The Falcon   |   Volume 81, Issue 26

Published 6/02/10   |   Log In

'Eyes of boat' pilots Falcons

Sophomore coxwain Annie Mulder navigates the women's varsity eight crew.
Photo credit: CURTIS SIMPSON IV/The Falcon.

SPU receives bid for nationals

By DAVID TRISTANO, Sports Editor

Published: May 19, 2010

As the other eight rowers strain against water and time with all their might, sophomore Annie Mulder sits in the back of the boat. However, she is not there to merely enjoy a free ride.

Mulder, a coxswain (navigator), steers the Seattle Pacific women's varsity eight crew through the 2,000-meter courses. She also motivates the crew throughout the races, reminding them of their team goals.

"I am the eyes of the boat," Mulder said. "I try to paint a picture to let them know where the other teams are. I have two goals: first, get to the starting line on time. Second, get to the finish line as fast as possible."

Though most coxswains wish and train to be rowers, Mulder is happy with her role, she said.

Using her navigation skills, Mulder has guided the SPU varsity eight crew to a third place ranking in the women's Division II West Region.

Using her communication skills on the water, she calls out rowers when their forms need to be fixed.

"My job is to let them know if they are off," Mulder said. "I am calling them throughout work outs, watching them, steering them, telling them where other boats are. During races, I am constantly talking, I got phrases, 'A little more pain for a lot of glory.'"

During practices or competitions, Mulder motivates her team by reminding them of their goal -- reaching nationals. The team wants to show other schools that Seattle Pacific is not just a small school, but also a school of elite athletes, she said.

"I truly appreciate her (Mulder) motivating positive attitude," senior rower Katie Degner said. "It is contagious. Annie is the perfect fit to motivate this team. We are all so positively oriented that we feed off of each other."

Mulder ran cross country in high school, but said she was not good enough to compete at a collegiate level. Her cousin previously rowed on the SPU team and her sister played for their local high school city team in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mulder liked the community element that athletics engages, so she signed up for crew, she said.

Mulder wanted to be a rower like her sister, but during the first week of practices her freshman year, head coach Keith Jefferson picked her and three others, and informed them that they will be coxswains, Mulder said.

Since then, Mulder has not looked back.

"I have loved being a coxswain," she said. "I love that responsibility."

During her freshman year, senior stroke Rachel Savage, who sits next to the coxswain, helped Mulder adjust to the new position, along with assistant coach Matt Shi, Mulder said.

Out of 1,100 students in her high school, no one would have ever thought that Mulder would be the only one to have competed in nationals at the collegiate level, she said.

Every morning before the 5 a.m. practice, the coaches give the coxswains critiques on what they need to work on, Mulder added.

It is hard to row for a coxswain that a team does not trust, but that is not the case with Mulder, Degner said.

"A person has to earn the trust of their rowers in order for a boat to work hard at their job," Degner said. "Annie has earned our trust."

The women's varsity eight crew began the season with a lot of hope, given the returning rowers, Mulder said. They had more experience under their belts and were faster from the previous year, she added.

The team was also focused, Mulder said.

On May 1, they won the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, recording their fastest time of the season up to that point in the year.

On May 8, the women rowed to a third place finish at the Dad Vail Regatta. They finished seven seconds shy of a first place win.

Yesterday, the Falcons received word that they will be headed to the NCAA Division II Women's Rowing Championships. The regatta is scheduled from May 28 to 30 on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

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