Row New Yorkers Jenee Small and Shannon McCann have signed with the University of Alabama and Syracuse University rowing programs, assuring their educational and athletic futures for coming years. Both signings came in recent weeks as collegiate rowing programs vie for the country’s best oarswomen and oarsmen. Jenee and Shannon made their decisions after visiting campuses, reviewing programs, and engaging in conversations with their future coaches.
Jenee and Shannon assessed their choices with guidance from Row New York’s staff. Coach Mike Eichler worked with each young woman to assess her rowing accomplishments thus far, her current abilities, and her future goals as an individual rower and as a teammate. Well acquainted with the rowing field, Coach Mike played a key role in helping the rowers decide which programs would suit them. College Readiness Director Darise JeanBaptiste played a key role in helping them decide which universities were good fits. Darise used her knowledge of higher education and her skills in listening and understanding goals to help Jenee and Shannon narrow their college preferences. This process displayed excellent integration of our academics and rowing programs.
Jenee’s status as a sought-after candidate for collegiate rowing is testament to her excellent record at Row New York. Jenee won gold medals at the 2011 New York State Championships and the 2012 Long Island Championships. In February 2012, Jenee placed 37th out of 200 competitors in her event at the CRASH-B World Indoor Rowing Championships. Jenee is also an excellent student, sitting in on tutoring sessions she is not obligated to attend and taking advantage of our summer SAT prep course to ensure her good standing for admission to competitive schools.
Coach Mike Eichler says of Jenee: “She is a very gifted young athlete who has matured immensely as a rower and as an individual over the past two years. While quiet at times, Jenee can be one of the most logical rowers on the squad with a ‘let’s do it’ attitude and a smile and laugh that are infectious.”
Shannon’s rowing accomplishments also made her a logical choice for rowing recruiters around the country. Her achievements have given her significant exposure around the U.S. and even across the world. In the summer of 2012, Shannon traveled to Germany as a member of the USRowing Junior Worlds Development Team. This turn in Europe followed Shannon’s selections last year for the USRowing Junior National Team’s summer and winter high performance camps. As part of the summer camp, she represented the U.S. at Club Nationals. Shannon has also collected hardware here in the Northeast including a 2011 gold medal at the Head of the Passaic.
“She is an outstanding young rower who has shown immense leadership not only in her training but in helping to lead with her fellow seniors,” said Coach Mike Eichler. “Shannon has talked excitedly and anxiously about her college prospects for a while now, but now that it is finalized it is obvious that she is going to make a great impact on Syracuse and Syracuse on her. I am happy that she will be excelling with the Orange next year.”
Shannon said Syracuse matched her academic and career goals. “I chose Syracuse because it felt like the perfect school and team for me. I knew that I wanted to study communications and Syracuse has one of the best communications schools in the country.” Shannon said she specifically wants “to study broadcasting at the Newhouse School of Public Communications.”
She has athletic goals as well. “In the next four years, I hope to win a National Championship with Syracuse and to continue to help the team grow. I’m so excited…to be a part of Syracuse’s team next year.” Once Shannon met her prospective teammates, the decision was made. “…After meeting the team and thinking they were great, it kind of sealed the deal for me.”
Jenee described the same process in this way: “When I started my college search, I made a list of everything that my dream school would have. It included warm weather to row in, tons of school spirit, and plenty of academic opportunities and support among other things. When I went on my official visit to the University of Alabama, I was not only able to check off every single thing on my list, but I created new things that I hadn’t seen at other schools and that’s when I decided that I just had to be there.”
Educationally, Jenee is already looking past college. “Academically, I know I plan on majoring in either communications or public relations. I plan on taking the LSAT senior year and going directly into law school once I graduate. Rowing wise, being on a D1 team, I know it’s definitely going to be a jump from Row New York, but I believe my team and my coaches have, or by the summer will have, adequately prepared me for the next step physically as well as mentally in my athletic future.”
Congratulations to Jenee and Shannon! Row New York is proud of these two young stars.
