Gigliotti a Golden Griffin
Vanessa Gigliotti found her comfort zone at Canisius University.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student at Saint Paul Catholic High School has committed to the Buffalo school after accepting a scholarship to row and study sport management.
“Obviously it was a lot of research and a lot of seeing what their program was like, seeing the school was like. That’s a big thing for me, my education,” she said. “I wanted to know if the school I was going to was a good school. I landed on Canisius and it was incredible.”
Gigliotti said Canisius reminds her of Saint Paul.
“It was a smaller school, it was a great atmosphere, and then the coaching staff, that was a big piece for me,” she said. “It was a lot like my club coaches. They really want you to be the best that you can be and they really push you towards that and I really liked that. That was the big thing for me and the team, they were really really sweet, so it’s all comfortable.
“I felt like I would immediately fit in. I was really comfortable. It didn’t feel like it would be that big of a switch.”
Gigliotti is relieved to have her future mapped out.
“Oh my god. It’s a couple years of just planning and research,” she said. “It’s stress that you’re worried about. And now just to have to sign the paper, it’s just peace of mind.
“I’m happy, I can’t wait.”
Gigliotti was hopeful of securing a scholarship and rowing at university, but only after some time on the water.
“It was always in the back of my mind, like that is a possibility,” she said. “At the beginning, that wasn’t the goal. I wanted to try a new sport. I’d grown up in sports, so it was just another thing I wanted to try.
“I fell in love with it. I got such a passion for it. So then when it became where you can start looking into schools, that this is a possibility, I jumped on that opportunity.”
Gigliotti was part of a crew that qualified for the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston earlier this year. She also earned a bronze in the junior quad at the 2023 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and was fourth in a junior quad at the 2023 Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association Regatta in June.
She figures she will row with an eight at the university level.
“That’s kind of what they were telling me. Obviously, there’s no sculling, just a lot of just eights and fours. We’ll see when I get there but I honesty think I’ll fit it well.”
Saint Paul rowing coach Tony Arcuri said Gigliotti is a selfless individual who is happy to give back to the sport.
“She trains hard, she works hard, but she’ll also take a novice and go with the novice,” he said. “We throw the novices to the wolves and these girls take the brunt of it because they have to carry them along. They do a lot of that in the training program. It gives back to the whole club, gives back to other athletes, but it also helps them become leaders.”
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