RCTW Juniors to row at Duke and USNA

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Rowing Club of The Woodlands (RCTW) Juniors is sending off two senior varsity girls to university in a big way. Tara Dalton, of The Woodlands High School, and Marjorie Ferrone, of The Woodlands Prepatory Academy, will attend and row on the teams for Duke University and the United States Naval Academy (USNA), respectively.

Tara Dalton, a member of the RCTW Juniors program for 3 years is well prepared for her spot on the Duke Crew in Durham, North Carolina.

“Rowing has made such an impact on my work ethic. It requires a person to be strong both mentally and physically, and we work on both at practice every day. My coach says it takes about one million strokes to develop the technical skills, so I’m working up to that, ” Dalton said.

Dalton, who is also a member of the National Honors Society is no stranger to hard work and knows it will be a challenge to row for Duke. “I had such an amazing high school experience and I wanted to be just as happy and successful in college. I chose Duke because it has a great academic reputation and I felt so welcomed by the team. I let the coaches know how hard I was willing to work and my passion for the sport.”

Marjorie Ferrone has officially received and accepted her offer of appointment to the USNA in Annapolis, Maryland. She was recruited to row on the USNA Women’s Crew Team and was also recruited at MIT, Columbia University and Trinity College in Connecticut.

“I worked harder than I ever thought I could and I’m excited for the plethora of opportunities available to me at NAVY. I know it will be a rough journey, but a worthwhile one” Ferrone said. “I had the fortunate crisis experience to have a three day period of life before the Columbia University early decision deadline during which I was pressured by all three coaches at once to make my decision.”

“The recruiting process happens in two ways with rowing. High school students can contact their schools of choice to see what the requirements are and some of the coaches look at posted results to see if athletes appear consistently at the top” said head coach Leonard Anderson.

Mark Racioppi, a senior at The Woodlands High School, will also continue his love of rowing when he starts at Louisiana State University in the fall. “I’m joining the club as a recreational rower so that I have the option to row whenever I want. I’ll have full access to the equipment and be able to stay in shape and further my technical skills” said Racioppi.

The RCTW Juniors will next be competing at Dragon’s Breath on Lake Woodlands April 16, 2011.