‘Eight (8) members of NAC’s women’s masters crew, Women on Water (WOW), took five singles, two doubles, and two quads to Desert Sprints (3/30/25), in Tempe, Arizona, where they each earned at least one medal.
We are particularly proud of our novice singles who braved exceptionally strong winds and choppy water to win gold (Elisa Lee), silver (Wendy Leavell), and Bronze (Kendra Ishop). This despite the previous day’s swing row being treacherously windy and some of these novices had not rowed the single much prior to racing. As medal winner Kendra Ishop reflected, “I felt like a bird being pushed out of the nest.”
We were all grateful that after the singles raced, the wind died down, the sun came out and we were able to get to know our “WOW-tastic” teammates better as we watched the races. And WOW kept succeeding! Our novice double (Leavell and Ishop) took first in their race, our experienced masters double (Linda “YaYa” Hay, and Margaret Elder) took second in their race, and both of our women’s masters quads (YaYa, Jean, Mac, Margaret and Wendy, Kedra, Mary, Elisa) took second in their respective races. We enjoyed the excellent competition. In many of the races, the boats moved in tight packs all the way down the course with mere seconds separating them at the finish. I am grateful that I called my quad’s sprint early for this reason. It was an exciting day! And a great bonding day for a team that has a lot of new members We are so grateful for the experience and for Billy’s help with the trailer.