SPORTS Athletes rewarded with collegiate sports opportunities By Jack Reuter Mia Eisenberg Maddie Scherr 2020 was by no means a cakewalk for Drake sports. Athletes took the challenges of the October wildfires and ongoing pandemic in stride, resolving to continue their excellent seasons. Among those students, five will take the lessons of perseverance learned from these hardships at the collegiate level this fall. Mia Eisenberg started with the Marin Rowing Association (MRA) six years ago. Sculling since 8th grade, she began the tradition of steering her team to victory as a coxswain for the Novice Masters team in the East Bay. Eisenberg rose through the ranks quickly, coxswaining for the High School Novice Girls team as a freshman, joining the Varsity Girls team sophomore year, and finishing as a co-captain. Eisenberg remembers the Head of the American River race fondly. The course was five km long, with 18 boats contesting for the finish. For her first time, Eisenberg sat in the lead starboard seat. Despite her 25 The Jolly Roger | June 2020 unfamiliarity in that position, her team placed second, losing first by just 0.7 seconds. “Rowing is one of the only sports I have done; it’s so dependent on teamwork! I love that everyone is so dependent on their team and their boat because it requires a certain level of generosity and selflessness to support your teammates and be so competitive at the same time,” Eisenberg said. She will continue crew at Smith College, undaunted by the East Coast winters. Maddie Scherr has been rowing since her freshman year. Her favorite memory was the MRA National Championship, where Scherr and eight other girls trained for a grueling three months and received a well earned third place. “[I love] the friends I made and sense of community and family. The boathouse became my second home,” Sherr said. She will be rowing at San Diego State University this fall, and is looking forward to the 5:30 a.m. practices.
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