Cooking up a new experience
It took a trip to England for Gabrielle Cook to connect with the University of Tulsa.
The 17-year-old St. Catharines native was rowing for Ridley College at the National Women’s Henley Regatta held at Henley on the Thames last year when she was approached by Golden Hurricane rowing coach Kevin Harris.
“I could tell how dedicated and involved in the team he was. It was like a family and at Ridley it’s the same thing. That environment is something I was immediately attracted to,” Cook said.
Cook then went on a recruiting trip to Tulsa where she was offered a full scholarship.
It didn’t take Cook long to realize Tulsa was a perfect fit.
“I was overwhelmed with the experience. It was great. It was the greatest overwhelming feeling I’ve ever had,” she said. “I met the rest of the team and could see how dedicated everyone was to not only the sport, but to the actual community at Tulsa which I really loved.”
Cook, who along with Charlotte Drennan, Alexandra Cook and Erin Broski won gold medals at both the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia and the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association Regatta last year in the senior women’s quad four, began getting interest from schools last year.
“The recruiting process was extremely interesting,” she said. “It started earlier than I expected. In Grade 11, I went to my first recruiting camp and I kind of fully immersed myself into that experience.
“I got excited about the whole process itself.”
Cook, who plans to major in communications, began rowing in Grade 7 in Ridley’s learn to row program.
“I was a tall, lanky kid — I was taller than everyone in my class — I got into it and they told me I was built like a rower and I fell in love with it,” she said. “In Grade 9, I got to actually try out for the team and got to know it a little more seriously and I’ve been doing it since.”
She feels all early mornings and training have been worth the sacrifice.
“Honestly, rowing itself is rewarding,” she said. “It’s made me a better student and person and allowed me to be part of an experience and a team.
“It feels like all those early mornings, the 6 a.m. hour of power and the puking after practice, just makes it worth it.”
Cook said she feels well prepared for university.
“I can’t even explain how well Ridley prepares you for university,” she said. “One of my crew members graduated two years ago and goes to Cal Berkley. (University of California, Berkeley). It’s intense there and I was asking her how it is managing rowing and university school work and she said she could not be better prepared for what she is doing.”
Cook, who is tentatively slated to head to Tulsa in mid-August, is curious where she will fit in on the team.
“We’re not sure of that yet. We have to do our erg testing and see where we place on the team. I’m excited to find that out.”
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