BY GIGI PICARD ’22 AND KASS LAWRENCE ’22
On Jan. 15, the College of the Holy Cross women’s rowing team had a car accident while on a training trip in Vero Beach, Florida. The team was riding in a van which collided with a pickup truck. 11 people were rushed to the hospital by ambulance and four were taken by Life Flight. The driver of the pick-up truck was hospitalized, as was the head coach of the rowing team, who was driving the van.
Holy Cross rower Grace Rett, from Uxbridge, Massachusetts, did not survive the crash. Rett was a sophomore at Holy Cross who planned to major in English and psychology. She had just celebrated turning 20 the day before the crash. Outside of rowing, she was an admissions tour guide, involved in the chapel choir and attended Athlete Bible Study weekly. Holy Cross held a memorial mass for Rett a week after the accident, which over 1,000 people attended.
Rett had set a world record in the Concept 2 longest continual indoor rowing for the 19 and under women’s age group, rowing for 62 hours and three seconds, which meant that she had rowed for 237.55 miles. The original record was 61 hours.
Sophomore rower Hannah Strom, from Wareham, Massachusetts, is in a coma. Sophomore rower Anne Comcowich, who was also in the van when the accident occurred, has been released from the hospital. Some of the rowers also involved in the accident allegedly have “significant injuries,” including brain damage, and will potentially have to undergo multiple surgeries and physical therapy.
Members of the Holy Cross men’s rowing team organized a GoFundMe page to raise money for medical expenses. As of Jan. 29, they have raised $271,442. In addition, the restaurant Kool Kone, located in Wareham, is raising money to help the Strom family.
The students of Holy Cross hosted a service for Grace Rett. Jordyn Vandergrift, a first-year at Holy Cross said, “The loss of Grace has been felt strongly across every team and in a way has brought us together. Every day, we continue to love the fight.”
The Mount Holyoke College community offered condolences as well, and the College’s Athletics Department acknowledged the accident on its social media pages. The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), as well as the Mount Holyoke rowing team, signed a card for Holy Cross. Mount Holyoke Cross Country and Track and Field wore purple, the primary color of Holy Cross, to a practice last week, in honor of the Holy Cross rowing team.
Audrey Shannon ’22, a member of the Mount Holyoke Rowing team, knew Paige Cohen, a Holy Cross rower involved in the accident, from her high school club rowing team. “I felt a mix of shock and confusion ... [Cohen] was in the accident and sent to the ER,” Shannon said. “She has since been released from the hospital and is recovering, but it was really upsetting to hear about the loss of her teammate and so many life-threatening injuries.”
The accident in Florida brings to question the purpose and safety of training trips for collegiate teams. The Mount Holyoke Swim and Dive team went to Flor- ida for their training trip as well.
“As far as Mount Holyoke Swim and Dive goes, we use it more for training than competition. We are able to swim in a long course pool, which we do not have access to here,” David Allen, head coach of Swim and Dive said. “It is also a team bonding experience as well.”
Holy Cross, on the other hand, went to Florida to take advantage of the climatic conditions. “I assume Holy Cross Rowing was down there so they could train on the water,” Allen said. “At this time of year, they couldn’t do that in Worcester because of the ice and general condition of the water.”
Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education Lori Hendricks did not comment as the accident is still under investigation by Florida police.