Rowers seek repeat in final

The members of the girls’ junior rowing team of the Newport Aquatic Center tasted victory early in their careers as freshman. Now high school seniors, the team is looking for one more moment on top before moving on to college.

Lake Natoma near Sacramento is the site for this weekend’s Southwest Regional Junior Championship Regatta. Four years ago, at the same location, the girls won the team points championship and advanced to do the same at the U.S. National Youth Championships.

The girls are entered in 13 events, with the boys will compete in 11. Of the 120 total team members, 60 to 70 are from Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools. The top three teams in each heat advance to the finals. The top three from the finals will race in the national championships June 8-11 in Cincinnati.

Christy Shaver, who coaches the girls’ team and oversees the entire program, said she sees hunger in the eyes of the girls’ team.

“We have a chance to place in each event,” said Shaver, who has coached the team at the Newport Aquatic Center for 10 years. “My goal is to walk away with a smile. Deep down, a lot of us would like to win girls’ team titles like we did four years ago.”

In the girls’ lightweight division, which is broken into teams of eight and four rowers with participants weighing 130 pounds or less, Newport is strong.

“We are tops in the region in lightweight eight,” Shaver said. “Hopefully, we can be one of the top [teams] in the country. The lightweight eight division has proven whoever wins our region goes on to win the final.”

The team practices six to seven days a week for a minimum of three hours a day.

“Our motto is heart, through practice and training,” Shaver said. “There’s always an ongoing challenge. The perfect stroke, the adrenaline rush.”

Shaver said Newport’s strategy is to start with a burst of speed, using short strokes, then the team shifts to longer strokes after 20-25 seconds ? when anaerobic shock sets in ? in order to maintain the momentum of the boat and endurance through the 2,000-meter race.

“We’ve got to get off the line as quick as possible,” Shaver said.

Although it is the rowing team, rowing is not the only important duty in the boat. The coxswain is similar to a captain, motivating and directing the rowers. Receiving both the credit and the blame, coxswain can be a stressful position.

It is a job Michael Guess is happy he chose. The Newport Harbor junior has held the position for three years, steering the team to victory while avoiding buoys and wayward boats in the process.

“You have to stay calm when bad things happen,” Guess said. “You’re going to have good days and bad days. It’s a huge commitment. I never saw myself yelling or motivating. You don’t see yourself doing this.”

Guess picked up the sport and the position after watching his sister Jennifer ? a Newport Harbor graduate who was the West Coast Conference’s Coxswain of the Year at Loyola Marymount this season ? compete. This weekend will be Guess’ fifth trip to Lake Natoma, and his third as a competitor.

“If everyone is on time, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Guess said.