Spartan Rowers Rudaityte and Drnkova Bring World-Championships Experience
4/2/2024 1:41:00 PM | Women's Rowing
Last summer, the U23 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria had two Michigan State rowers compete for their nations.
Anna Drnkova, a sophomore studying journalism, hails from Jindrichuv Hradec and represented the Czech Republic. Ugne Rudaityte, a freshman who studies interior design, represented Lithuania. She is from the capital city of Vilnius.
The U23 World Championships gives the best young rowers in the world a chance to compete and bring themselves and their teammates national pride. However, both of these Spartan rowers are looking to achieve something more in their international rowing careers.
"I'm going for it I think, I will see how much my body can take," said Rudaityte when asked about her Olympic goals. "As long as I'm strong enough and still have the passion for rowing I'll try to go further."
Rudaityte's teammate also has the same goal to reach the pinnacle of international rowing.Â
"2028 (Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games), I really would want to be there, but it's a long journey," said Drnkova. "I am not at that level yet, I'm still U23, but if everything goes well that will be the ideal scenario."
Both rowers know there is a lot of work to be done to continue their rowing careers at the highest level possible. Both are eligible for the U23 games in St. Catharines, Ontario this year, but Drnkova may be held back from competing not just for the Czech team but MSU as well. Drnkova has heart arrhythmias and will need a month of rehab before being able to get back to rowing. She will have a slow start with mostly aerobic exercises, before she can fully practice and be a full go for the Spartans next season.
Rudaityte, on the other hand, wants to compete at the World Championships in Canada. Â
"I am going to do everything that I can to be there, I'm training extra here, doing extra lifts," said Rudaityte. "I'm doing my national testing's when I have time because we have national testing's you have to do before you can qualify for the team on water. It's indoor training, but I really want to go back there (the World Championships), it was amazing."
The two international rowers chose to continue their rowing representing MSU coming from two different places but wanting to achieve the same goal of competing at the highest level of NCAA rowing.
"Here I've noticed the competitiveness is a bit different, but the way my teammates attack each workout reminds me of my teammates back home," said Rudaityte. "The biggest thing I have brought to the team is my confidence and I trust the girls and I know they're going to give me everything."
Having similarities with competing on two different teams is always helpful when coming to a new place, but what also helps is team culture. Â
          Â
"I had visited other schools as well and I had talked to a few other schools as well and Michigan State had the best team culture and the community was just the best," said Drnkova of her eventual commitment decision.
Going to college and being away from home can be difficult for most Americans, whether home is an hour away driving or a few hours by plane. No matter what, the transition is not always easy. Drnkova and Rudaityte are no different, besides the fact that they live an ocean away, and that flight, or multiple flights together, is a whole day's trip.
          Â
"It was hard, there are definitely things I miss from home that I wish we had here," said Drnkova. "The biggest struggle was food, I still struggle with that. Last year every time I came back from home, I would get food poisoning because the food is really processed here (stateside)."
"It's been interesting, I've never been in America in general, the weather is similar in Lithuania," said Rudaityte. "The people in Michigan are amazing and it's been an easier transition then I thought it would be."
14 of the rowers for Michigan State including Drnkova and Rudaityte are international students. This has given them a better transition to coming to America from their countries.
"It's really nice having so many international students on the team, it's really nice," said Drnkova. "There are so many here in a situation like mine."
Rudaityte shared Drnkova's feelings when it came to resonating with international students on the rowing team.
"It's been an easier transition than I thought it would be because we have a lot of international students on our team, so sometimes it is easier to relate to them," Rudaityte said.
Anna Drnkova, a sophomore studying journalism, hails from Jindrichuv Hradec and represented the Czech Republic. Ugne Rudaityte, a freshman who studies interior design, represented Lithuania. She is from the capital city of Vilnius.
The U23 World Championships gives the best young rowers in the world a chance to compete and bring themselves and their teammates national pride. However, both of these Spartan rowers are looking to achieve something more in their international rowing careers.
"I'm going for it I think, I will see how much my body can take," said Rudaityte when asked about her Olympic goals. "As long as I'm strong enough and still have the passion for rowing I'll try to go further."
Rudaityte's teammate also has the same goal to reach the pinnacle of international rowing.Â
"2028 (Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games), I really would want to be there, but it's a long journey," said Drnkova. "I am not at that level yet, I'm still U23, but if everything goes well that will be the ideal scenario."
Both rowers know there is a lot of work to be done to continue their rowing careers at the highest level possible. Both are eligible for the U23 games in St. Catharines, Ontario this year, but Drnkova may be held back from competing not just for the Czech team but MSU as well. Drnkova has heart arrhythmias and will need a month of rehab before being able to get back to rowing. She will have a slow start with mostly aerobic exercises, before she can fully practice and be a full go for the Spartans next season.
Rudaityte, on the other hand, wants to compete at the World Championships in Canada. Â
"I am going to do everything that I can to be there, I'm training extra here, doing extra lifts," said Rudaityte. "I'm doing my national testing's when I have time because we have national testing's you have to do before you can qualify for the team on water. It's indoor training, but I really want to go back there (the World Championships), it was amazing."
The two international rowers chose to continue their rowing representing MSU coming from two different places but wanting to achieve the same goal of competing at the highest level of NCAA rowing.
"Here I've noticed the competitiveness is a bit different, but the way my teammates attack each workout reminds me of my teammates back home," said Rudaityte. "The biggest thing I have brought to the team is my confidence and I trust the girls and I know they're going to give me everything."
Having similarities with competing on two different teams is always helpful when coming to a new place, but what also helps is team culture. Â
          Â
"I had visited other schools as well and I had talked to a few other schools as well and Michigan State had the best team culture and the community was just the best," said Drnkova of her eventual commitment decision.
Going to college and being away from home can be difficult for most Americans, whether home is an hour away driving or a few hours by plane. No matter what, the transition is not always easy. Drnkova and Rudaityte are no different, besides the fact that they live an ocean away, and that flight, or multiple flights together, is a whole day's trip.
          Â
"It was hard, there are definitely things I miss from home that I wish we had here," said Drnkova. "The biggest struggle was food, I still struggle with that. Last year every time I came back from home, I would get food poisoning because the food is really processed here (stateside)."
"It's been interesting, I've never been in America in general, the weather is similar in Lithuania," said Rudaityte. "The people in Michigan are amazing and it's been an easier transition then I thought it would be."
14 of the rowers for Michigan State including Drnkova and Rudaityte are international students. This has given them a better transition to coming to America from their countries.
"It's really nice having so many international students on the team, it's really nice," said Drnkova. "There are so many here in a situation like mine."
Rudaityte shared Drnkova's feelings when it came to resonating with international students on the rowing team.
"It's been an easier transition than I thought it would be because we have a lot of international students on our team, so sometimes it is easier to relate to them," Rudaityte said.
Players Mentioned
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