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Dream Career Rower Kristine O'Brien Has Achieved More Than She Ever Imagined In Her First Three Years at UVa E By Sean Corso xpectations always run deep for head coach Kevin Sauer's Virginia rowing program. Every year, the Cavaliers compete at the highest level — winning one ACC championship after another. But until 2010, the program had fallen short of the ultimate goal: a national championship. For Kristine O'Brien, then a first-year, to have an integral role in that success, it easily exceeded everything she could have ever imagined. "If you told me in my senior year of high school what we would accomplish at UVa, I would not have believed you," said O'Brien, a native of Massapequa Park, N.Y. "I think we lost maybe two races [during her high school career], maybe a couple, but we did so well. Coming to UVa, it was my dream school. I wanted to do well academically and athletically, and I knew UVa was the perfect place to do that. "I knew Coach Sauer was on a mission. He was so great, and coming in my first year, I had been on the Junior National Team, but I didn't even expect to make the novice eight [at UVa], which includes the walk-on girls, those not ready for varsity yet. And then I made the varsity eight." Even as O'Brien described the overall ex- perience and her personal accomplishments, she never skipped an opportunity to credit her teammates and coaches. "In high school, I had no idea what I was capable of, and then I met this team and the coaching staff — it changed my life," the 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year said. "I absolutely loved it. The older girls took me under their wing; I was the only first-year in the boat. It was like sit back there and pull — that is all I need you to do. So I sat back there and pulled; that is all I knew." Yet with that elusive national championship in tow, neither O'Brien nor her teammates were done. There was still something that had proven out of their reach: the varsity eight national title. They missed out on both in 2011, placing sixth in the final team standings and failing to make the varsity eight grand final altogether. However, come 2012, it all coalesced; the Cavaliers took the NCAA team championship and the varsity eight title. "When we finished our race, we knew we had won the varsity eight, but we had no idea that we had won the team title," O'Brien said. "We were rowing [back] by land, everyone was so excited, I asked, wait, 'Did we win the team title?'