Lindsay Olsen ’12 is being featured in an article on
row2k, a website for rowers and scullers. But why? Olsen is a
sophomore who currently holds the fastest erg scores on the
Williams Women’s Crew, as well as spots on the Williams 2k,
15-minute ergathon, and 6k record boards. Not only is Olsen fast,
but she’s also a walk-on, having never rowed before arriving
at Williams.
Walk-ons are an incredibly important part of rowing at Williams; 12
of the current varsity rowers came to rowing in college, and 6 of
this year’s freshman joined the squad this year with no
rowing experience, for a total of 18 out of 31 rowers having walked
on. In addition, two of the three varsity coxswains walked on,
while the third was recruited to row and switched to coxing her
freshman year. Both freshman coxswains walked on this fall.
The Women’s Crew works incredibly hard to make a strong team
by combining recruits with walk-ons into an effective rowing
program. The results of this effort, the crew’s race record,
speaks for itself – the 1V and 2V came in 2nd and 3rd at the
Head of the Charles this fall, as the 1st and 2nd place Division
III teams in the race, as well as last year’s 1V’s 1st
place finish at the NCAA championships. Williams also put its 2V in
the Grand Final at the NCAA championships, the only team to do
so.
After a long but productive winter season, which will culminate in
the Mad Cow Erg Sprints, the Williams women are looking forward to
heading down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for their annual
training trip, and the start of the spring racing season.
Link to the row2k article can be found here.
