Senior Spotlights: Class of 2015

Courtesy of LC Athletics

Compiled by Rocky McNeff and Peter Melling /// Sports Editors

CREW

Siri Demarche (’15)

Courtesy of LC Athletics
Courtesy of LC Athletics

What is your fondest memory from LC rowing?

Hmm, it’s hard to choose just one. Finishing a really really difficult race, knowing that you couldn’t row another stroke and that there are seven (eight including the coxswain) other girls who feel the same way. There is an unspoken strong mutual respect and trust for each other in a sport that requires teamwork at the highest level.

What do you hope to leave behind?

A legacy of team cohesiveness and expectation of hard work and absolute trust and respect in teammates.

What was your favorite event during your career?

WIRA (Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships) is always fun! The entire team takes a very long bus ride down to Sacramento to compete with several west coast teams – DI, DII, DIII, club, masters, etc. teams are all there. It’s always a fun time, from great racing against hard competition, to exploring the venue (with all the fun vendors), to dancing up and down the bus aisles and in the hotel rooms, and the sun! Just hanging with the entire team and getting to know each other well.

What advice would you give to future LC rowers?

On each day, always be present and always give it your all, whatever your all is on that day. Talk to each other, you’ll have awful days and you’ll have great days. Through both, your teammates will be there with you.

What are your post-grad plans?

Heading to Boston to attend the Institute of Rowing Leadership for a year. After that, who knows! Likely coaching.

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

“It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe

Nora Sears (’15)

Courtesy of LC Athletics
Courtesy of LC Athletics

What is your fondest memory from LC rowing?

One of my fondest memories was racing at WIRA novice year. It was at the end of our season and we got to travel to Sacramento to race against a lot of other teams. It was really fun to see how much we could accomplish with the people we had been learning to row with all year.

What do you hope to leave behind?

I hope that I leave behind a team that understands that hard work and fun can go hand in hand if you have the right attitude, and always listen to your coxswain.

What was your favorite event during your career?

My favorite event was this year when we rowed at the San Diego Classic. We had really hard competitions and rowed two pieces we were really proud of. We were able to make the changes we wanted effectively for our second race. We all could tell that every other person in the boat cared about the race, was willing to hard and executed to see what we could accomplish together.

What advice would you give to future LC rowers?

The advice I would give to future rowers is become a coxswain!

What are your post-grad plans?

Stay in Portland and figure it out as I go!

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

“Something important had happened there. How could he help loving it!” – Abel’s Island

SOFTBALL

Madison Hollenbeck (’15)

Courtesy of LC Athletics
Courtesy of LC Athletics

What is your fondest memory from LC softball?

My favorite memory has to be from my sophomore year, playing against the defending national champions, Pacific Lutheran University. We had been killed by them in the first three games, and I don’t think they thought we had any chance, but we did it. We beat them 1-0 and it was a complete team win. I can honestly say it was one of the most defining moments in my LC career and something I will never forget.

Also, don’t pitch the ball over the catcher’s head on an intentional walk with a runner on third, in the bottom of the seventh (even if there is a perfectly placed pole behind the plate), unless you want everyone to a heart attack. Shout out to the Softball Gods that had my back that day!

What do you hope to leave behind?

I hope to leave behind my work ethic and passion for this school and for the softball program. I have left everything on the field these past four years and all I can ask is that my teammates do the same. The results may not always be there, but when you love what you are doing, and love the people around you, and do everything that you can, that is all that matters. I want those joining the program to have that same love I have had and ultimately arrive to leave this better then when they started.

What advice would you give to future LC student-athletes?

Cherish the time you have in the Pioneer uniform. As cliché as it is, it goes by way faster than you can ever imagine and before you know it, you’ll be a graduating senior, leaving behind the very thing you have dedicated your life to. I also encourage you to reach out, and engage with people on campus outside of your comfort zone, and really allow yourself to be a student first. We are lucky enough to go to a school where are able to participate and strive in both aspects, don’t let one suffer because of the other.

What are your post-grad plans?

I’m currently applying to jobs! It is kind of weird that I won’t be coming back to Portland in four months for another school year. So as of now I’m just trying to brace myself for the real world.

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

“If you respect the game in all its glory, if you do it with passion, then it will pay you back in ways you could never imagine.” – Caitlin Lowe

TENNIS

Gillian Lowe (’15)

Courtesy of LC Athletics
Courtesy of LC Athletics

What is your fondest memory from LC tennis?

Definitely all of the away trips, especially Spring Break trips to Texas and California! They were always so fun and I always learned a lot about my teammates and my coaches. Also listening to 90’s hip hop in the dome. I’ll definitely miss that.

What do you hope to leave behind?

A legacy of leadership in both academics and athletics.

What is the best racket you’ve used at LC?

Babolat Pure Drive all the way!

What advice would you give to future LC tennis players?

Just have fun with it! Enjoy having an amazing team with most supportive coaches out there! Four years will go by before you know it so enjoy every minute of it.

What are your post-grad plans?

I’m actually moving to Madison, WI to work for Epic, a healthcare software company. I’m super excited to actually have a job right out of college and to move to a different part of the country!

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

Pics or it didn’t happen.

TRACK & FIELD

Kory Andersen (’15)

Courtesy of John Hale
Courtesy of John Hale

What is your fondest memory from LC track & field?

Spring track weather: rain, sunshine, hail, repeat.

What do you hope to leave behind?

Never, ever stop trying to get better. Injuries and setbacks are opportunities for comebacks! Also, take advantage of every resource the athletic department offers!

What advice would you give to future LC student-athletes?

It’s a gift to be able to keep competing and doing what you love. Do right by it!

What are your post-grad plans?

This August I’ll be starting at the University of Minnesota. There will earn a two year masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning. Go Gophers!

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

“Continuous effort- not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill

Glenna Andrews (’15)

Courtesy of LC Athletics
Courtesy of LC Athletics

What is your fondest memory from LC track & field?

Practicing in the snow, not the most conducive conditions for practice. The team got some quality work in and then began throwing the snow. It just seemed like the natural progression a group of throwers. There isn’t much like a good ol’ fashion snow ball fight, particularly when everyone formed a unified front to take on our coach.

What do you hope to leave behind?

Leave behind? That’s a challenging one. I won’t be leaving a school record or some great legacy, but I hope through my involvement and community service, particularly with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, I’m leaving campus a little bit better than I found it.

What advice would you give to future LC student-athletes?

Life is hectic, academics is time-intensive, athletics is demanding. But in the end, everything that needs to get done will get done. So try not to stress in the meantime because everything will be fine, you’ll be fine. Make sure to find some time to live a story worth telling.

What are your post-grad plans?

I’m staying in Portland. I’m going to get out and enjoy the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and share that with others.

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

“…let’s go exploring!” – Calvin and Hobbes

Ali Brauer (’15)

Courtesy of John Hale
Courtesy of John Hale

What is your fondest memory from LC track & field?

Nothing compares to running steeplechase: seven and a half laps with five barriers and one water pit per lap. It’s both gut-wrenching and a ton of fun.

What do you hope to leave behind?

I hope to leave behind my work ethic and my love for racing.

What advice would you give to future LC student-athletes?

Academics and athletics will work concurrently to foster personal growth throughout your career. The self-discipline, attention to detail and teamwork skills you build on the field, court, track and in the pool will transfer directly to the classroom, and vice versa. Take advantage of it!

What are your post-grad plans?

I will be attending the University of Washington to get my MS in Applied Math and trying to figure out what I want to do for a Ph.D.

If you were to have a yearbook quote, what would it be?

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” -Steve Prefontaine

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