Photo by: SMC Athletics / Brian Brownfield
Gael Spotlight | From Row to Road
9/29/2022 10:58:00 AM | General, Women's Rowing
The Common Interest Management Gael Spotlight is a monthly feature story about Saint Mary's Athletics and a behind-the-scenes look at the Gaels.
MORAGA, Calif. – Rowing is an enigma in the world of college athletics, in that most rowers don't seem to find their way into the sport until high school. Such was the case for Oregon native Hathaway Scarpine, who heads into her third season with the Gaels after missing all of last season due to injury.
"Growing up in Portland, you find yourself spending a lot of time near the water, and during my freshman year of high school I sat next to this girl who rowed and my parents thought I should give it a shot," recalls Scarpine. "I ended up going down to Row City Rowing Club Boathouse and started rowing just a week later. I had always liked long cardio training, and it seemed like the perfect fit."
A perfect fit it was, and Scarpine quickly fell in love with the sport, despite not getting on the water until the spring of her freshman year.
"I loved being a part of that team environment and because rowing is pretty individual in the sense that you have to train on your own, but then in the boat you can't work without your teammate. So, when we're on the ergs for three months, you're pushing the girl next to you because you know if she's not getting faster, then three months later your boat is going be the slowest one on the water. I think it made me stick with it and I made some really good friends really fast."
It wasn't until her junior year in high school when Scarpine knew she wanted to row in college, and that's when she stumbled upon Saint Mary's. "I saw Saint Mary's at a college fair and I reached out to the coach who was recruiting at the time. I eventually came for an official visit and loved the size of the campus and the small, which was different. My club team was pretty big, which was a nice change of pace."
Scarpine thrived during her freshman season with the Gaels, quickly becoming a pivotal piece to the squad. Going into her sophomore season however, a lingering injury would send Scarpine down a recovery path that even she couldn't have predicted.
"I was having pretty bad pain in my shoulder last fall, so I went and talked to a surgeon who told me the labrum in my shoulder had completely broken down. My shoulder socket was so loose that I was experiencing these minor dislocations, and the surgeon basically said I could push it out for as long as I wanted, but sooner or later I would need surgery."
Scarpine had the surgery in November, putting her in a sling for eight weeks, and ruling her out for her entire sophomore season. "When I came back to school in January I had absolutely no range in right arm. It was definitely a big bummer seeing all your friends on the water when you're on the land, and that was when I really started to get into running."
Most athletes slowly work their way back to fitness after injuries, but Scarpine is not wired that way, and she soon found herself clocking up the miles not on the water, but on the land.
At first running was a simple way to maintain cardio while out of the water, but Scarpine soon realized that she had a knack for it, "I hadn't been a runner before my freshman year, but I got super into it during my recovery because it was the only thing I could really do."
She began training for a half marathon, running around the Briones reservoir while her teammates would be in training in the water. Scarpine began to rapidly improve, even deciding to run two full laps around the reservoir, which ended up being a full marathon. "I had a teammate drop me off one morning and I ran around it and it took so long. And it was miserable, but then I did it and I was like, well, that was pretty cool."
As her shoulder began to improve, so did her running, competing in two official marathons last summer.
"I ran the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon in Portland and the Jack and Jill Marathon in Washington over the summer. It really made me realize like how much I love long training, and doing a proper marathon is pretty fun."
But even despite all the running, Scarpine was nervous when it came to getting back on the erg.
"We recently did 20-minute test on the erg and I was so worried about it. I thought I was going to go so slow. Like I was so stressed. We get 10 minutes in and I was like, I feel great! I didn't really think my running would translate to the water, and you're like, holy cow, I'm actually in great shape" explained Scarpine.
Getting back onto the water wasn't without its challenges, and Scarpine credits her teammates for being able to push her when times got tough.
"I think most of all, what I learned from being injured is how like inspiring it is to watch your teammates push themselves to be the best they can be," says Scarpine. "I think it's so cool. I love what all my teammates are doing, it inspires you to kind of push yourself farther."
