August-September 2023 • Nebraskaland 45
Eric Jensen, who in 2021 became the
club's fi rst paid coach in years thanks
to an active alumni group, Friends of
Nebraska Rowing, hopes to return to
that level in both membership and
competitiveness. Jensen, who got
into rowing after college and coached
a few college teams before moving
to Nebraska, hopes to boost their
numbers to between 40 and 70 in the
near future.
A majority of the current members
are former high school athletes looking
for a competitive outlet in college. Of
the 16 that rowed competitively last
year, just three had some experience
in the sport. Katie Orr was one, having
rowed in high school in Rochester,
Minnesota. She didn't know Nebraska
had a crew team when she came to
Lincoln but was happy it did when
she found she was "just missing
something."
"There's just no other sport like it,"
Orr said. "Every time you push that
oar in the water, there's some kind of
sound you're looking for."
The sport is a full-body workout,
said Jensen, using nearly every muscle
from the legs to the fi ngers. The
2,000-meter sprint races are compared
to running 2 miles or playing back-to-
back basketball games. The longer,
5,000-meter head races include sprints
at the beginning and end. Blisters
come quick in the early practices,
eventually turning to callouses.
Then there is the off -season, when
they train all winter long on rowing
machines. "It's boring as heck," Jensen
said. "Too bad it's the longest season."
But it's also the time to work on the
physical and technical parts of the
sport. The stroke rate of each person
on the boat has to be perfectly timed
to perform well. If not, you might not
even stay upright, as Fierro knows
all too well. The fi rst time he rowed,
he capsized in his fi rst strokes on a
double. "Instead of puffi ng air, you're
UNL Crew coach Eric Jensen gives instruction to his rowers from a boat driven by
assistant coach Libby Bicak.
