“We’ve been working hard all season and our fitness has really improved,” said senior Logan O’Neil. “So now with the having last two races coming up and that it is late in the season our fitness is really strong and we are working together to fine-tune and unify as a team.”
Davis said SMU will be tough because of the home-course advantage it has. The Mustangs race on a lake, which sometimes produces rough waters.
“We are looking forward to go down there and make the next step with what we want to do which is handle any kind of condition and any race on the water,” he said. “We certainly want to be able to pull that off and come away with some victories.”
O’Neil’s boat, the Varsity 8, finished well last Saturday but had a disappointing Sunday with a finish of 20th overall. Davis said consistency is something that really needs improvement upon, and especially the Varsity 8.
“We have to get stronger at our first Varsity 8,” Davis said. “We have shown some speed in it at times but it has not been consistent. They have to be able to handle that pressure in constructive fashion and go out and still do what they are capable of. We are starting to get some traction there.”
Davis talked about focus and mindsets being a large component in the success of the team. For student-athletes, this week may be one of the hardest to do so. It is dead week for most students, which is supposed to give students rest to study before finals.
“We need to stay focused because it is the week before finals and people’s lives are getting crazy – mine is,” junior Haleigh Robinson said. “It takes the focus away from rowing, but we need to stay focused in practice and remember what we are training for.”
