April 12, 2007

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

by Andrew Irvine

Steady, rhythmic ripples of water splash alongside the Western Washington University varsity eight shell as the daily 5 a.m. practice begins. Most of the women on the nationally No.1-rated rowing team are accustomed to the forest green mountains and the substantial body of water which defines Lake Samish, but for three of the top rowers in the boat, this terrain is a far cry from home.

Senior Lindsay Mann-King, junior Samantha Marikis and junior Lila Scaife all grew up in Eastern Washington towns with populations of less than 5,000. Moving across the Cascade Mountains to Whatcom County provided the women with a vast array of surprises and opportunities - including rowing, which none has done previously.

Mann-King, who grew up in Colville, which boasts a population of 4,988 in the northeastern corner of Washington State, said she had rarely been in any sort of boat before coming to Western but the passion of playing sports in a small town continued to burn as she moved to the west side.

"I was in good shape and I felt like I had the background to work as hard as the coach wanted me to," Mann-King said.

Western head coach John Fuchs said that work ethic is sometimes more important than experience in NCAA Division II rowing.

"Even if they didn't do any sports in high school," Fuchs said, "if they have the right mentality they can do well."

Marikis grew up in Republic with a population of less than 900 residents, just 52 miles west of Colville. With only one grocery store, Marikis said she had to drive over an hour to get to any sort of shopping mall or movie theatre.

Like Mann-King, Marikis also experienced the intensity of small-town sports. She played volleyball, basketball and softball in high school but needed to find some way to remain in competitive sports after coming to Western.

Samantha Marikis

"My mom and my high school principal said they thought I had buff arms, so I should try out for the crew team," Marikis said.

Marikis later found out that having muscular arms had nothing to do with rowing, that it was leg strength that counted most, but said joining the team helped her find her niche at Western.

Scaife found herself in a similar situation as she came to Western from Zillah, a town of roughly 2,500 in the central part of the state near Yakima. She was also a three-sport star but said in terms of rowing, there were no bodies of water to even take part in any sort of water sports. After speaking with the rowing team at the fall information fair on Western's campus, Scaife decided she would give crew a shot.

"Some of the most successful girls were athletic enough to be good at other sports but not great and that is what the coaches were looking for," said Scaife, who was surprised at her success.

Although the trio of women came to Western with no rowing experience, they are now a vital part of the two-time defending national champion team.

Lila Scaife

Marikis said even though the easterners on the team were the brunt of a lot of jokes, they formed a bond right from the beginning. They put together an intramural basketball team made up of only crew members from Eastern Washington and participated in the annual Bloomsday race in Spokane.

When out on the lake each morning, Marikis said sometimes the culture shock still sets in.

"I definitely stop and think `how did I end up here,' " Marikis said. "But, sometimes it's too early to think about anything!"