Hamm commits to Monmouth
Rheagan Hamm’s journey to become an NCAA Division 1 scholarship rower at Monmouth started well before she arrived at Denis Morris for her Grade 9 year.
She attended a St. Catharines Rowing Club camp the summer before Grade 9 and Denis Morris coach Richard Moreau also took her out in a single that summer. Moreau knew her brother, former DM rower Richard Hamm.
“We had a decent connection with him and I mentioned that I wanted to start rowing and he decided to get me started in my rowing career.”
It was the beginning of what has already been a great career for the Grade 12 student at Denis Morris.
The 18-year-old Thorold native’s rowing resume includes: golds in the under-17 women’s double at the 2023 Stotesbury Cup and Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association championships; first place in the junior women’s open double at the 2024 Scholastic Rowing Association of America championships; third-and fourth-place results at Canadian Henley; gold at the Ontario ergometer championships; and, silver in the under-17 women’s open single at the 2023 RowOntario championships.
Her recruiting process started when she began talking to Monmouth’s Olivia Staff at the conclusion of the CSSRA championships in her Grade 10 year.
“She was one of the first coaches I started talking to and I met Scott (head coach Belford) briefly as well that year. I’ve been talking to them the last few years.”
Hamm also had conversations with Michigan State, the University of Central Florida, Saint Mary’s and a few others but Monmouth jumped to the top of her list after an official visit last October.
“I went and it felt like home. It was meeting all the girls. The one night we went out to a restaurant with the head coach and then I went out for ice cream with three of the athletes. I was already their best friend and there was no trying to fit in and find something in common. We already were in common and they wanted to be my friend.”
Instant friendships were only part of Monmouth’s appeal.
“The coach staff is amazing and it fits who I am as a person. Their idea is that it is not just the erg score, it’s also what you can do on the water. It’s not about height, it’s are you a fast rower and do you have the mindset to get better. They are always there to help you if you are struggling and need to figure out what is happening and get over. And the campus is absolutely beautiful.”
Hamm appreciates the focus on racing ability given the fact that she is 5-foot-3 and doesn’t have the prototypical rowing physique.
“I was lucky that over the past few years I have had really good performances on the water in my single, a double and this past year I have had two really good performances in a quad.”
She credits her on-water results to her mindset and physique.
“Because I am so light, the boat hovers above the water which allows me to move it a lot faster. I learned how to be efficient in the boat because I had to keep up with girls who were 6-foot-3,” she said. “When you learn how to move the boat efficiently and you are lighter than them, it moves and it moves very well.”
The future health studies major has set the bar high for her freshman season.
“I want to be in one of the top boats and I am hoping that we can qualify for the NCAA championships. There are some really good contenders in our division but maybe this year with a full set of teams and some really great athletes, specifically from the Niagara region going there, I think we have a chance to beat out some of these other top schools.”
She is thrilled to become part of a relatively new program. Her freshman season will be the fourth year of rowing at Monmouth.
“We are going to be completing the full roster. It’s amazing that I am going to be one of the athletes that recognized as one of the builders of the team helping to make the team what it will be in the future.”
She is looking forward to the next stage of her rowing journey.
“I am excited to move away from home and get to experience a different environment. The weather there is warmer, I get to live on a beach and the team is amazing. They are from all over America.”
Coached by Michele Fisher, Hamm plans to work hard to be ready for her first year off scholarship rowing. She is also looking to perform once again on the water.
“I am going to be competing in the senior women’s double this year as well as the senior women’s single and I haven’t decided if I am going to race lightweight or open weight in my single yet but I am leaning towards open because that is what I have always raced. We (her and Kailey McKimm) are trying to go for the (high school) Triple Crown this time.”
