Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/312813
59 we are looking to see how he's able to grow over the next few weeks here." Successful enough that James claimed a coveted spot in the fall among the freshman rowers. "I got to race in the Head of the Charles last fall, where the coaches select one freshman to race in the championship eight event," James said. "So for about a month and a half all of us freshmen were competing for that spot, and I was selected to go. It was a very rewarding experience to be a part of that race. That's definitely the big- gest event I've done." Sarah first took interest in the sport when a friend recommended trying it dur- ing the summer before her freshman year of high school at the University School of Milwaukee. Her high school didn't have a rowing team, but being a resident of nearby city Fox Point, Sarah was able to join a local city-wide rowing organization, the Mil- waukee Rowing Club (MRC). Despite devoting much of his child- hood and high school years to com- petitive hockey, James also joined the MRC during his second year at Mar- quette High School in Milwaukee, a decision he attributes to his sister's membership in the group. "I started rowing during my sopho- more year of high school, mainly be- cause Sarah was doing it," James said with a laugh. "I wanted to give it a try, too, and of course I had to make sure I was doing everything she was doing." Upon beginning to row with the MRC, both were immediately hooked. Sarah decided to quit her competi- tive swimming to focus on rowing, and although James continued to play hockey throughout high school as an honorable mention all-state skater, he stopped playing high school baseball to devote more time to his new inter- est in the rowing club. "(Rowing) was just so different from every sport that I had tried," Sar- ah said. "The girls on the team were in the same situation that I was, where they were just giving it a try, so it was cool to learn about the sport together. Then once we started racing I really enjoyed the competition side of it. It involved a dif- ferent level of intensity." Although there is no prior history of rowing in the Lueken family, the twins said their parents were fully supportive of their decision to give the sport a try. Their father, Jeff, played defensive end for the Notre Dame foot- ball team from 1978 to 1982, before attending graduate school at Wisconsin to receive a business degree. Pam, their mother, graduated from Marquette and worked for many years as a dental hygienist. "Our parents have always been really supportive of whatever we're doing," James said. "They always wanted us to try new things, but were never forcing it upon us. They always made sure we were doing what we wanted to do, and we were really fortunate "THE COACHES ARE REALLY GREAT BECAUSE THEY'RE 100 PERCENT COMMITTED ... PLUS THE VARSITY TEAM SETS A GOOD EXAMPLE," SARAH SAID. "WE'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM THEM, AND IT'S BEEN COOL TO SEE." "Sarah has a good head on her shoulders and she just has really good racing skills," Coach Larocque said. "She is leading that boat really well right now."