Rogers signs with Rhode Island
A two-year search came to an end Wednesday when Danika Rogers signed a scholarship offer with the University of Rhode Island.
The Grade 12 student at Blessed Trinity had been looking at places to row on scholarship since late in her Grade 10 year.
“In Grade 11, I was talking to coaches and they were giving me motivation on how to get there and what my (ergometer) times should be.”
The search became more serous leading into her Grade 12 year.
“When I was looking at schools, I didn’t know what I wanted right away and I was reaching out to a whole bunch of different schools and seeing what would happen,” the 18-year-old Smithville resident said. “I believe Rhode Island reached out to me first and then I started getting to know the coaches over time through calls and stuff.”
She had a number of other schools that she was also interested in but an official visit to Rhode Island sealed the deal.
“I really hit it off with the coaches. They were amazing, they were super welcoming and it felt like a family. The crew was amazing as well and the school itself has a great academic reputation. Once they offered, I knew that it where I wanted to go.”
She also made official visits to University of Central Florida, Michigan State and Robert Morris.
Rogers has lofty goals for her freshman year and beyond.
“I really want to get in the 1V (varsity one) or 2V (varsity two) boats and be really competitive with everyone on the team as well as other schools that we are facing,” the future psychology student said. “Rhode Island does really well in the conferences so I am hoping we medal in one of those too.”
Rogers started rowing in Grade 10.
“I wanted something new and I wanted to try a different sport. I had always been athletic and I heard rowing on the announcements. I went to try it and I never looked back.”
She joined the St. Catharines Rowing Club and trained in the summer and fall — she was nominated for the club’s under-19 women’s athlete of the year award in 2023 —before spending the last year with the Ontario NextGen Performance Centre in Welland.
The centre has been a big boost to her rowing career.
“It has made a huge difference. Joining NextGen really upped my training and it gave me a bigger chance to progress. The coaches there are amazing and I look up to them a lot. Training twice a day six days a week is tough but it is good, solid work.”
Rogers, whose top rowing result was a second-place finish in eight at the Henley regatta in St. Catharines early in her career, is also aiming high away from university rowing.
“The end goal is to try and get on the Canadian team,” she said.
This past spring and summers coming off an injury, she missed earning a place on the under-19 national team by two spots.
“That was pretty motivating for me because I knew I could have done if I had a bit more training under my belt. I was still able to perform well.”
