Will Hoogendyk IV, Campus Carrier sports editor
The Berry College Viking Crew recently wrapped up their spring schedule of competitions and a busy year of recruitment and growth. Viking Crew’s training season takes place during the fall, as they prepare for races in the spring. It can be hard for their rowers to stay motivated through the tough workouts and long weeks.
Freshman Will Oliver describes the tiring schedule that fall training can be for a rower.
“You’re waking up 5:30 every morning to drive down to go work out on an ERG machine to build that discipline, not by yourself, but with your brothers who keep you accountable,” Oliver said. “Training season is a whole lot of ‘get up and get to the grind’ type of stuff. Rowing is the same motion over and over again, and you’re trying to build that muscle memory the more you do it.”
Fall is training season for the team’s spring competitions, the first of which was the Atlanta ERG Sprints at Georgia Institute of Technology. In year’s past, Viking Crew has gone to Chattanooga in early February for the Tennessee Indoor Rowing Championships, but this year the team opted to stay in-state. The race at Georgia Tech was one of five satellite locations for the 2025 US Rowing Indoor National Championships. Other races were located in Chattanooga, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Tacoma.
Viking Crew had four rowers win five medals in Atlanta, two of whom placed nationally in the 500 meter sprint race. For the Atlanta location, Oliver placed 10th in the 2000 meter race and 7th in the 500 meter sprint. The team’s performance in Atlanta inspired him to become more committed to the team.
“I went every now and then for workouts to get more in shape,” Oliver said. “Then we went to the ERG sprints and that solidified the culture around [rowing] and made me want to do this whole lot more, and this semester came and I’ve been a lot more committed.”
In September, the team started storing their boats at Grizzard Park, just 15 minutes away from campus. This allowed them to start holding water practices during the week instead of just on Saturdays. This helped them get ready for their first water competition of the year on March 22.The team traveled to Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga., to compete in the John Ferriss Regatta. This was the first official water competition that the Crew has competed in in over 5 years.
Amongst the schools that competed, Berry was the only Division III team and the smallest by enrollment. The team entered two boats in the race, a men’s and women’s four going up against club teams from Division I giants like UGA, Alabama, Illinois and Liberty. Although the resources available to Berry’s team are far more limited than a Power 5 conference school, even that can play into the team’s strengths. Junior Mary Lara Hardesty described her first water competition since joining the team her freshman year.
“You get to a certain point and you start taking yourself too seriously, especially at competitions because there’s that pressure to perform,” Hardesty said. “I think not having the pressure to perform really made it a lot more fun.”
Hardesty also noticed a difference in the structure of Berry’s team compared to Division I club teams that have dues that can pay for coaches and other leadership positions.
“We have to take care of ourselves and each other,” Hardesty said. “Many of the other athletes at John Ferriss have a coach who makes all their workouts and does all the logistics and travel planning. It’s made all of us closer rather than certain boats being closer. I feel everyone looks out for everyone else a little bit more than they would otherwise.”
Oliver enjoyed his first time in a regatta atmosphere and the opportunity to compete against club teams from bigger universities.
“Doing a race against a bunch of D1 schools, we get to not only race against them but see where what they’re doing right and what we can improve on,” Oliver said. “I enjoy seeing the differences between what we do and what they do.”
The girls boat finished in sixth place out of nine boats that competed in the Women’s collegiate novice fours. The men finished in ninth place out of 10 boats in their competition.
The weekend after John Ferriss, the crew traveled back to Lake Lanier for a scrimmage race against Sewanee and University of North Georgia. Freshman Cruz Dupree, who recently joined the crew as a coxswain was at the race. As a coxswain, it is up to her to give boats instruction, motivation and pacing information while they row. Dupree has been on the crew for just under a month, and in that time she has been going to water practices throughout the week, helping the team prepare for both John Ferriss and the scrimmage.
“At practice we’re working through drills that they’ve done hundreds of times before,” Dupree said. “I’m not necessarily screaming my head off for the whole practice, a lot of it is quiet and calling out little things here and there. But the scrimmage was absolutely insane. As soon as we got going, I was screaming from the beginning of it to the end of it–in an encouraging way–of course, but it felt like it was over in 30 seconds and it took us 8 minutes and 41 seconds. There’s a lot more momentum and adrenaline.”
The men’s four boat finished just one second behind UNG. All of the training that the boats did during the spring semester paid off. Even though the coxswain’s role in the boat isn’t one that requires the oar, their presence is vital to each boat’s success.
“During the scrimmage there was a feeling [that] I believed in them,” Dupree said. “Even though I’m not holding an oar it feels like I’m there rowing with them. Finishing that race, the energy on the boat was so overwhelmingly positive and we were so proud of each other, it’s one of the strongest team spirits I’ve ever come across.”
Oliver echoed the sentiment of satisfaction after putting in so much time and effort during the season in training.
“That’s very uplifting to see people go through the same physical struggles and still put out as much as they possibly can,” Oliver said. “There’s certainly something about going through the struggle with a group that makes you guys grow so much closer. To see them go out and perform as well as they did despite a lot of odds being against them. It’s very uplifting and very heartwarming.”
Now that the season is over, the team’s focus will move towards preparation for the 2025-26 season. By fundraising, they are hoping to start accumulating money to pay for race fees and other expenses. On Tuesday, they are hosting a Spirit Night at Dos Bros from 4-9pm. Students that say they are with Viking Crew at the register will have 30% of their purchase go back to the club.