One family’s era as coxswains on the Syracuse rowing team is coming to an end. For eight years, a member of the Todd family has called the stroke patterns and strategies for the varsity eight or varsity four boats.

Kate and Allison Todd have built a legacy of high-energy leadership that made them the heart and soul of the program.

The sisters rowed together for one year before Kate Todd graduated. Kate said Allison instantly energized the team, especially when she hid in lockers and jumped out at teammates before 5:30 a.m. rowing sessions. She also made a difference on the water, coxing the novice eight crew to a first-place finish at the Big East championship in 2009. Accolades aside, the year was special because she was able to spend it with Kate.

The feeling was mutual.

‘To end my career with my sister was the best ending I could have asked for,’ Kate said. Allison was highly recruited coming out of the Nichols School in Buffalo, N.Y. Todd chose Syracuse over powerhouses Tennessee and Indiana because she felt most comfortable at SU with her sister already on campus.

After spending the 2008-09 season with her sister, Allison stepped out of Kate’s shadow and brought the program respectability to the national level. Her leadership and competitive personality brings out the best in her team.

‘She is somebody that people like as a coxswain because she’s going to do anything she can to keep you ahead,’ assistant coach Alicia Kochis said. ‘In our practices, she’s the kid who’s cutting corners and sneaking up on people and just taking any advantage that she can during practice.’

Todd took the reins of the varsity eight boat midway through the 2009 season. She not only continued the Todd legacy in the boat but also initiated a family atmosphere outside of it.

During Allison’s sophomore year, the team was training in Stuart, Fla. when they stumbled upon a Salvation Army store. The only things she could think to buy were the most ridiculous in the store: two mounted Asian geishas.
‘It was like the best three dollars ever spent,’ Todd said.

It happened to be a teammate’s birthday, and the tradition of passing geishas to teammates on their birthdays was born.

‘Just being able to make everyone on such a large team feel part of it and important is something that she’s done a very good job at,’ Kochis said.

Hiring coach Justin Moore in 2010 changed the culture of the SU program, and Todd has been the perfect extension of his hard-working philosophy. In one year, the team has cut its times against Clemson and Cornell by 10 seconds. Last weekend, it lost to No. 15 Notre Dame by six-tenths of a second.

Todd will miss her own commencement on May 13 because she’ll be in New Jersey for the Big East championship, marking the end of the Todd family era.

Todd will head back to Buffalo, where she’ll continue studying nutrition and food science. And then, the dedicated coxswain will take a break from the sport.

‘I’ve never had a summer to just do nothing,’ she said. ‘But I absolutely know that I want to get involved, whether that’s in a club program or if I have national team aspirations.’

She hopes to make the national team one day. Last season, Todd was selected for the USRowing Pre-Elite Camp.

But now, her career at Syracuse is coming to an end. And Todd admits it will be tough to move on after four years leading the Orange.

‘It’s been great. I’m going to miss it more than I can say,’ Todd said. ‘But it’s been a phenomenal experience and I would recommend this to anybody.’

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Published on May 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm

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