Forty years after Florida Club Rowing was founded, the bonds between Florida students and alumni are rippling across generations.
Founded in 1984, Florida Club Rowing started with a small group of students — not even enough to form separate men’s and women’s squads. Today, the number of rowers has grown to nearly 100 and spans across four different teams: novice men, novice women, varsity men and varsity women. The club welcomes athletes of all skill levels, including those who have never rowed before.
But the relationship with club rowing doesn’t end with a student’s UF graduation. UF alumnus Andy Mullins said his commitment to the team has never waivered, even 16 years after he made his 2009 club debut.
A 2013 graduate and the club’s former president, Mullins now leads the Florida Crew Alumni Association. Former members and coaches founded the nonprofit in 2020 to support the program and future student cohorts.
“I don’t know if you want to call it a sense of duty, but you always want to try and leave the team in a better spot than where you were,” Mullins said. “I thought if I could help out, then maybe we could help raise some more funds for the team to be able to make them successful in the future as well.”
Under Mullins’ leadership, the association became a nonprofit, allowing tax-exempt donations to cover equipment, travel and other expenses.
The association’s purpose extends beyond donations — it aims to foster camaraderie and relationships. The association recently launched a mentorship program that pairs alumni with current club members who have similar career interests.
“We have this whole network of people that have already done it before,” Mullins said. “So, why not try and pair people up with current team members, so then they don’t feel completely lost as they’re going through the process?”
UF rowing team’s president, Ana Craig, a 22-year-old UF marketing senior, was a novice when she first tried the sport as a freshman. Craig first learned about the rowing team from a postcard in the mail, and her parents encouraged her to give it a try. She immediately fell in love with the sport when she attended her first practice.
Practices run six days a week, focusing on physical and mental endurance as well as technical skill. Coaches work to foster a positive, encouraging environment, ending practices by highlighting a teammates’ efforts and successes.
“Rowing has definitely taught me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and push through,” Craig said. “There’s always more left in the tank.”
The team travels to several regattas, which are organized competitions consisting of multiple races, throughout the year. They often compete against other teams, including club teams and Division I and II schools.
“It keeps us on our toes,” Craig said. “It definitely keeps us competitive.”
In the fall, the team competes in 5K races, and in the spring, the team competes in 2K races. The Head of the Hooch is the largest regatta in the fall, hosted annually in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
These trips are made possible through the alumni association’s efforts — something Craig said the team is very grateful for.
“We try and stay really connected with our alumni,” Craig said. “They do a lot of fundraising for us. We’re very grateful to them for all that they do.”
Current athletes also benefit from veteran rowers like Christian Yu, who has rowed for a decade. Yu, a 20-year-old executive board member of the rowing team and UF political science and marine science junior, picked up rowing in sixth grade after a family friend suggested he would make a good coxswain, and he never looked back.
Yu joined the team three years ago and now mentors younger rowers, particularly coxswains, who steer and direct the crew on the boat.
“If you have the right guidance and if you have the right approach, the sky’s the limit,” Yu said.
It requires a unique skill set, Yu said. He strives to help fellow coxswains continue to improve.
Alumni involvement goes beyond mentorship. The Florida Crew Alumni Association also organizes events, including tailgates and an annual alumni weekend. This year’s alumni weekend featured a mixed alumni race, a breakfast mixer and a tailgate. The association hosted the event at the UF Crew Boathouse, located near Newnans Lake.
Bre Jenkins, a recent graduate and one of the association’s six council members, helps with event planning. She said the sense of belonging the club fosters keeps her involved post-grad.
“It’s one thing that they try to build, starting in the club, which is this feeling of friendship and family,” Jenkins said. “We want to try to continue that feeling that you have this network and support system that’s larger than your job or your direct immediate family.”
Current members, in turn, honor alumni at the end of each year at the Family and Alumni event.
Decades after its inception, Florida Club Rowing continues to shape lives and leave a lasting impact on its athletes, both on and off the water.
After coaching UF rowing’s novice team while completing her master’s degree, Jenkins relocated to Jacksonville and currently rows for the Jacksonville Rowing Club, continuing her passion for the sport and carrying the skills she developed at Florida.
“It’s become a lifelong thing for me,” Jenkins said. “I can’t overstate how much it’s made an impact on my life.”
Contact Nicole Lopez at nlopez@alligator.org. Follow her on X @lopeznicole715.
Nicole is a sophomore journalism student and the women's tennis beat reporter for the fall semester. In her free time, she enjoys reading, collecting records and spending time with her friends and family.
