April 29, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - At the Atlantic 10 Women's Rowing Championships two weeks ago, La Salle University senior Becky Mahney became the first Explorer named All-Conference, earning a Second Team selection.

In the Championships, the only captain on the women's side rowed in the Varsity 8 boat, seat 3, which raced to a third-place finish in the Petite Final.

Mahney only started with the sport in 2003, when she started rowing for Collingswood Crew Club during her junior year in high school, and was one of the very first rowers on the team and started with the program after one of her best friends joined the team and encouraged her to try.

"I was a lacrosse player prior to rowing, but I injured my knee from all the running, but I did not want to give up playing sports," she said. "My competitive nature would not allow me to give up.

"Rowing did not consist of side-to-side motions such as running in lacrosse, so my knee could handle the back-and-forth movement in the boat."

When asked about her favorite thing about the sport, Mahney cited a couple things. "It is the one sport that has pushed me to improve my physical and mental strength. Rowing pushes your body and your mind to the limit. Rowing, in my opinion, is the most physically demanding, but rewarding sports there is."

She also loves the feeling of racing, "passing another boat in a race is indescribable. Racing is so intense, each boat fighting every stroke to get closer and closer to try and finish first. I have played field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball and none of them compare to rowing. You don't have the star athletes that carry the team. In rowing, all eight rowers much work together to move the boat efficiently. You must rely on your teammates to pull their own weight."

According to Mahney, rowing a 2,000 meter race is probably one of the "most painful and strenuous experiences a person will ever endure, but is also exciting and adrenaline-filled.

"The one thing I have learned over the years is that people who know nothing about rowing thinks it is all upper body strength. However, it is the complete opposite. Rowing is all lower body with the guidance of the upper body.

"Our seats are on tracks which enable us to move up and down the slide and apply pressure with our legs. People also do not understand how complex and painful the sport is. It may not look difficult from the outside but in the boat, rowers must keep themselves motivated and determined to be competitive."

The senior, who will be graduating in May with a BA in mathematics with a minor in education, will have one more event left in her La Salle career, as the Explorers will race in the Dad Vails on May 9 and 10.

And after? "I plan to coach rowing at my high school (Collingswood Crew Club) and plan to pursue a career in actuary."