By Tess Alongi
Wayland Post Intern
The Wayland-Weston Rowing Association (WWRA) is competing to the 2025 U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Fla. From June 12-15, 29 team members representing eight boats will take part.
Among those in the group is junior Emily Genis, who will race in the women’s pairs alongside Thanai Papageorgiou. For Genis, a longtime member of the program, qualifying for nationals is the culmination of years of hard work.
“Qualifying for youth nationals means a lot of things, but mostly it means pride and accomplishment,” she said. “I know that a younger version of myself would be so absolutely ecstatic if she knew I had made it to this point, and it makes me feel really good knowing that I made her proud.”
Genis began rowing with WWRA in 2020 and has been part of the high school team since fall of 2022. Now with multiple varsity seasons under her belt, this opportunity feels “super full circle,” she said. “It’s kind of the icing on the cake for my junior season, and it’s super cool that I get to be doing this with my best friend [Papageorgiou].”
Beatrice Sims, who joined WWRA as program director and head varsity girls’ coach in the fall, has helped guide the team to this moment. For her, this first trip to nationals with the program is both exciting and a reflection of her athletes’ maturity and growth.
“This season had a lot of ups and downs,” she said. “We had a lot of regattas that were rained out, but the team has shown a lot of speed in practice and in the regattas that we have had.”
Sims’s focus heading into nationals has been on refining small details and building mental resilience. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to make the big changes during the regular season,” she said. “Now we’re trying to focus on more of the small details, as well as the mental side of competition.”
The team is unusually young, with five of the eight boats competing in the under-17 category.
“Half of our varsity is sophomores,” Sims said. “It was a young team to begin with. It’s a really strong showing about the future of our program and the potential that these athletes have.”
Nationals will begin with a time trial, followed by placement in one of four finals (A–D), depending on their speed.
No matter the outcome, Genis is focused on improvement and is proud of the journey. “I think it would be really cool if we rowed a good race, better than any of the pieces we’ve had at practice or races we’ve had at regattas,” she said. “I think that would mean a lot.”
For Sims, the goal is simple: “putting together a piece that they [rowers] feel really proud of.”
As the boats headed south to compete among the nation’s best, they were ready to give it all they have.
“No matter what place I get, I’ll still be really proud of getting this far,” Genis said “I’m really excited just to see how everything goes.”
This competition is considered the nation’s most prestigious youth regatta, which draws top crews from spring qualifiers. Now in its 30th year, the event is expected to host over 5,000 athletes and coaches from across the country.
