Rob Ballard
Rowing
Rower Rob Ballard had an exceptional weekend contributing to the team’s OUA championship in St. Catharines, winning gold in the single event before helping clinch the title with a gold in the lightweight eight boat. It’s the men’s team’s first title since 2004. Ballard said he was thrilled to win the single, but the quick turnaround before the eight meant he couldn’t savour the moment.
“I was really happy that I got some points for the team, but I didn’t have much time to celebrate,” he said. “I had to refocus quickly because we raced the eight only an hour later and the eight is our premier event. I was more excited when we won the eight.”
Ballard said the team has targeted the eight for the past three years, but they couldn’t find a way to win until now.
“In years past we had the talent but hadn’t been able to translate it into success and this year we put it all together,” he said. “The highlight of the regatta was the final of the eight, when we were down the whole race and then we moved up more than a boat length to beat Western in the last 500 metres.”
Ballard said he started rowing in high school. He credits the coaching he got there for his success.
“I started in Grade 8,” he said. “My high school coaches really motivated me.” Ballard said he loves the sport because he feels the amount of work he puts in translates into success.
He said another appealing facet of rowing is that you don’t have to have been competing for your entire life to be successful.
“Rowing is a sport with a late entry age,” he said. “A lot of Olympic gold medal winners started as novices in university.
“This whole experience has been very positive for me,” he said. “I have trained hard and made a lot of friends in the process.”
Ballard said the time commitment is pretty extensive, though.
“During the school season we practice every morning at 5:30 a.m. in our eight and in the afternoons we train our secondary boats,” he said.
Ballard is a third-year engineering student, focusing on applied math control and robotics. He said balancing his heavy course load with training can sometimes prove difficult, especially during the height of the rowing season.
“The competitive season is eight weeks and those weeks are very hardcore,” he said.
Ballard said winning the provincial championship is still euphoric almost a week later.
“At the end of the day, me and my teammates really feel like we have done something that we will remember for a long time.”
—Aleks Dhefto
Martha Ross
Women’s lacrosse
Martha Ross, co-captain of the women’s lacrosse team, scored seven goals last weekend against Western and Laurier in the OUA semi-final and final games and helped lead the Gaels to OUA silver medals.
“Martha had a great performance,” player-coach Jodey Therrieault said. “She scored a lot of goals and did it all in spite of an ankle injury she’s had for the majority of the season. She’s our go-to girl. She’s a well rounded player who can attack and defend. Martha’s a strong individual player who not only displays strong leadership qualities but also has a great cohesion with the team which has really paid off.” Ross is in her third year at Queen’s, studying economics and political science. Lacrosse goes back further in her life, though.
“I started playing in the seventh grade,” she said. “I decided to play for Queen’s because it was my sport of choice in high school. It’s a technical, team-oriented game that’s very fast-paced. It requires a lot of running in the midfield, which is my strength.” In spite of Ross’ seven goals, the Gaels ultimately fell to the Laurier Golden Hawks for the fourth-straight time in the OUA final, giving Laurier their sixth-straight championship and the Gaels their fourth-straight silver medal. Ross said recruitment is a primary reason for Laurier’s continued success.
“Laurier does a lot of recruiting and persuading, which causes girls coming out of high school to go play for them,” she said.
When not on the field playing lacrosse, Ross doesn’t relax. Instead, she shifts her focus to other
physical activities.
“I like to stay active and fit,” she said. “I go horseback riding, running and play intramural soccer.” As for future goals, Ross has set her sights high.
“The number-one priority for next year is to win gold.”
Ross said she’s especially eager to claim the championship next season, as it could be her last year in the game.
“Next year will probably be my last year of playing lacrosse on a team, as there aren’t many opportunities for playing lacrosse outside of university,” she said.
Ross said she may stay involved in a coaching role, though.
“I coached at a private school near my hometown this past spring and I really liked helping teach players the game,” she said.
Ross said she thinks lacrosse is a sport whose time has come.
“The skill level for younger players has become higher as towns start to integrate young players into the sport, similar to what’s been going in on soccer for a while now,” she said “I see an explosion in the numbers of players in upcoming years.”
—Hengameh Hassan-Yari
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