Nicole Carpentiere
Team president
My name is Nicole Carpentiere and I am a senior on the team and the current President. I have been a coxswain since high school and have been grateful for the opportunity to continue coxing at Michigan. This team has provided an incredible support system of teammates and friends. I have met so many driven and focused individuals who motivate me to work hard both academically and athletically; I wouldn’t trade the years I have spent as a member of this team for anything.
Our previous training facility, the Longshore Building, was helpful to our speed, however it had its limitations. Needing to train in shifts due to limited space meant not seeing half the team everyday - sometimes for months at a time. I would be surprised to see teammates boarding the bus down to Gainesville after not seeing them for the first two months of winter training. My first year on the team, when we finally got to Lake Lanier, was an unforgettable experience. I finally learned everyone's names and really got to know the whole team. In Gainesville, we had a large erg room where people could warm up before practice or the whole team could pull an 8x500m together - the atmosphere was electric. It was something that Longshore couldn’t replicate given its limited space. I vividly remember the whole team racing the 8x500m with everyone buzzing and running back and forth to check which intra-squad team was leading. There was a clear shift in energy from a full squad workout.
We are now over a month into full team practices in the new training facility. It’s already clear how the the space will allow the team to push each other harder and find another level of speed for this spring. During winter training, I have seen multiple records broken and the fastest scores posted since joining the team. During recruiting this past fall, the facility kept many frosh coming back to learn more about what it means to compete for Michigan. Along with full team training, the building's great location gives athletes a space to gather around practice times. Throughout the fall, varsity and frosh alike would spend time before and after practice at the facility to get extra meters and use the conference room for school work. The building has also allowed rowers to blast music via speakers instead of headphones, which has allowed much more coaching since headphones no longer drown out corrections. The communal music creates a more powerful environment for each workout. Coach Todd has even set up Concept 2 racing software that allows rowers to see how far behind or ahead they are from teammates. So many jumps in speed have been made from last year even after training in the new building for less than a year. I can’t wait to see the speed results from this year and every year to follow. Making this building a permanent home for the team will continue development of the team culture and speed will lead Michigan Men’s Rowing to many more national titles to come.
Row Blue!
Nicole Carpentiere, '24, Team President