After a nearly five-month hiatus, the EGR Crew team is getting back into the swing of things with the start of their spring season.

While the weather has stopped them from hitting the water, the team has still been able to compete against other schools with indoor rowing machines, which are more commonly known as ergs.

The first competition of the season, The Grand Rapids Spring Sprints, was hosted by Forest Hills Central on Mar. 23. The rowers earned East’s highest team points finish with second place at the event.

Many East rowers received medals for their hard work at the March competition including freshmen Hannah Smith and Isabel Cline, sophomore Liam Jenkins, and junior Ellie Iorio.

Iorio ‘20 did extremely well at the indoor rowing event, however, she’s more excited to get back in the water and be together with her team. “Indoor competitions are much more independent in nature as you are on the erg all by yourself,” Iorio said. “I like outdoor races a lot better because of the team atmosphere and togetherness that you feel while racing.”

The medal-winning junior is feeling very optimistic about the team’s spring season due to their hard work and exceptional team chemistry.

“I think that our team has a lot of potential this season,” Iorio said. “We encourage each other to row hard and establish goals for each of our boats during practice and at races. This will all culminate at the Midwest Scholastic Regatta in Ohio on May 10-12, where we will see if we qualify for Nationals. I think that a lot of our boats have the ability to do so, so I’m really excited to see how we do at Midwest.”

With such positive attitudes, along with their intense training and lots of effort, the future looks bright for the EGR Crew team.