Women's Team Wednesday

Margaret Kneuer 
Freshman
Psychology Major
Coxswain for the Varsity 8+
Fun Fact: her sister is also a coxswain (for Michigan State)

How did you start coxing?

I started coxing the summer going into my eighth grade, I was on learn to row and I wanted to be a rower and the novice coach pulled me aside and said, “You’re not allowed to carry a boat, you’re too tiny  - so you’re going to be a coxswain”.

What were your reasons to want to cox in college?

It’s my passion and I had fallen in love with the sport in middle school and it continued into high school and now I can’t imagine my life without crew.

So what made you choose Mercyhurst?

Adrian. To begin my search I wanted a balance between academics and athletics and Mercyhurst being division II made it out to be the best fit. As soon as I met the team and got to understand their rowing philosophy and they team organization I know it was perfect. 

What was it like for you to go from the high school to collegiate level?

I think the transition was subtle because I couldn’t pinpoint the differences, you have the experience but you’re still also rowing and learning and you have to learn brand new ways of rowing.  Luckily in high school I had four different coaches so I was used to the different rowing styles so I was able to be very adaptable in that sense.

I think the difference is mainly that it is very competitive and every single person in college rowing is there to compete. Not to say that high school isn’t, but the team as a whole is more professional and more competitive. You’re now training very hard and every single person is putting everything they have into it. 

Tell me about your season so far…

I think the season is going better than I imagined it going at this point. We’re very competitive, we’re off to a strong start and winning. It’s very obvious that the winter training has paid off. It was very hard and stressful but we are now seeing the results and we’re getting faster. Every day we’re getting faster and are getting more in unison with each other and we’re growing and I’m ready to race - I’m ready to continue to race. 

Let’s talk about the rankings right now for Mercyhurst. It’s going around the team that they seem inaccurate, would you agree with that?

YES. Absolutely! I’ve been looking at them and I understand that Nova has higher numbers than us and maybe i’m confused with the ranking system… they did get points subtracted but it’s a little different to see that they are still ranked above us even though we beat them with open water. I want to learn the system a little better but I do think that we’re ready to prove them wrong.

After graduating from Mercyhurst, where do you see yourself in the rowing world?

Coaching. The goal is to be a coxswain coach but I would at least like to be some kind of varsity coach. Having that as a side job alongside psychology would be ideal. And hopefully someday I’ll be able to encourage my children to try rowing and potentially find the same passion I have for the sport.