University Southern California Trojans
2004 Rowing Season Outlook
March 16, 2004 | Women's Rowing
March 16, 2004
Building a great program' is the key phrase that continuously pops up when second-year head coaches Kelly and Zenon Babraj sit down to talk about the past, present and future success of the USC women's rowing program. With a heavy emphasis on 'program', the Babrajs have stayed true to their initial promise - to build a great program at USC that is not just good, but also nationally competitive at every level.
As USC enters the 2004 season, the goal is simple - the Women of Troy are looking to attain their first-ever NCAA Championship team bid and take a shot at the national title.
The Babrajs, who combined possess a wealth of international and national coaching experience, including 12 years at the Division I level, were named co-head coaches of the Women of Troy in June of 2002. Zenon also serves as program director.
"The most important thing for us is that we continue building and working towards our main goal," said Kelly, who served as women's head coach at UCLA for five seasons (1987-91) and was a three-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year. "We want to build a strong and deep team that competes at the highest level, at every level. We want to have the whole team qualify for the NCAA Championships and not just be successful at one event."
The Trojans have been represented at the NCAAs each year since 1998, and even captured a Varsity Four National Championship that first season, but have never qualified as a team (a team bid includes a Varsity Eight, Varsity Four and JV Eight boat).
"We have expanded our recruiting so that we can try and produce three competitive boats," added Zenon, who also spent six seasons coaching the Bruins' men's team and led UCLA to three Pac-10 Championships (1987-89). "We want to have an entire team of excellent athletes who can maintain a high level of performance at every stage."
"Last year we came closer than we've ever been and we are ready to take the next step this season," said Kelly. "There are not too many superstars on the team this year. Instead, we have a well-balanced group that is prepared to push each other to be competitive in every race."
USC's strength over the past few years has been the numerous accomplishments of its Varsity Eight crew, which has made five-straight NCAA appearances, captured the 2001 Jessop Whittier Cup and finished as high as No. 4 nationally (2001). But last season, the Varsity Eight was overshadowed by the best-ever performances of the Fours, JV Eight and novice crews.
At the 2003 San Diego Crew Classic, all three USC Varsity and JV boats advanced to the finals and the novices notched their best performance ever at the event. In April, the Varsity Four crew out-performed USC's other boats and beat Stanford convincingly in a dual race. The season was highlighted by the Trojans' outing at the Pac-10 Championships where the Women of Troy advanced to the Grand Finals in all three main events (V8, JV8, V4) for the first time in program history. The following day, the Novice Four captured its first-ever Pacific Coast Rowing Championship.
The Varsity Eight capped off the year by making its fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. USC advanced to the Grand Final for only the second time in program history and finished sixth overall.
"We improved a lot last year at every level, and we were still able to produce a competitive Varsity Eight boat," said Zenon, who coached the Polish National Team from 1978 through 1984. "We've continued to improve our numbers and it is now becoming very tight between our boats and a lot more competitive for positions."
This season, the Trojans expect to benefit from the return of 18 varsity letterwinners, including four returning members of its 2003 Varsity Eight lineup. These four rowers - senior Andrea Korom (Palic Yugoslavia), juniors Sarah Pomeroy (Simsburry, Conn.) and Anne Molholm (Dublin, Ohio), and sophomore Megan Biging (Santa Monica, Calif.) - all will be looked upon to provide leadership to guide a team of 12 newcomers.
"Andrea is still one of our top athletes and a key to our program," said Zenon, who also coached the U.S. National Team for six seasons (1986-90, 1999). "She is one of our most experienced rowers and we think that this will be her best year yet. We have been so pleased to see her rise to the occasion and really become so much more outgoing. She sets a great example for the rest of the team with her dedication and commitment."
Korom was named to the 2003 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All-America second team for her performance last season, in addition to earning All-West Region and All-Pac-10 first team honors. As a 12-time Yugoslavian champion in the single scull and double scull, Korom rowed in the No. 8 seat for the Women of Troy in 2003.
