Liz Miller is one of nine talented freshmen who look to anchor the 2002 Hurricanes rowing team. So far, Miami has participated in two matches, finishing second to Syracuse on Mar. 17, and defeating UCF, West Virginia, and Connecticut on Mar. 24. The Miami Hurricane caught up with Liz to talk about her past achievements in the sport, as well as what to expect from the Hurricanes this season.
Q. At what point did you decide to take up rowing?
A. My brother rowed in high school, and my parents wanted me to start because of him. I started as a freshman in high school and just kept going from there.
Q. How long did you row for in high school and was there one shining moment during that span?
A. I rowed for my high school team during the spring each year, and because my school was pretty small, I also rowed for a club team. We had pretty good results on both teams, the best being when I won the Silver Medal at the 1999 US Rowing Nationals for my club team.
Q. When did you decide to attend Miami?
A. Ever since I was in fourth grade. That was when I decided that I wanted to study hurricanes.
Q. How hard has the transition to the college level been for you?
A. Initially, it was really hard because the practice schedule is much more demanding. It’s not easy waking up at five in the morning, going to practice, and then going to class. The girls on the team are really nice so that makes the transition much easier.
Q. What were your individual expectations going into this season?
A. I was sick with mono so I just wanted to get back to the athletic level where I was before. I also wanted to make as big of an impact as possible.
Q. What about the team’s expectations?
A. Every boat wants to do very well. Our first eight wants to medal at the Big East in a couple of weeks, so hopefully, we will all be able to do our best.
Q. How has the new coaching staff (Debra Morgan, Cinda Ewton, Liz Payer) been so far?
A. I’ve really enjoyed being with them. They are great coaches and I think our team has really improved because of them.
Q. Take us through what you do in practice.
A. We work on technique, power, racing strategies, mental aspects of rowing, and weightlifting, all of which basically gets us into game shape.
Q. What are your impressions of the first two races?
A. There is always things that we can work on, but we rode pretty well and had good results so I’m pleased.
Q. Now that the season has begun, do you have any new goals for yourself?
A. We bet shirts on the races, especially for the big ones, so I want to win as many shirts as possible. This weekend, we are going to the State Championships, which is a huge race.