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24 CAVALIER CORNER L indsay Shoop (Col '03) is a well- known name in the UVA rowing and Team USA Olympic families. She credits her success to one defining moment when she accepted head coach Kevin Sauer's invitation to join the rowing team. Having grown up a few miles outside of Charlottesville, Shoop has deep roots in the area. She grew up watching Cavalier sports and has held the University in high regard her whole life, believing UVA was the best school that her parents could af- ford if she didn't have a scholarship to play a sport in college elsewhere. While Shoop excelled in many sports — including volleyball, basketball, field hockey, soccer, swimming and baseball on a boys team — she did not leave high school thinking she was good enough to play in college. After being accepted early decision, Shoop spent two and a half years as a non-athlete focused on academics, pursuing a major in Spanish and a minor in art history. Meanwhile, she worked at Bodo's Ba- gels and the Aquatics and Fitness Center (AFC). It was during this time that she ex- perienced ups and downs with grades and gained 30 pounds while trying to figure out her future path. Shoop didn't realize her life would drastically change when she bumped into Sauer at the AFC in December of her third year. Sauer had known her as a child and her mom had let him know Shoop was now six feet tall! He had suggested in the past that Shoop join the rowing team, but she declined the offer each time. However, their AFC encounter made her believe she was in the right place at the right time, and so she was inspired to finally say yes when Sauer yet again presented her with an op- portunity to join the team, letting her know that it is never too late to begin rowing. Shoop was impressed that Sauer re- membered her name and that he offered to meet her at the boathouse to show her around before the first practice. "He is just such a unique person," Shoop said of Sauer. "He is so unassuming and humble in the things he does. He always sees opportunity around him. The fact that he stopped me when he could have just as easily walked by and not said a word was an incredible gesture. "I mean, he leads one of the best pro- grams in the history of NCAA women's rowing and yet he went out of his way to show around a total novice who had told him 'no' several times. That was special to me. "Every single step I have taken in my life since that day at the AFC has im- proved me in some way. From that chance encounter forward, my grades returned to As, and I lost all the weight I had gained. I became happier, more driven and more hopeful than I even thought possible. Kev- in's small gesture — his one hello — still brings tears to my eyes." Shoop's first day of practice was an in- timidating experience, but the team made her feel so welcome that it set the tone for the rest of her college rowing career. It is a career that she said brought her "naïve optimism, challenges, sweat, tears, fun, ups and downs." She developed bonds for life with her teammates, and even when they don't see each other for long periods they pick up right where they left off. She believes those relationships are a reflection of the coaching staff's personalities and the cul- ture of Virginia rowing. Sauer and UVA rowing taught her to own her improvement. Shoop whole- heartedly believes that the staff's collec- tive energy helped everyone to be better. Thanks to her remaining eligibility, Shoop spent one year in UVA's Graduate School of Education because it would al- low her to keep rowing with the team. At the end of that year, she began training with the U.S. National Team coaches in Princeton, N.J. Shoop trained and raced with the U.S. National Team from 2004-10, compet- ing in eight World Cups and four World Championships — winning three and setting a world record with her national teammates — before winning gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame in 2014 with her Olympic teammates after achieving what no other team had. As Shoop reflects on her Olympic experiences, she believes the relentless, naïve optimism she carried from Virginia made her more successful. When she and CONTINUED SUCCESS: LINDSAY SHOOP Shoop trained and raced with the U.S. National Team from 2004-10, competing in eight World Cups and four World Championships, and winning gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. PHOTO COURTESY LINDSAY SHOOP