"In regards to team leadership, there is a core group of members of last year's Varsity boat, as well as some of our upperclassmen, who have really pulled this team together," said Kelly, who guided William Smith College to a third-place finish at the first-ever NCAA Division III Championships in 2002, prior to coming to USC. "Not all of them are the team superstars, but they have all trained hard in the offseason to improve and really push this team.
"These returners have always displayed a great attitude and they always want to know what they can do to get better. They have taught each other how to work together and have really motivated the younger athletes."
Senior Andria Shook (Redlands, Calif.) and sophomore Lauren Derby (Marin, Calif.) will share captain responsibilities this season as the team chose to have an upperclassman and underclassman representative.
Korom and fellow seniors Julia Miles (Arcadia, Calif.) and Melissa Zimel (Portland, Ore.) are the three fourth-year varsity letterwinners. Third-year varsity letterwinners include Pomeroy, Molholm, Shook, seniors Lauren Buford (Hayward, Calif.), Amanda Cross (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Sarah Meade (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Margeaux Witte (St. Paul, Minn.), and juniors Kate Kaso (Alameda, Calif.) and Jessica Patterson (Larkspur, Calif.). Second-year rowers Brenda Bower (Palouse, Wash.), Kate Donovan (Manchester, N.H.), Brittany Mohr (Pasadena, Calif.), Kathryn Weslow (San Francisco, Calif.) and coxswain Liz Zeanah (Gainesville, Fla.), who are all juniors, round out the group of returners.
"There are so many hard-working women on this team and they are all big contributors," said Kelly. "They are critical to the success of this program and they are really the core of this team as we look to integrate our incoming athletes."
"I am pleased with the level of recruits we continue to bring into our program," said Zenon. "This year's freshmen are strong and solid rowers with good experience.
"By continuing to bring in these top levels athletes, we will no longer need to pull novice rowers into varsity boats as we have had to do in the past. All of our boats will benefit from the experience of these athletes."
Making their USC debut this season with the varsity squad are freshmen rowers Anna Efremova (Moscow, Russia), Simone Manhold (Essen, Germany), Kinga Marciszewska (Warsaw, Poland), Geraldine Schultz (M?lheim, Germany), Barbora Varekova (Olomouc, Czech Republic) and coxswain Lauren Cowan (Los Angeles).
Five athletes are making the jump from the 2003 novice roster to this year's varsity squad, led by Derby, sophomore Michaellyn Blando (Honolulu, Hawai'i), sophomore Angela Sturman (Port Orchard, Wash.), senior Anna Walther (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and senior Lacy Zobel (Rensselaer, Ind.). Junior Candice Watkins (Montclair, N.J.) also joins the Women of Troy this season after transferring from Northeastern where she rowed for two seasons.
The team officially kicks off the 2004 racing season on Saturday, March 28, when it hosts rival UCLA in the third-annual Lexus Gauntlet dual. The Trojans will compete at the San Diego Crew Classic (April 3-4) and George Washington Crew Classic (April 10) in Washington, D.C., before facing Pac-10 rival Stanford in a dual race on April 24 in Redwood City, Calif. For the first time, the Pac-10 and NCAA Championships both will be held on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. USC's results at the conference championships on May 16 will determine the bids awarded to the national championships on May 29-30.
USC will spend spring break in Sacramento to make last-minute adjustments and designate lineups before the start of the season. Boat selection will take place during this time, as the Women of Troy look to take advantage of the opportunity of rowing on the same waters where they hope to complete their season.
"Our decision to spend spring break on Lake Natoma was very strategic," said Kelly. "We want to be on the course as much as possible and really get used to the surroundings."
"The competition at other schools continues to improve and every year it becomes even more competitive at the national level," said Zenon. "But we also have improved. We are building a great program that continues to take small steps towards our ultimate goals. We may have a chance to be there in May."
If the regular season races go well, USC will enjoy three successful trips to the shores of Lake Natoma by the end of May.
Players Mentioned
