Many UD students are sure to know Dr. Petersen from his history classes and Dr. Michael West from his English classes. What students probably don’t know is that in their days as undergraduates, both Petersen and West were student athletes. Petersen was the 7th seat on Oxord’s rowing team and West was a pitcher on the baseball team here at UD.
First, let’s look at Oxford, where sports culture is different from what we find here at UD. Oxford is made up of 36 colleges, and each college has its own rowing team, boat and boathouse. Rowing has been a part of Oxford’s history for well over a hundred years. Since rowing is an important tradition at Oxford, about half to a third of the students participate in tryouts for their college’s team.
Many choose to drop out after the first series of tryouts, but Petersen said, “For the few who decide that rowing is a fun and enjoyable thing, you’re then organized into teams of eight.”
Rowing is also a unique sport in itself; every teammate has to be there, otherwise the boat can’t be rowed. So the pressure is on for the 5:30 a.m. wake-up call to get down to the river before classes and libraries open.Petersen said, “If you didn’t show up, the other seven guys are going to be pretty pissed off at you because they woke up and got all the way down to the river and you’re not there.”
Petersen said his favorite part of rowing was the camaraderie and friendships from his teammates – he even shared his nickname that his team gave him: “Moses.” Not because of the way he parted the waters, but because of the way he parted his hair! Petersen ended by connecting the physical aspects of sports with the nature of academics.
“Developing discipline of motion helps clarify your thinking, because it helps you connect to yourself and your thoughts and new ways,” he said.
Now hop the pond and head back to Irving. West began playing baseball at the age of seven and joined UD’s team his freshman year. West’s time on the team was a bit unorthodox – he played his first semester freshman year, then took a break before rejoining the team for his senior year. West chose to focus on friends and academics sophomore and junior year.
He said, “I never thought I’d find something other than baseball that I would rather prioritize.”
West’s favorite memory from his time on the team was senior year when the team drove 30+ hours to go to San Francisco for a few games. The weather was rainy and most of the games were canceled, but they were able to explore the city. West enjoyed it so much that when he got married, he and his wife spent their honeymoon in San Francisco!
West said that one of the great aspects of being a student athlete was that “Playing baseball was not a part of schoolwork or class. It was a break in my day of English and politics studies.” Getting the chance to enjoy the spring weather was another perk of the baseball season. West still plays baseball today and is a member of a local recreational leagues.