Caitlin Comaroto’s Journey In Rowing
Caitlin Comaroto began her journey in rowing during her freshman year at Saint Mary’s College and has never looked back.
Caitlin Comaroto is a member of the Women’s Rowing Team at Saint Mary’s College. Caitlin did not begin rowing until she entered her freshman year at Saint Mary’s, but even as a beginner in her novice year, she performed well enough to move up to varsity within a few months. Now at the end of her junior year, she said that her experience with rowing has been a roller coaster.
“I began rowing in college because I have always been really competitive and I thought that it would be really rewarding to be a D1 athlete,” Caitlin said. “I also really wanted to be a part of something and I was able to do that with the sisterhood of the team.”
The dynamics of the team have been Caitlin’s favorite part about competing. While rowing, the entire team has to be in perfect synchronization with each other or else the team will fail, which she said establishes a high level of camaraderie.
“It may seem obvious when someone watches a rowing team, but it is hard to imagine just how in sync we need to be with each other when we are competing,” Caitlin said. “It isn’t like most team sports where one player can have an off day and the rest of the team can pick up their slack. When we’re in the boat, the whole team really is only as strong as their weakest link.”
Caitlin’s teammate Katie Pecoraro agreed.
“We even have to try our best to not have issues between us as teammates,” Pecoraro said. “We spend so much time with each other and have to get along because if there are problems between any of us, it throws the dynamics of the entire team off.”
Both players agreed that the necessity for synchronization and reliance on each other is what forms the camaraderie and sisterhood of the team that they both love. They also agreed that same necessity can be the most frustrating aspect of rowing.
“Considering how much time we spend together and how focused we constantly have to be, it can be difficult to not get irritated at each other from time to time,” Caitlin said. “And then we can’t really get mad at each other for the sake of the team. Always having to bottle everything up can be draining.”
