LaCava is No Lightweight in the Water or at the Gym

Even though you might not catch him wearing the glasses or the penciled-on scar to prove it, Nick LaCava is a huge Harry Potter fan.

“I waited in line for a few hours,” he said, of last summer when the seventh installment came out.

While LaCava, a junior and one of the eight starting rowers on the men’s lightweight rowing team, might not have the look of your typical Harry Potter fan, you probably would not want to face him in any sort of one-on-one competition, be it with wands or on the Erg machine.

At 6 feet and 3 inches, LaCava is a force to be reckoned with, especially on the Erg machines. Two weeks ago, on Feb. 24, LaCava won the C.R.A.S.H.-B Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, with a time of 6:19.0 for 2000 meters.
“Actually it was pretty surprising,” LaCava said. “I thought I’d do pretty well because last year I got third, but it was good.”

Even in practice with his teammates, LaCava dominates the Erg machines, although he won’t admit it easily. When asked about mini-competitions with his teammates in practice, he nonchalantly answers, “I’ve won the most workouts on the Erg.”
For LaCava, who has been rowing for eight years, his reluctance at taking too much credit for his position on the team stems from his philosophy about rowing as a team sport.

“Team camaraderie is really important,” he said. “There are no all-stars in rowing.”
Even in the wake of his victory at the championship in Boston, he said that all he hoped was that “people got a moral boost that I did so well... Everyone was really supportive. That was the best thing about it.”

Coming off a season that saw its share of problems, both on the water and off, the Lions will have to look to veteran rowers like LaCava to help lead the team.
“Last year was a pretty bad year for us—we just had a lot of problems,” he said. “We definitely want to do a lot better than last year, and I think we should.”

This year, though, LaCava says that “the personalities match well together,” and that getting the team to gel was “definitely something that has been a focus this year, to try and all get along with each other.”

Newly appointed head coach Scott Alwin, who has coached men’s lightweight rowing at both Princeton and Wisconsin, has also had a lot to do with the Lions’ transformation over this season.

“He’s pretty hard on us, he kicks our ass, but we like him a lot,” LaCava said.
Alwin seems to be doing a good job already. At the Princeton Chase in October, the first Varsity 8 team came in fourth out of 43 boats. Going into the spring season, which starts in Florida on March 22, the members of the team are excited about the prospects of their season.

Just like Harry Potter, LaCava and the Lions are coming into their own—but unlike Potter, they are going to have to find something more powerful than a wand to help them defeat their foes. And it just might be a set of oars.