Q & A With Hunter Terry

Story Links

Junior rower Hunter Terry (Greenwich, Conn.) was a member of the 2010 NCAA Champion Varsity Four for the second-ranked Virginia rowing team. This season, Terry has been a member of the Second Varsity Eight that has won races against Stanford, California, Michigan and Ohio State and been named ACC Crew of the Week. She recently checked in with VirginiaSports.com to preview the team’s home regatta on April 16-17. The Cavaliers will take on UCLA, USC and Michigan State at Lake Monticello.

Question: After a successful weekend in Columbus, Ohio, the team had a weekend off to prepare for stiff competition at home against No. 3 USC, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 16 UCLA. How will the team be preparing for that regatta at Lake Monticello?
Terry: This week is a great opportunity for us to get some good work in before this weekend’s races, the ACC Championships and the races at Princeton that follow. I won’t try to guess what we’ll do to prepare but I bet it will involve lots of erging and countless race pieces on the water.

Question: Last season you were a member of the NCAA Champion Varsity Four – can you sum up that experience of going undefeated for the season and eventually reaching the ultimate goal of the NCAA title?
Terry: It was awesome. It definitely took a lot of work every single day and we certainly had off days and good days, but it’s just to great to be able to win every time and never have to rally back from a loss.

Question: That being said, you were in the Varsity Four last year and so far this season have rowed with the Second Varsity Eight – how are the crews different?
Terry: Well, in a lot of ways the two boats are very similar. We row pretty poorly but somehow we have speed! But they’re pretty different too because the boats are coached by different coaches with two different styles. In eights there are a lot more variables than in a four, it’s easier to get a four on the same page and make changes. But the most fantastic thing about eights is that they go about 40 seconds faster than a four over a 2k race.

Question: What are some of the team’s goals for this season?
Terry: To go as fast as possible and to win. This is obviously a very different team than it was last year because so many strong rowers graduated, but fortunately we had a lot of fast first-years come in. I don’t know if we’re setting precise goals yet, we seem to take each race as it comes and try to match their speed or win.

Question: This season you have your sister, freshman Paige Terry, on the squad with you. How has that experience been with the both of you rowing at UVa?
Terry: Yes, ‘Little Terry’ or ‘Terp’ is my sister Paige. It’s been really nice to have her here, we haven’t rowed together before and she is my biggest fan and I am hers so it’s great to have that kind of support.

Question: What made you choose to attend UVa?
Terry: The rowing, the beautiful campus and the academics. I transferred here to row in my second year, and before I went to school at the University of Edinburgh I came to visit some friends at UVa and fell in love with it. So when I got the chance to transfer and rowing here became a real possibility, I went for it.

Question: What is your major? Do you have a favorite class?
Terry: I’m majoring in foreign affairs with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. My favorite class so far is Arabic because it’s small and I really like the people in it.

Question: What is something people might be surprised to know about the Virginia rowing team?
Terry: When it’s warm our races are a really nice way to spend an afternoon. And Lake Monticello is a great venue. So I would urge everyone to come out and watch us this weekend.

Question: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Terry: O-Hill brunch! I like going for walks around town when the weather’s nice and I love music, so whenever I can I go see concerts on the [Downtown] mall.