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UPDATED: March 10, 2021 at 1:38 p.m.

Alena Criss was told rowing was safe. Dozens of schools across the country had begun cutting sports programs, but her coaches said that UConn had no plans of discontinuing women’s rowing.

Then in June, the university announced that they would be cutting rowing, blindsiding Criss and the 46 other women’s rowing athletes. Criss, a then freshman, had only competed in three regattas before the cut. But she knew that she wanted rowing to be part of her collegiate career, and she immediately entered the transfer portal.

Criss transferred to Syracuse, less than 20 minutes from her hometown in Baldwinsville. She rowed at C.W. Baker High School, winning back-to-back varsity four New York state titles and placing in the top-10 at nationals in both years. Sharing the same water in high school as the SU team helped familiarize her with the program before transferring, said David Cusano, Criss’ club coach at Syracuse Chargers Rowing Club.

“Seeing that program out there every day, seeing the type of athletes (and) the program as a whole made that kind of an easier decision for her,” Cusano said.

But Criss wasn’t always a competitive rower. She didn’t start rowing until her junior year in high school, later than many of her teammates. She watched rowing videos on YouTube, intrigued by the synchronization and the strong team connection the sport requires. So Criss, a varsity basketball player and swimmer at the time, emailed Baker rowing head coach Chris Ludden.

Like many rowers, Criss had been active in CrossFit for years, building the aerobic endurance of many varsity rowers before ever stepping foot in a boat, Ludden said. She often used an erg machine, which simulates a rowing motion and had the fastest 2,000-meter time upon joining the team.

Alena Criss helped C.W. Baker High School rowing win two New York state titles. Courtesy of Chris Ludden

“She was amazingly fit,” said Cusano. “The challenges of the sport she was already sort of used to, so, basically, it was just teaching her the technique portion of which she picked up very fast.”

Rowing is a spring sport at Baker, but she wanted to try it out right away, so she joined the Chargers that summer. Cusano put her in the middle of the eight-person boat — the “engine room” he called it — because she was one of the strongest girls on the team.

That season with the Chargers gave her some extra experience heading into her spring season at Baker. Despite it being her first competitive high school season, she started at the varsity level, bypassing the typical novice level for first-year rowers and immediately became one of the top four rowers in the program. She earned a spot in the varsity boat that season, too.

The rest of Criss’ four-person boat mentored her that first year, teaching her about racing and rowing. But the next season, it was Criss “leading the way, setting the bar.”

“By that second year, it was like ‘this is the person everyone wants to aspire to,’” Ludden said.

After graduating, Criss was invited to train with the U.S. Under-19 Rowing Team and compete at the 2019 World Rowing Junior Championships in Tokyo.

Criss didn’t initially receive an invitation, though. Ludden said that because Baker only rows in the spring, he isn’t able to coach his rowers the way he wants them to in a short period of time. In a conversation with the U-19 coach, Ludden explained the disadvantages of Baker’s program structure and emphasized Criss’ coachability, work ethic and athleticism. He convinced the coach, and Criss placed fourth in the women’s coxed four race.

Because of her rowing experience and her familiarity with Syracuse, Criss said her transition to SU has been easy, and she fits in well with the rest of the program. SU hasn’t set boat placements yet, but Criss has been training with the team in preparation for the spring season.

“I just couldn’t see myself not being a student-athlete,” Criss said. “I’m such a competitor.”

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post stated that Stanford and San Diego State had both cut their women’s rowing programs in early 2020. The schools cut the programs later. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 9, 2021 at 10:06 pm

Contact Cole: [email protected] | @ColeBambini