“FOR OUR team” was taped to the boats of the Ateneo Women’s Rowing team during the 2014 Varsity Boat Race held in Malaysia last October 13 to 19. The words served as a constant reminder of the camaraderie that the Ateneo Rowing Team shares. The tournament is a yearly invitational of the top rowing teams across Asia. Both Ateneo teams endured multiple races per day as they competed in the eights, fours and doubles divisions.

Team Captain Rafael Garcia assesses that the entire team did well, given that rowing is not very prominent in the country. Both teams competed against a tough group of rowers against the world’s top squads. “Overall, competing up against national teams, we are not far from them [skills-wise].” He adds that the team can improve further by adjusting their system.

Despite the men’s team not placing in the overall standings, the entire Ateneo rowing community did not leave Malaysia disappointed. It was the women’s team that capped off the rowing program’s performance, as they went against all odds and bagged the silver medal in the women’s lightweight fours rowing division. As Garcia claims, “They were really destined to win.”

Rookie surprise

The women’s fours lineup was a rookie team, as three of the four—Celine Villonco, Melissa Del Rosario and Gillian Guzman—only joined the team last June and had no previous experience in rowing. Angelica Agdamag, on the other hand, only joined in October 2013. In addition, the team only had around three months of proper training as the final lineup of the rowing team was only released last August.

Other than the rushed preparation for the tournament, Villonco expressed that one of the difficulties they had is the lack of competition to measure against. Ateneo is one of the few schools that has a rowing team, so they can’t compare their time trials with other competitors. Instead, the women’s team remained resourceful by comparing their performances with the teams who previously competed in the Varsity Boat Race. Villonco adds, “When we were doing time trials and comparing it to theirs, that’s when we found out that we can really do this.”

The team had to overcome a huge setback during their first race, as they were not accustomed to the reverse mechanics of the boat they used in Malaysia. The confusion caused them to go off-course and finish sixth place in their first event. Luckily, the mishap occurred in the early stages of the competition, and they were able to bounce back in the losers bracket or the repechage round. They tallied a time of nine minutes and six seconds and finished first in order to qualify for the finals heat.

Grit with a dash of luck

Although the women’s fours group’s determination propelled them to the final round of the tournament, the team still remained as the underdogs. Come the championships, they stood at fourth place for the majority of the race.

Although it seemed that they would settle for a spot outside the podium, the girls encountered an unforeseen event as the teams in second and third place collided against each other only 50 meters away from the finish line. It resulted into an automatic disqualification, thus giving Ateneo the chance to take over and cross the finish line for second place. Despite the opposing teams being granted an appeal for a 500-meter sprint makeup, the women’s team convincingly dominated the re-race and claimed the second place title in the fours division. [blockquote author=”Gillian Guzman, Fours division champion, Ateneo Women’s Rowing team” pull=”pullright”]I think the love for your boatmates is so strong that it pushes you further.[/blockquote]

Their dramatic finish wrapped up all the hard work the team devoted to the competition. With practices twice a day, and the combination of land and boat training, Guzman adds that all their sacrifices worked out, especially when coupled with their trust in their system. “I think we all agree that it’s really worth it. We just learn to love it. We know how demanding it is. We know how tiring it is. We know how nerve wracking it is to be in a race, but we’re still here.”

The team admitted that there are times when they question their abilities, but continue to push themselves nonetheless. Villonco believes that their training is also a test psychologically just as much as it is physically. “That’s what we learned, as rowers, I think. It’s really all in the mind.”

Additionally, Guzman expressed how their teammates help them do better. “I think the love for your boatmates is so strong that it pushes you further.” She also notes how they can’t be selfish: “When you want to stop or get a breather, you also have to think of what will happen to the rest of the group. We can’t just think of ourselves.”

Bright future ahead

Looking forward, the entire rowing team has the potential to win several more tournaments in the future. In Del Rosario’s words, “There is no way to go but up.” The women’s team is full of young rowers as Villonco is the only senior in the fours lineup. For the men’s rowers, they’ve been transitioning the younger members of the team with the immediate development of a training pool. “It’s already difficult, [but] it’s just that we have had to step up [ever] since knowing that we’re up against a lot of national teams,” says Garcia in a mix of English and Filipino.

With the experience of competition under their belt, they will no longer have to deal with the learning curve. This entails more time to prepare for any future events with the mix of veterans and future recruits in their roster.

In the face of success, both teams remain humble. Del Rosario says, “I don’t want to say [that] we’re confident. But I feel that we can do it.” With this great start, the entire Ateneo rowing program believes that they will be even more prepared for future competitions. Time will only tell how many more tournaments they will compete in and win, but one thing is certain: The future is bright for the rowing team of the Ateneo.