At the top level in the sport of rowing it's often the small things that count. With technique refined to near perfection, the best rowers must rely on every inch of height and every ounce of muscle to set themselves apart.
At just over five-foot seven, varsity rower Katie Daly '99 is small for the sport of rowing. On a lightwieght women's team her size would be considered average. But she has shown that she can pull with the best of 'em, and on Dartmouth's team she is one of the small things that really counts.
A three-sport varsity athlete at Darien High School in Connecticut, Daly came to Dartmouth with extensive experience in soccer and track. After figuring she would never be able to make the varsity soccer team in college, she decided to try out rowing. "I figured I wanted to start something new," she said.
Daly soon found that no amount of physical ability could mask her lack of experience with an oar. She spent her freshman fall rowing in the third novice boat.
Winter training came around and Daly was told that she might have a shot at making the second boat in the spring if she put in a lot of hard work during the winter. With her small size, the idea of making the first boat seemed out of the question. "I used to say to myself all the time that I was too short for the first boat."
Yet Daly spent her entire freshman spring defying the conventions of rowing. She raced in the first boat all season, proving against most odds that she has what it takes to move boats.
During her sophomore fall, Daly and the other '99s joined the more experience '98s and '97s on the varsity squad. Even though she knew she would face much tougher intra-squad competition this fall, "I never thought about not rowing," she said. It didn't take long before Daly snagged a spot for herself at bow of the varsity boat and rowed all season.
Winter came again, and the squad moved indoors. When the waters of the Connecticut finally thawed out, Daly proved that her success the previous fall was not just a fluke. She rowed her back into into bow seat of the first boat and kept this position throughout all the regular season races.
During the weeks preceding Eastern Sprints, coach Barb Kirch decided to "toss things up a little." Daly landed in seven-seat. At seven she had to do what every good seven-seat must do, namely, create a smooth transition and connection between the stroke-seat and the bow six. A few weeks later she and her teammates rowed to a third-place finish at the Eastern Sprints Regatta, earning an invitation to the first ever NCAA Championship race in California.
Now it seems there is no turning back for Daly. She used to think about going back to running. "I'll always run, but I don't think I'll ever compete again, " she said."I like that you can be as good as [the effort] you put into it."
Rower Cate Mowell '99 remembers the first time she met Daly during freshman fall. From the outset, Mowell was struck by Daly's very distinctive personality. Her performance on the water is testament to her unique style. "Everyone looks up to her," Mowell said. "She's kind of a quiet motivator. She leads by example. Barb always says [Katie] gives '112 percent' in everything."
Off the water it's the same way. A math and economics double major, Daly has risen to-- and conquered-- the challenge of being a student and a varsity athlete. Jesse Brettingen '99 has been in many of Daly's math classes. "She helps me out a lot," he said. "She's the sort of person who, if you didn't know her, you wouldn't know how busy she is."
Although graduation seems far away, Daly has thought a lot about her post-collegiate plans. "I want to keep rowing for a year [after college] if the timing is right," she said. And in the long run, "I think I want to be a professor. I'd always feel young being around students."
With her boundless energy and infectious character, Daly is bound to leave her mark on everyone she meets.
