Captains of the Week: Girl’s Varsity Crew

By ARIANA THORNTON, ROHIT KANTAMNENI

It’s a balmy afternoon at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the girls’ crew captains’ first race of their senior spring. Large clusters of family members and athletes, decked out in their respective school colors, gather near a hill’s edge to watch the G1 boats start off. When the call is made, the Exeter G1 boat becomes a slim dart streaking rapidly through the water; cheers and the rattling of cow bells echo as the racing boats become smaller in the distance. Within seconds, Exeter G1 pulls ahead, and a mere minute passes before they reach open water. They cross the finish line an astounding 25.1 seconds before the boat in second place. 

Throughout all aspects of crew—races, practices, and casual gatherings— senior captains Charlotte Pulkkinen and Emma Lyle are a source of inspiration, passion, and camaraderie.

“They’re both extremely great role models–both in skill and in character,” upper Cindy Su said. “They also have great attitudes towards rowing that are infectious to everyone. Both of them work extremely hard, push us to keep improving ourselves, and are always there to offer an encouraging word before a 2k or when we launch onto the water.”

Lower Jane Park, a coxswain, also shared this sentiment. “I think their diligence and their motivation encourages not only me, but also everyone else to work really hard. As a coxswain, it's really important that we take rowers’ feedback, and both captains have come up to me and helped me develop some calls. Just seeing how hardworking they are, and how physically and mentally strong they are, motivates me to do better for the team and for everyone else.”

Coach Sally Morris expressed her insights on the respective journeys of Pulkkinen and Lyle through crew. “They each have had different kinds of journeys, where Charlotte came from a rowing program and had already done a significant amount of rowing. Emma got started in our program and worked her way up,” Morris said. “What makes them similar is their commitment to the team, how much they love the sport of rowing, and how much they love their teammates. They are so positive and so supportive of everyone, and I think that their open-mindedness has helped them become better athletes.”

Pulkkinen, who came to Exeter as a new lower, described her experience with crew from the beginning. “I started crew before I came to Exeter, in my freshman year. I came to Exeter with the intent of rowing, but I played volleyball my first fall. I did winter [crew] training my lower year, and was really looking forward to having the sophomore spring season, but that got canceled because of COVID,” Pulkkinen said. “The older girls on the team really took me under their wing, and I knew that was something I wanted to bring to Exeter Girls’ Crew (EGC) when I was older on the team.”

Lyle, who began rowing in her prep spring, also discussed the starting point of her crew experience. “Girls on campus would tell me that I was tall and that I should try crew,” Lyle said. “I got to row with the JV-Varsity mix and it was fun. I didn't feel like much of an athlete before crew, but crew seemed like something that I could start to get really good at.”

“My lower year, I quit JV volleyball to do crew year-round. I rowed in our Head of the Charles eight in my lower year, which was a really meaningful experience to me,” Lyle continued. “I really started to understand what it meant to be on a team, and feel—for the first time in my life—that I was a meaningful part of the team. Unfortunately, we lost my lower season due to COVID, which was really disappointing. Upper year, it was really strange. We usually do sweep rowing, but I got to do some single-sculling because we couldn't be in seats together. I didn't love it. I missed having other people on the boat and I missed having a coxswain yell at me.”

This onset of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted both captains’ crew experience. “Crew is so team-oriented that it was hard for me to motivate myself to do the individual training when there was no race to look forward to, no season to look forward to,” Lyle said. “We didn't know when we were going to be back on the water again. When I did train, it was just to feel good physically and stay in shape. I'm really grateful that things are a little bit back to normal in the athletics world, because it was really difficult.”

“I was rowing on an erg alone in my basement for almost a full year,” Pulkinnen said. “I wasn't getting any faster. I really didn't have much to motivate me. So my sophomore into junior year, I kind of hit a big plateau. In the beginning of spring 2021, just being back in the Exeter crew environment, my times immediately began to drop and I was a lot more motivated, excited, and happy to row.”

Group camaraderie and support is a key factor of Exeter crew. Both captains and their coaches commented positively on Lyle and Pulkinnen’s leadership dynamic. “Charlotte and I have been good friends for a while and I really like rowing with her. We both really value this team, and it means a lot to us in different ways,” Lyle said. “I think we complement each other really well. She brings this competitiveness and positive intensity that's really valuable on the team. I really admire that about her and she is just an incredible athlete, very dedicated. I definitely draw energy and inspiration from that.”

In a separate interview, Pulkinnen used nearly the exact same phrasing. “I think that we complement one another really well,” Pulkinnen said. “We have slightly different energies. Emma’s incredibly approachable and super positive. Everyone on the team loves talking to her. I'm more so in the gym all the time and people love to come to me if they're looking for exercise plans or lifting plans. I think that we cover different bases and we provide different things that the team needs. Without one captain, it just wouldn't be the same.”

