Ava Petiole ’21
The Girls’ Athlete of the Month for March is Margot LeRoux ’21. LeRoux is a sophomore rower on EA’s girls crew team. She first started rowing in her freshman year and is now a huge contributor to the team dynamic. “I started last year during the spring season and I loved it” LeRoux states, “last year I was a novice, and we were our own separate team. We won City Championship and made it to Stotesbury Regatta. Crew is such a team-oriented sport, and it is important to keep everyone in sync and working cohesively together.
“Margot leads by example. She is a three-sport athlete that comes into the season prepared and tries to improve each practice” says EA girls crew coach and Upper School History Teacher, Robert Maier. LeRoux’s coaches all attest to her constant commitment to improvement and her hardworking persona. Maier also stresses LeRoux’s crucial role on the team, on and off the river. “She’s coming into the season with an erg score that is faster than we’ve ever had on the girls rowing team, and doing that combined with her swimming schedule is amazing” noted Maier.
In addition to the coach’s appreciation for LeRoux’s dedication to crew, the captains note how her devotion improves not only their rowing, but also the morale of the team. Senior co-captain, Brooke Kraftson ’19, states, “she brings her athletic ability and her passion and enthusiasm, which brings out the best in people.”
When asked about the upcoming season, co-captain, Morgan Gantt ’19, says “I think we are going to do really well, especially with the addition of Margot. I think we have a pretty good chance of placing at stotesbury and nationals.” The confidence of the captains shows the trust between all the members of the team. LeRoux states that “this year I think we are going to be a really strong crew. So far, we are rowing really well together. The captains and all the seniors are really dedicated to the sport, and that rubs off on everyone, so we will be a strong crew.”
Trust is one of the most essential aspects of a crew team. Overtime, the more a team works together, the closer they are to each other and the more trust they have between one another. As stated by Kraftson, “crew is one of the harder sports where you have to work as a team and it’s a metaphor for our goals and our minds being in sync as well. We need to have full teamwork both physically and mentally.”
LeRoux’s dedication to crew and her acknowledgement by the crew team is summed up best by Mary Sarah Konopka, the girls crew coach and Latin teacher. Konopka states that “the most important reason that Margot LeRoux should be athlete of the month is because she is a fervent competitor in three very difficult sports, and I really appreciate the fact that she does those sports. She doesn’t do them and complain about them, she does them because she likes them, and she gives her full due to all three of them. I think that is an impressive quality for a young athlete.”
Even with all of this praise flooding in from her coaches and teammates, LeRoux insists that the credit is shared with the crew. She stresses the importance of teamwork and the bond between the girls on the team. LeRoux, reflecting on her accomplishments as a rower says, “it’s not as meaningful when you’re not with your team.”