really calm,” Horner said. “They have tidal currents that are going on there, so sometimes the water is really, kind of a little bit wavy, bouncy feeling, so that’s why we’re going to row twice on Friday—to kind of get used to that, to know what it feels like a little bit.”
With a top performance Saturday, the Blue Devils will hope to advance to the final heats Sunday, where lane assignment will be crucial. The better a team performs, the better lane draw they get for the finals, Horner said.
Off the water, the weekend trip serves as a reward for hard work in practice, bonding time for the team and a chance to spend time with family, as more than 40 parents and family members will be present to cheer them on.
“I think also its kind of a highlight," Horner said. “A lot of times in rowing we race places that aren’t all that exciting. We go to Oak Ridge a lot, we go to Clemson a lot, not that it's not fun to go there, but going out to San Diego is a phenomenal trip. I think the team really kind of bonds around the experience. “
In addition to its location, the Crew Classic is also a draw for the program because of the high level of competition that participates annually.
“San Diego is great because we’ll see a lot of West Coast schools we don’t normally see and we’ll get a look at schools like UCLA and USC, some big competitors,” Horner said. “The best bit of being able to race those schools is it helps you understand what the speed looks like, what you need to do to try and bring yourself closer to those programs. I think for us we’re trying each year to elevate where we’re at, but you have to be able to see it to kind of know where you’re going.”
The Blue Devil Varsity Eight will kick off the weekend racing in the Cal Cup Race at 10:44 a.m. Saturday, and the second Varsity Eight will compete in the Jackie Ann Stitt Hungness Trophy competition at 12:52 p.m. The Duke first Varsity Four will race in the Karen Plumleigh Cortney Cup race Saturday at 11:56 a.m. The second Blue Devil Varsity Four will race in the Sunday finals-only Women’s Collegiate 4+ B race at 2:40 p.m.
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