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Maria Lycouris and Abbie Frey were just getting their feet wet in rowing five years ago. Neither of the girls, who compete for the Norwalk-based Connecticut Boat Club, could have predicted the path they have taken with the sport.
Lycouris and Frey, who are now Greenwich High seniors, will begin their final campaign for CBC this weekend when the club heads to the San Diego Crew Classic. Both girls will continue their rowing careers at Cornell University in the fall.
"I never expected to get to where I am right now,'' Lycouris said. "There's no way I could've predicted this. I'm so happy with the way it turned out."
Part of the surprise was that neither girl was terribly athletic as a youngster. Frey was a self-described "couch potato" when she picked up rowing in the seventh grade. "I really hated running,'' Abbie said. "I couldn't hit a ball, and I couldn't kick a ball. With rowing, I just stuck with it."
Lycouris went the other extreme. No sport, however, seemed to suit her. "I was always transitioning between sports,'' Maria said. "I tried soccer, tennis, even ballet. I've seen it all and done it all. I've heard people say once you start rowing, you can never stop. For me, I love the team aspect of it."
Since picking up the sport, the girls' careers have followed parallel lines. Both started with Greenwich crew and joined coach Liz Trond when they were high school sophomores. They stayed with Trond when she started the CBC team last year.
"I love the fact that everyone truly cares about being here,'' Frey said. "Everyone is here because they like to race and they like to win."
The girls are among the top 16 rowers in the competitive CBC program, which is looking to defend its title in the Women's Youth 8+ at June's U.S. championships. Lycouris made the exclusive CanAmMex Junior National Camp last summer, and Frey competed for CBC at nationals in the Varsity 4+ last year.
They have taken the extra step this spring to train together two mornings a week in Greenwich in addition to their afternoon workouts at CBC. "We're out there breaking through the ice,'' Lycouris said. The girls are on the water at about 6 a.m. before school.
They talked about attending Cornell as far back as the eighth grade, even before they knew rowing could help take them there. Frey intends to study industrial labor relations and business law, while Lycouris will concentrate on marine conservation and environmental sciences. They made their college choices independently and within a few weeks of each other.
"I think it's going to be good knowing someone on the same team in college,'' Abbie said. "We don't plan to be inseparable, but it will be good to have someone I know on the same team."
Before Cornell, however, they are looking forward to a final season with the CBC team. "The fact that it's the last season is a little daunting,'' Maria said. "It's our big finish. I want to make it a great season and hopefully some medals at nationals. We want the end year on a good note."
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