Women's Rowing | 5/24/2013 10:06:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY - The first year of college can be daunting for any freshman. Add to that the pressures of being a varsity student athlete, and you have the potential of a competitive season full of trepidation. In the sport of rowing, individual and team commitment are paramount. Freshmen recruits know something about achieving success on the water at the high school level. The collegiate walk-on/novice athlete has a little bit more to learn so success can take care of itself. This is why Coach
Jim Bodenstedt established the Joe and Nancy Briggs Oar Handle Award, given to honor a freshman/novice oarsman and oarswoman who have demonstrated throughout their first year of rowing, a commitment to improvement and moving the RIT Crew program forward.
“This award is a great opportunity to highlight the Briggs name and to honor Joe and Nancy for their years of friendship to our program,” stated Head Men's and Women's Crew Coach,
Jim Bodenstedt. “Without their support we would not be where we are today.”
Squad members #
Andrew Fisher (Syracuse, NY/Onondaga) and
Molly Magarian (Folsom, CA/Vista del Lago)# were chosen by the coaching staff as the inaugural winners. The two freshmen were honored at the crew team picnic on Sunday, May 12. Andrew is a walk-on athlete from Syracuse, N.Y., an engineering exploration major, whose father rowed at Cornell University. Molly is a packaging science major and high school recruit from Folsom, California.
“I am so pleased for our winners, stated Bodenstedt. 'They earned this prestigious honor to have their names engraved on this beautiful plaque for posterity, and did so much to make this year a very special year for our freshman/novice teams. Andrew was a guiding presence as the men's novice co-captain and Molly was a real work horse at stroke seat in the women's novice eight, who did a wonderful job in connecting the novices with the women's varsity crew. Both are leaders who have a bright rowing future ahead of them.”
Joe and Nancy Briggs know a thing or two about success and leadership as well. The Briggs' families have been involved with the RIT Board of Trustees for several generations. Joe was instrumental in co-founding the crew program with Coach Bodenstedt in 1993, 20 years ago. Nancy supported Joe in his desire to see the crew program come to fruition. Through their support, along with other major contributors, the program bought rowing shells and oars, became a varsity sport within the Center for Intercollegiate Athletics in 1996, and built a state-of-the-art boathouse in 1999.
Joe and Nancy Briggs will forever impact the lives of RIT rowers. Their legacy will be remembered and honored through the selection of freshman/novice rowers who champion self improvement and team commitment.