Maybe we can all push ourselves a little farther, because you never know what you're capable of until to try it.
MORAGA, Calif. – Rowing is an enigma in the world of college athletics, in that most rowers don't seem to find their way into the sport until high school. Such was the case for Oregon native Hathaway Scarpine, who heads into her third season with the Gaels after missing all of last season due to injury.
"Growing up in Portland, you find yourself spending a lot of time near the water, and during my freshman year of high school I sat next to this girl who rowed and my parents thought I should give it a shot," recalls Scarpine. "I ended up going down to Row City Rowing Club Boathouse and started rowing just a week later. I had always liked long cardio training, and it seemed like the perfect fit."
A perfect fit it was, and Scarpine quickly fell in love with the sport, despite not getting on the water until the spring of her freshman year.
"I loved being a part of that team environment and because rowing is pretty individual in the sense that you have to train on your own, but then in the boat you can't work without your teammate. So, when we're on the ergs for three months, you're pushing the girl next to you because you know if she's not getting faster, then three months later your boat is going be the slowest one on the water. I think it made me stick with it and I made some really good friends really fast."
It wasn't until her junior year in high school when Scarpine knew she wanted to row in college, and that's when she stumbled upon Saint Mary's. "I saw Saint Mary's at a college fair and I reached out to the coach who was recruiting at the time. I eventually came for an official visit and loved the size of the campus and the small, which was different. My club team was pretty big, which was a nice change of pace."
Scarpine thrived during her freshman season with the Gaels, quickly becoming a pivotal piece to the squad. Going into her sophomore season however, a lingering injury would send Scarpine down a recovery path that even she couldn't have predicted.
"I was having pretty bad pain in my shoulder last fall, so I went and talked to a surgeon who told me the labrum in my shoulder had completely broken down. My shoulder socket was so loose that I was experiencing these minor dislocations, and the surgeon basically said I could push it out for as long as I wanted, but sooner or later I would need surgery."
Scarpine had the surgery in November, putting her in a sling for eight weeks, and ruling her out for her entire sophomore season. "When I came back to school in January I had absolutely no range in right arm. It was definitely a big bummer seeing all your friends on the water when you're on the land, and that was when I really started to get into running."
Most athletes slowly work their way back to fitness after injuries, but Scarpine is not wired that way, and she soon found herself clocking up the miles not on the water, but on the land.
At first running was a simple way to maintain cardio while out of the water, but Scarpine soon realized that she had a knack for it, "I hadn't been a runner before my freshman year, but I got super into it during my recovery because it was the only thing I could really do."
She began training for a half marathon, running around the Briones reservoir while her teammates would be in training in the water. Scarpine began to rapidly improve, even deciding to run two full laps around the reservoir, which ended up being a full marathon. "I had a teammate drop me off one morning and I ran around it and it took so long. And it was miserable, but then I did it and I was like, well, that was pretty cool."
As her shoulder began to improve, so did her running, competing in two official marathons last summer.
"I ran the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon in Portland and the Jack and Jill Marathon in Washington over the summer. It really made me realize like how much I love long training, and doing a proper marathon is pretty fun."
But even despite all the running, Scarpine was nervous when it came to getting back on the erg.
"We recently did 20-minute test on the erg and I was so worried about it. I thought I was going to go so slow. Like I was so stressed. We get 10 minutes in and I was like, I feel great! I didn't really think my running would translate to the water, and you're like, holy cow, I'm actually in great shape" explained Scarpine.
Getting back onto the water wasn't without its challenges, and Scarpine credits her teammates for being able to push her when times got tough.
"I think most of all, what I learned from being injured is how like inspiring it is to watch your teammates push themselves to be the best they can be," says Scarpine. "I think it's so cool. I love what all my teammates are doing, it inspires you to kind of push yourself farther."
Maybe we can all push ourselves a little farther, because you never know what you're capable of until to try it.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rowing
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