Play(er) of the Week, seeks to highlight Wesleyan athletes or segments from games that deserve extra attention. Shayna McCarthy ’24 is a member of the women’s crew team and was one of three underclassmen in Wesleyan women’s crew history who received All-American honors. The Argus sat down with her to hear about her experiences on the team and what’s next for women’s crew.

The Argus: Do you mind introducing yourself?

Shayna McCarthy: I’m Shayna, I’m a junior. I use she/her pronouns and I’m a Psychology major. I wish that I could be a Studio Art minor, that just doesn’t exist here. So I’ve just kind of been taking art classes and, like, doing art on my own when I can. I’m sort of in the Outing Club. I like to go outside. That’s part of why I row because I pretty much get to be outside for most of the year.

TA: What got you into rowing to begin with?

SM: My mom actually rowed here and then went on to be on the national team

TA: That’s crazy.

SM: Then she was also on the Olympic team.

TA: Wait, that’s insane.

SM: Yeah. That’s definitely how I know about rowing. She never really pushed it on me. She never even suggested that I do it because I think it’s kind of an intense sport. And if I didn’t want to do it, she didn’t want me to do it. So I was actually a dancer. Like ballet, jazz, and modern until sophomore year of high school. Which is super interesting to switch to rowing. But then junior year, I felt I needed something that’s more athletic. My body just doesn’t align with ballet like that. You have to be small, it’s really intense. I was getting shin splints from doing pointe. I wanted to do something different and I was like, okay, I’m gonna try rowing for a week. And then if I don’t like it, I’ll go back to dance. I never went back. 

TA: Did you get recruited to row for Wesleyan?

SM: I did. 

TA: What was that process like for you?

SM: I reached out to our coach. And he said you can come train, we can talk. I came in the summer after junior year. I saw the boathouse and then I came on a recruiting visit, which is the last year where that happened until this year. Which is crazy because we’ve been recruiting people on Zoom for the past two years. But I came here and I really liked the team and I told him I was visiting other places, but I actually wasn’t, I only applied here.

TA: Wow. I’m wondering what I’m ever going to stop asking about what COVID is like for teams…What was it like with COVID last year? 

SM: Can I talk about freshman year first? Freshman year, the team was split into groups and we literally could only go out in singles. Which is not usually what we do. College teams usually run eights. We went out in little pods and didn’t get to go out in the water that much. We basically got to do nothing in the fall. And then in the spring, we got approved to row with masks on. We were rowing in masks for a really long time, which was really unpleasant, I would have to say. But we got to go to Nationals the spring of my freshman year, which was really cool. The team actually got fourth.

TA: Wow. That’s super.

SM: Yeah. That was really cool to do as a freshman. I actually started when I got here, because again, my team was pretty bad in high school, I started in 3v [third best boat] and then in Nationals I raced the 2v [second best boat]. Last year, the restrictions were pretty much lifted. So last spring I rowed in the 1v, which is cool.

TA: Do you anticipate COVID being a challenge at all this year, or do you think [the season] will be normal this year?

SM: I mean, I would hope that it would be normal. Obviously, there’s things that could change, but we probably should be doing things that are more normal.

TA: Fingers crossed, I’m looking forward to never talking about COVID in athletics ever again. I guess moving on to lighter things, what are the highlights of last year or last season in general, since crew is two seasons.

SM: Last year was fun. We got to go to Head of the Charles. Which is so exciting, ’cause it’s the biggest head race in the world. Because in the fall, it’s long distance and in the spring, it’s more sprints. So in the fall it’s a head race. So they start people off and though you’re racing against other teams, you’re more racing against yourself. It’s a bit more like mentally racing. Even though you can pass people, that doesn’t mean that you’re winning.

TA: Oh, that’s interesting. So you have staggered starts?

SM: Yes. So you would be getting ahead, but you don’t really know where you are in the race essentially.

TA: Were there any other highlights last year?

SM: Getting to actually be with the team was definitely a highlight. We still didn’t get to go on our spring break training trip last year.

TA: Oh, that sucks.

SM: And we were in Middletown. But it was still really fun to connect with people better, because freshman year, we didn’t get to do that at all. We were in pods and then also we didn’t have spring break at all freshman year. At least we even got to be with the team here and there was nice weather in Middletown. Like shockingly in March, we were all clear out on the water, it was 60 degrees out and then the rest of March was super cold. So that was definitely a highlight. Like the sun was shining on us. And we just missed nationals last year.

TA: That segues into my next question quite well. What are you most looking forward to for this season or for this year in general?

SM: First of all, we have a lot of freshmen this year, I’m excited to have a bigger team. I’m excited to go to Head of the Charles again. For this season, I’m excited to get to know people better, ’cause I feel like that’s kind of what the fall is all about. And then in the spring, really getting to race. 

 

TA: I said this at the beginning, but congrats on All-American.

SM: Thank you.

TA: Why do you think you were honored? 

SM: I really like to work hard and I’ve been really trying since I got here. I also love being with our team. So it’s partially that I bring good energy and have fun. I think that’s a big aspect of it, trying to help everyone along, not just yourself. That’s also kind of why I’m a Psychology major. My idea was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what I want to major in, but I want to do something that helps people.’ And that was the thing I gravitated towards, so that’s my answer for that.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

If you would like to nominate a Play(er) of the Week, please reach out to cbonnevie@wesleyan.edu, ebyerly@wesleyan.edu, or eseaver@wesleyan.edu with either the athlete’s name and one sentence about why they deserve to be nominated, or the team name, date of the game, players involved, and the segment that you would like to highlight. 

 

Cameron Bonnevie can be reached at cbonnevie@wesleyan.edu.