By Steven Braid, Sports Writer
Published February 23, 2011
Tonight is different.
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There’s an unmistakable aroma of sweat that fills the immense room. Students constantly bustle in and out, emotionless. A buzz permeates the crowded gym as nervous students pace back and forth. Some stretch while others warm up; a fair amount have isolated themselves mentally with headphones blasting music of their choice.
Many prepare themselves as best as they can for what they are about to experience. There’s an unfortunate few that have already experienced it, doubled over and overjoyed to be done.
Three long rows of indoor rowing machines are crammed into what would otherwise be an extremely spacious room. Students wait for their turn by warming up on the indoor rowing machines closest to the door.
On the other side of the room, eight rowing machines remain empty. A coach calls out the names of eight students and immediately a line of athletically built men step forward and occupy the machines. The coach proceeds to give the eight men a pep talk. The eight men become restless as the coach alerts them that they’ll be starting in 30 seconds. They become increasingly edgy.
“Three, two, one.”
As the countdown hits “one,” the eight rowers burst backwards in unison, almost as if controlled by a puppet master.
On a normal winter weeknight, each of these individuals spends roughly two hours completing a lengthy distance determined by their coach. While they exert themselves physically during these offseason workouts, they also pace themselves so as not to tire too early.
On this February winter night, though, they will not worry about fatigue. Tonight, They will not worry about pacing themselves as they complete one of three grueling physiological tests that occur during the second academic term. While they will only complete about 2,000 meters, this might be the most exhausting six to seven minutes of competition during the winter season.
There’s pressure, too. This test will go a long way in influencing the ranking order for the team and will determine who receives the prestigious honor of racing in the top boat.
This is competitive. This is grueling. This is voluntary.
This is the men’s rowing team.
***
The auxiliary room of the Intramural Sports Building — the official indoor practice facility for men’s rowing — is a sight to behold. The cavernous room, with its high ceiling and vast floor, houses roughly 70 indoor rowing machines. The walls, with the exception of a huge maize and blue block ‘M’ right above the doors, are white. On the far wall, multiple “NCAA” banners hang. These, however, belong to the women’s rowing team.
But two long shelves cemented into the wall ensure the success of the men’s rowing team doesn’t go unnoticed.
The shelves are crowded with trophies and plaques that display the team’s success at the national collegiate level. The shelves are so overcrowded with awards that look like one might actually fall off. But if one did fall off, it would fall onto the table underneath, also exhibiting trophies and plaques.
To the left one of the bigger trophies in the room is perched atop a desk. Every year since 1998, two rowers from the University of Michigan have been commemorated on tiny square labels. The trophy features multiple Olympians and countless others who have been invited to row for the United States at the national and international level.
This is expected from the University of Michigan. Even through the lackluster seasons, it is still expected that one of the largest and most prominent universities in the country will possess supremacy in every varsity sport. The men’s rowing team doesn’t disappoint.
Except, this isn’t a varsity team.
“I dare say that we are the most efficiently run athletic operation in the country,” Michigan coach Gregg Hartsuff said. “We squeeze very high results out of very little resources.”
Entering his 19th season as Michigan’s rowing coach, Hartsuff has helped transform the Wolverines, a club varsity team, into a dominant force at the national collegiate level. It’s even more impressive when you consider that he’s done this with very minimal funding from the University.
William Canning, director of recreational sports, said that while the team does receive administrative support through his department, they do not receive much monetarily.
“We have to come up with 180,000 all on our own every year because that’s what our budget is,” Hartsuff said.
