college recruitment

Question
I am a femaile rower, 5-7 and 125 pounds. I'm a junior with good grades and my 2k pr last year was 7:46. Is that good enough to get recruited in college as a lightweight? openweight?  I don't know much about recruitment standards in college, because rowing is not my main sport.  when is it appropriate to begin contacting coaches?

Answer
Hi Rebecca: The good news is 7:46 is an incredible time for a junior lightweight (95th percentile per the CII website).  So you have a lot of raw talent.  However, as I have told many other rowers, rowers do not get scholarships solely on ergometer times.  A college coach cannot afford to invest a scholarship in someone who has little or no on-water experience -- no matter how good the erg score is.  

If you haven't done so, you need to get a season of on-water rowing under your belt.  If you can't do it at school because of other commitments, find a summer program at a club.  You should build a resume of what part of the boat you row in (stroke, bow, port, starboard), races you have had success in.  This coupled with your great erg scores and good grades would make  you highly recruitable for even the best college rowing programs .

NCAA rules allow you to contact coaches after your junior year.

Good Luck/AP