Palo Alto High School alumna Rachel Ersted (’10) will compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships tomorrow for the University of California, Berkeley, crew team.

Ersted is currently in West Windsor, New Jersey, training for the championship races, which begin tomorrow and will continue through Sunday.

“So far, the weather has been ‘interesting’, but otherwise we are mentally and physically prepared for the weekend,” Ersted said. “The racing is going to be very tight.”

Just two weeks ago, the Bears swept the regatta at the Pac-12 Championships in Lake Natoma, California. For the first time in Cal history, each of four boats — varsity eight, second varsity eight, varsity four and freshman eight — won its event, also winning the school its fifth consecutive Pac-12 title. 

“Winning Pac-12 was absolutely incredible,” Ersted said. “It was truly a team effort.”

Ersted is the coxswain on the team and has coxed the varsity eight at Cal since the middle of her freshman year.

“While the rower’s job is physical, my job is all mental,” Ersted said. “I lead, strategize and execute our race plan during the 2000 meter race; I also steer the shell, controlling the rudder with two strings located near my stern seat.”

The Pac-12 varsity eight race was unique for Ersted because her coxbox, an amplifying microphone and stroke count device, broke at the starting line, just before the race. Ersted was able to warn the bow four rowers that they would likely not hear her calls and despite the technical difficulties, the Bears pulled through and swept first place.

“I did my best to execute the race plan by raising my voice,” Ersted said. “The rowers really stepped up during the race and charged down the course determined to keep our bow ball ahead; their hard efforts paid off.”

This marks Ersted’s second year at NCAAs. Last year, Ersted competed in the championships at Lake Natoma as a freshman where the Bears took third place as a team and fourth place in the varsity eight grand final race, one of the tightest races in 15 years of NCAA championships, according to Ersted.

Ersted first began to row when she attended a camp in the spring of her eighth grade year.

“The daughter of family friends rowed at her prep school back East and she suggested that I look into coxing given my petite stature and thin frame,” Ersted said.   

Ersted then joined NorCal Crew in Redwood City the fall of her freshman year at Paly.

“I loved the sport so much and kept coxing throughout high school,” Ersted said.

Early in her junior year, Ersted was recruited by various Division I collegiate programs and chose Cal for its top-ranked crew program and academics.

The NCAA heats begin Friday, semi-final races will take place on Saturday and finals on Sunday.