Lyle further discussed team culture and how the captains cultivate it. “I really like leading team stretches. That's something I think I'm kind of known for: Sun Salutations and stuff I make everyone do. I think it's actually really fun and I think it makes everyone's bodies feel a little bit better. I like having everyone together in a big circle, face to face, and when we do the Squat Song.”

“I also really like it when, at the end of practice, we ask each other, ‘What was something good from your row?’” Lyle continued. “Especially on days where it's a stressful or difficult practice, it's really important to ask each other what you did love about it. Even if it's just a cool bird you saw.”

“One of the things I like best about how Emma's been leading is saying something positive at the end of the day when we're in a circle,” Morris said. “With Charlotte, it’s this same openness. I see [Charlotte] greet people, looking people in the eye, encouraging people when they're doing things. If she's finished her piece, she doesn't just sit there; she encourages other people to keep going on theirs. She compliments people who row in the boat with her, and always has something good to say about everyone.”

“Both Emma and Charlotte also model teamwork in the way they co-captain in such a collaborative way,” Coach Rebecca Moore added. “We are lucky to have such generous and spirited leaders.”

  “Emma brings her direct manner and thoughtful comments to all team gatherings, giving teammates ways to talk about inclusion, team effort, and respect. Charlotte brings a steady model of how to challenge oneself athletically–her teammates can aspire to her strength and commitment,” Moore continued.

“[The captains] lead every dynamic stretch and are always a welcoming face in the boathouse,” Su shared. “They’re the rocks of our team.”

“My favorite thing about Charlotte is the difference between when she's on the water and off the water,” Su continued. “On the water, she's a beast, pulling away on the port side and hitting her famous focus face, baring her teeth as she uses all her quad power. However, when we get off the water, she'll often start joking around, a master of facial expressions, and a serious arm smacker when she finds something to be funny. She's always ready with a quip or a comment that gets the entire team going.”

“My favorite thing about Emma is that she's our resident boathouse expert on yoga, birds, and fauna,” Su said. “Whenever we see a bird or a plant that we're curious about, we'll just point it out to Emma, and she'll almost always know the answer. She's also the reason why we started calling ‘G-B-H!’ whenever we see a Great Blue Heron out on the Squamscott.”

Both Lyle and Pulkinnen reflected on their joys of crew. “On a personal level, what I really like about crew is that it is so meditative,” Lyle said. “I really like getting out on the water, the repetitive motion, and the physical challenge of it. I find the form very complex; there's a lot of elements there. So having so much to think about and just repeating it, I find it soothing.”

“I absolutely love the team this year. I have never had a team environment where everyone is friends with one another. There's really no toxic activity on the team,” Pulkinnen said. “Exeter has such a bright future. There is such young talent and I'm just so incredibly excited to see what some of the younger girls do in the future.”

Both captains reflected on what they feel is their biggest accomplishment. “I would say my biggest accomplishment is that I feel really honored to be captain of the team and I never would've seen myself as a sports captain—or even an athlete, really,” Lyle said. “The fact in and of itself means a lot to me, almost more so than any 2k time or race.”

“I think Head of the Charles was my greatest accomplishment as a rower,” Pulkinnen said, referring to her boat’s second-place medal in the world’s largest regatta. “Two underclassmen on the team were in our boat, and I think that that goes to prove the incredible future that Exeter Girls’ Crew has. The team is so young and the talent is so young. After I graduate, the boats are going to be so fast, and I'm so excited to see what they do.”

The captains shared some of their plans for crew once they graduate Exeter. “I'm really excited to be rowing with Tufts next year, and at the prospect of participating in collegiate athletics just to see if I like it or not,” Lyle said. “I'm going to give it at least a year, and I don't know if it's something that I'll continue for my entire college experience, but if it is, I think that's great.”

“This summer I got selected for the Youth National Team World Championship Selection Camp. So that's kind of crazy,” Pulkinnen said. “I'll be rowing with other Junior National Team rowers this summer in hopes of making a World Championships boat. Then in the fall, I'll be rowing at Dartmouth.”

In the swing of spring season, though, all of Exeter Girls’ Crew is excited. “I'm feeling very excited this season–we've already made incredible improvements through this season and have gotten really fast and strong,” Su said. “We're starting our race season off with the PEA Invitational, and will keep racing every Saturday. Hopefully, we're going to be able to attend NEIRAs, which is the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships. If we get to go this year, it will be the first time in two years, and exciting for the whole team as no one on our team currently has had experience going to the regatta. It will be a fun first time for everyone, and hopefully, we'll see good results!”