As her senior year comes to an end, Space Coast Crew member Emily Eastwood looks forward to her future rowing for the University of Central Florida’s Golden Knights crew team. Not only does she plan to make the top team, but hopes to make an emphatic case for why she deserves to be there.

“They are good,” Eastwood said. “They have won ACC Championship Regatta two years in a row and have gotten to NCAA for a couple of years now. It’s like nationals of college. Not everyone gets to gold on the Division 1 teams,” Eastwood said.

So how does she plan to achieve her dream?

“I have to hit a 2:05 on a 6k before I stay on the development team or I’ll get moved down to novice,” she said. My 5k is a 2:07, [so I] got little ways to go. I have all summer [to improve]. My 2k is a 1:57. I dropped two splits this year so I’m still going strong. It is completely attainable with two practices a day and four months to hit the goal. Just enough time for the training to kick in.”

Eastwood went into detail on her position works and how many are on the team and how difficult it is to make it into development team and gold.

“I am guaranteed a spot on the 60 girls, but I have to earn my spot on the gold,” she said. “People rarely make gold on their first year. They usually make it junior or senior year.”

By Amanda Lally