May 11, 2005

Throughout the season, members of the UNC rowing team will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at the Carolina program and the experience of being a varsity athlete at UNC. This installment, the 16th of the 2004-05 school year, is by Lucy Barrios, a freshman from Tallahassee, Fla.

May is here, and that means that spring season is about to end. Because our team hails from all over the country, not just the state of North Carolina, in a few short weeks we'll be parting ways, on our own to train for the summer and on our own to make moves with our fitness.

It seems kind of anticlimactic in a way. This year has been so concentrated, with so much emotion and energy put into every stroke. Since it was my freshman year, every day was a new experience. And even though I had rowed for my high school career, freshman year was like stumbling blindly, trying to feel for something familiar.

Before I left for college, I knew I was taking a huge jump. Collegiate rowing is no small task, but as the year progressed I became more comfortable with the team and my teammates, and with the way practices were run.

At the beginning of the spring season, there was an energy in the air at each practice. We knew that this year was going to be unmatched, and so far, it's proven to be. The entire team, from boat to boat, is unified with one goal and one attitude. It's amazing how close-knit of a team we have here at Carolina.

So as my first year as a collegiate rower begins to taper down, I know I made out on top with this decision. Being a collegiate rower is such a gratifying experience, and being a rower at Carolina is even more so. I'm excited to see where my next three years will take me.

Lucy Barrios