Under head coach Terry Davison, Lake Nona’s South Orlando Rowing Association (SORA) has been building toward a tradition of national level rowing. They took a big step toward that when their lightweight girls 4+ (four rowers and a coxswain each weighing less than 130 lbs.) placed second at the 2018 U.S. Rowing Southeast Regional Youth Championships (often referred to as Regionals) in Sarasota on May 12-13. This earned a bid to the 2018 U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships held June 9-10 in Gold River, Calif.
In the world of high school crew, the entire season builds toward the State, Regional and National championships with each level of competition getting harder. SORA’s rowers knew they could do well in the state of Florida, and they did, capturing two state championships and several medals, but the goal was to go beyond that. In their path stood national powerhouse teams like Sarasota Crew, Winter Park Crew, and OARS, each boasting two to three times the number of rowers and resources. Without the numbers, Coach Terry knew that he had to identify situations where, as a growing but smaller club, SORA could compete.
The lightweight category is one of those areas where the playing field is leveled because winning is more about guts and determination than simply filling the boats with bigger, stronger athletes. In the case of the lightweight girls 4+, that calculation paid off as it has consistently finished near or at the top of the podium each time they’ve raced this season.
At the core of the boat are three Lake Nona High School sophomores – Avery Morris, Theresa Cogen and Sophia Keezel – who have been rowing together at SORA since 6th grade. They are joined by second-year SORA members Sydney Novak (a senior), who makes her second trip to Nationals, and coxswain Kyra Baldassarra (a junior).
This is the first SORA 4+ boat to make it onto the national stage. Coach Davison believes it won’t be the last. “This year, we are taking these girls, but next year we hope to be taking three to four boats to Nationals,” said Coach Terry, addressing the team after many boats earned places in the coveted grand final of the Southeast Youth Championships. A series of state championships, regional wins and now this chance to be recognized as one of the best crews in the nation signifies that Coach Terry’s plan to bring this team to national prominence is on track.
Rowing/crew is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S., and Orlando is one of the hotbeds of activity in not only Florida but the nation. Crew also boasts one of the highest ratios of graduating athletes to scholarships of any sport, meaning for those who want to earn their way onto a college rowing team and get scholarship money, there are plenty of opportunities.
South Orlando Rowing Association is currently holding open summer programs for anyone with or without previous crew experience, and the 2018-2019 competition season starts in September.
SORA accepts athletes from any area school that doesn’t have its own crew team.
If you’d like more information on how you can become part of Lake Nona’s new winning tradition, email membership@soracrew.com or call (321) 348-7577.
