Q & A With Gonzaga Senior Rower Maria Bokulich
3/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Crew
March 23, 2004
Maria Bokulich came to the Gonzaga University campus with dreams of playing Division I basketball for the Bulldogs, four years later she has developed into one of the most decorated women's rowers in Gonzaga rowing history. During Bokulich's tenure at Gonzaga the Bulldogs have qualified for three straight ECAC National Invitational Regattas improving from a third place finish her freshman year to a National Invitational title in 2003.
Not only has Maria succeeded on the team side of rowing, her efforts as the Gonzaga stroke have also been rewarded as she became Gonzaga's first rowing All-American in 2003 as named by the College Rowing Coaches Association. She has twice earned All-WCC and All-WIRA honors and is working towards a degree in exercise science. A native of Santa Cruz, Calif., Bokulich won four gold medals during the summer of 2003 claiming three medals at the 121st Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and a final medal as a member of the Senior Women's 4+ at the U.S. National Championships. GoZags.com talked with Bokulich to see what drives the senior women's rower as she prepares to conclude her GU career and work on towards a spot on the U.S. National and Olympic teams.
Q: What attracted you to the rowing program at Gonzaga?
Call me gullible but when a division one college coach aproached me and said, "You could be an olympian" I thought, "I might just stick with this rowing thing." But even without a chance at glory the camraderie on the crew team was what every freshman needs. The commitment of the coaches to teach a group of girls who had never rowed before was amazing.
Q: You played basketball in high school and worked out with the Gonzaga team during your freshman season, any regrets about taking up rowing and dropping hoops?
I committed eight school years followed by eight summers to basketball. I found joy in basketball that I thought I couldn't find in any other sport. I loved playing basketball but I've found a passion in rowing that leaves me without any regrets for leaving. I'm a rower now and will be one forever.
Q: Rowers are known to practice early in the morning before most people even wake up for coffee. What was the feeling your freshman year when you first hit the water at 6 a.m. and is it something you get used to during your senior year?
Fortunately the first months of practice were in the afternoon. When I started rowing with the varsity boat in the morning I don't really know how I survived. There were times when I would average four or five hours of sleep.
You do get used to the early hours, when you're waking up at 4:30 in the morning you're too tired to register how crazy it is. By your senior year you learn how to fit naps into your schedule and you arrange your schedule and prioritize your study time so you can get to bed at a reasonable hour. Six hours of sleep is a good nights rest.
Q: In college rowing, teams compete in head races in the fall with the best time winning the regatta and during the spring you race head-to-head with other boats. What different mental approaches do you have to take when facing those different types of races?
In head races you're basically alone on the water. You don't know how fast the other boats are going so you have to commit to challenging yourself the entire course.
In the spring you have to remain focused internally in your boat. You have to react to the moves made by the boats around you while still rowing your own race.
Q: You have raced in several different spots in the Gonzaga boat during your career, which spot have you liked the most and explain to a none-rowing person where in a boat that position is located?
Of all the seats I've rowed in I enjoy rowing in stroke seat the best. Stroke seat is seat number 8, closest to the coxswain (the caller). The seats are numbered one through eight, seat number one crosses the finish line first.
As stroke it is my responsibility to set a rhythm everyone can follow. But it also allows me a chance to effect the mentality of the boat.
 Maria Bokulich (middle) won four gold medals during summer competition including one at the U.S. National Championships.  | |
Q: The Gonzaga rowing program has experienced a lot of team success over the past several seasons with championships at the WCC, WIRA and National Invitational levels. What are your expectations for this years team?
If each individual and our team as a whole performs to it's capabilities then this should be one of our most competitive years. We have more talent and more experience now than we've had in the past years I've been here at GU.
Q: Gonzaga has won every West Coast Conference Rowing Championship that has been competed since the league adopted the sport in 1997. Any added pressure on this year's team to win the school's eight straight WCC title?
There's always pressure being the team on top. Everyone want's to see you lose and to be the one to do it. But that pressure just makes us work that much harder to remain on top.
Q: In addition to rowing at Gonzaga you have also worked out at the U.S. National Team Development Camp, what was that experience like?
It was an amazing experience but also very humbling. There are many amazing athletes around the country that I would have never been able to meet, compete with and against unless I attended this camp. It was really a reality check. Just when you think you're getting close to the best you meet a dozen girls who are either just as good as you or better. But it was also a huge learning experience and made me more confident in my ability to succeed as a rower.
Q: Any aspirations of rowing for the national team or in the Olympics in the near future?
Those are my ultimate aspirations. I don't plan on rowing ending for me here at GU. I committed to the challenge of making the national/olympic team years ago. So I'm preparing to move out east and continue training near the national team training center. We all have dreams but we all don't get the chance to chase them down. I've been given some amazing opportunities when it comes to rowing, what's left to fulfill the dream is commitment on my part. And believe me I'm committed.
Q: You will graduate from Gonzaga as one of the program's most decorated individual rowers with All-American honors last season, what does that mean to you seeing as you had never picked up an oar before coming to Gonzaga?
That means I've had some amazing coaching. I've had the honor of being coached by a variety of different coaches during my rowing career here at GU and during summer rowing. Glenn Putyrae by far is one of the most gifted and talented coaches I've experienced.
 Maria Bokulich (front) has helped guide Gonzaga to three straight ECAC National Invitational appearances including a national title in 2003. | |
Q: Which school would you consider to be Gonzaga's biggest rival in rowing?
I would have to say Loyola Marymount University just because every year we get remarks from other schools that LMU is so fast and their going to beat us. The rivalry is purely on the water. In fact one of LMU's coxswains actually coxed me to a gold medal last summer in Canada. Rivalries make everyone better.
Q: What has been your most memorable moment as a Gonzaga Rower?
I can't pinpoint any one moment. Obviously winning the big races, WCC's and ECAC National Invitational were a big deal. But it's the smaller moments that stick in your heart.....teammates cheering you on, on your 2,000 meter ergometer test piece, having your boat tip over and swimming in 40 degree water, and having a coach who believes in you. The people make the memories more than the events.
