By the time the sun breaks on a typical weekday morning and ASU students stumble out of bed, the ASU women's rowing club has already fought up and down Tempe Town Lake in conditioning and training exercises.
The 5 a.m. practice time and sub-60-degree temperatures pale in comparison to the spirits of a crew craving success and recognition.
"Every single girl works extremely hard to get a perfect and strong stroke every time," freshman rower Deena Aguilar said. "We have to push ourselves to the limit; there is never a moment when you can not give it your all."
The rowers spend a large portion of their practice time on land developing the demanding physical capabilities of the sport. The members typically run four miles before breaking into a series of pushup and sit-up exercises.
"If you don't have the strength and a healthy heart and the legs conditioned, you're going to die and wimp out, and you can't do that because every single person in that boat is accountable for holding their own weight," sophomore team captain Pam Easterling said.
The club has four boats, two novice and two varsity. Each level has a four-member team and an eight-member team.
Members are evaluated and placed in the appropriate boat, but the club's growth in size and skill shuffles the rosters regularly.
"The boats are constantly changing," freshman Halley Middleton said. "People are getting better and stronger and are able to pull their weight in a better boat, so they continuously change."
A coxswain captains each boat and sits at the front providing encouragement and instruction to the team.
"As a coxswain, I try to become a better asset for my boat by listening to my rowers," freshman Katie Bapple said. "Regardless of what any coach can tell you is right or wrong, it's the people that you're working with that know what will push them, motivate them, and make themselves do their absolute best in the boat."
Bapple brings three years of prior rowing experience to the team.
"I want to strive to be that driving force that makes my rowers push the limit," she said.
Rowing stresses the concept of a team sport on a literal level, as the performance of the boat floats on the balance, coordination and capabilities of each member.
"In other team sports, like soccer or football, if one player misses practice, a sub fills in and practice goes on," freshman team representative Stacy Bond said. "In crew, if one person in your boat does not show up, every one of your team members suffer."
Some members have embraced the club's efforts outside of practice by working to enhance performance through extra workouts.
"I work on my cardio training when I find time, and if I have a day where I just can't get out and run or lift weights, I work on my flexibility or core strength in my room by stretching or doing simple exercises," Bond said.
"Sometimes I sit in bed at night and pretend to be rowing or just go through the motions in my head," junior Lindy Mapes said.
As team captain, Easterling stresses the above-and-beyond approach. She runs three to five miles a day and works out at the Student Recreation Complex.
"You kind of have to do the extra stuff to get to where you should be," she said.
Easterling transferred from Scottsdale Community College last summer and became team captain and representative. She played soccer last year, but made the transition to rowing this season.
"It's the perfect sport," she said. "I love the water and I love the competition and I love working in a team, so it was just the perfect sport with all the elements."
The club is coached by Kelly Vanek, who has rowed for the University of San Diego, where she received a rowing scholarship and was named to the All-Conference and All-Academic teams.
"Rowing teaches you that you are capable of anything if you are willing to invest the effort," Vanek said. "It is a sport of extremes - extreme intensity, extreme effort and extreme dedication. Anything less and you might as well not even get out of bed."
Vanek is still pursuing her own career, rowing with the Tempe team and attending developmental camps in Wisconsin. She typically alternates her mornings between training with Tempe and coaching ASU.
"It has actually been very difficult to make enough time for coaching and training, but I am passionate about both, and I have found that coaching makes me a better rower and rowing makes me a better coach," she said.
The rowing club participated in a regatta held by the city Saturday at Tempe Town Lake. The regatta featured several community teams around the Tempe area.
One of the teams they competed against was Vanek's Tempe team, ironically pitting the coach against her own players.
"Rowing against the girls I coach was not awkward at all," Vanek said. "There is such a great camaraderie that comes with rowing, and the rowing world is actually very intertwined, so rowers often are racing friends, family and old teammates."
The club's strong practice efforts paid off as it saw both the novice-four and the novice-eight teams take first place in their respective races.
The varsity-eight team also placed first, and the varsity-four group finished second to Vanek's Tempe team.
"Saturday was amazing," junior Jessica Eagon said. "It made all those 5 a.m. practices worth it. I'm sure all of our boats turned some heads and we're planning to race even stronger in Newport."
Foreign exchange senior Jessica Nay said the event benefited the team.
"[The regatta] made the team even stronger because some of us were not only excited, but a bit nervous before the race," she said. "But all went well and we had a lot of fun."
The crew looks forward to the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival in Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 6. The regatta will feature other collegiate teams and presents an opportunity for the women's rowing club to showcase their talent on a bigger stage.
"It is important that we portray ourselves in a very positive light - as a team that works hard and takes pride in their training and racing," Vanek said. "We are working hard, and quietly, but consistently. We are moving toward becoming the fastest women's team on the lake."
Reach the reporter at steven.bohner@asu.edu.
