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O’Connor will be part of two Norwalk crews that will compete this weekend at the USRowing Youth National Championships in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Norwalk River Rowing, which did not have any crews in the 2011 national regatta, will have eight crews in this year’s event.
Two women’s crews for Norwalk earned their way to Oak Ridge, and O’Connor is a member of both of them. “It’s really the final bang after four years of all the training,’’ O’Connor said. “This is my reward for those four years of dedication. I can’t wait to see what it’s like. It’s the end of my high school career, but it’s so exciting to be a part of it.”
O’Connor, who will continue rowing at Boston College, teamed with Maggie Walsh to win the Women’s Pair at the Northeast Regional regatta in May. Norwalk’s Women’s Youth 4+ with O’Connor, Walsh, Amanda Jenkins, Julia Barr and Caroline Arnold finished fourth, but petitioned USRowing and it was accepted. Norwalk had been unbeaten all spring.
“Two other girls had flipped in another race and they were cold and shivering, and it was a bad row for all of us,’’ O’Connor said. “The fact that we were so successful all year helped us get in.”
Norwalk qualified some crews for last year’s regatta, but O’Connor was not among them. She has, however, been one of the key athletes as Norwalk has become an Eastern power under coach Yuri Kolomeits, who took over the competitive rowing director in 2011. Catharine Labine came on board as the head coach of the women’s team last year.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the level of training, and a lot of it has to do with the girls,’’ O’Connor said. “We have a lot of dedication and a strong group of girls. We were willing to do whatever they threw our way.”
That included a mid-spring pairing with Walsh, another senior who will continue her career at Northeaster. O’Connor and Walsh won in their first race at the Long Island Junior Rowing Championships on May 5. Two weeks later they won the Northeast Regatta.
“All season long we’ve been rowing together in the four, and she sits right behind me,’’ O’Connor said. “We just connect in a way that clicks. Our practices are interesting, but when we get to the course we get it together and we do our thing. We have a good understanding of each other.”
O'Connor and Walsh learned from last year’s qualifying pair of Caroline Demko and Alex Stonehill. "There was a lot of frustration at first,’’ O’Connor said. “It is a difficult boat to row. But we saw that with practice they could do it, so we stayed determined."
O’Connor started rowing with advice from her brother, Corbitt, a former member of Norwalk River Rowing. Knee injuries prevented her from continuing in field hockey, and she switched to rowing.
“The girls on the team become my second family,’’ O’Connor said. “Now I’m the captain and I’ve made some great friends. Coming up as the underdog, I think I appreciate it more. I’ve worked hard to get there.”
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