University of Tennessee Athletics
Former Vol Rower Competing for New Zealand
July 09, 2015 | Rowing
July 9, 2015
Former Tennessee rower Erin-Monique O'Brien has high hopes of representing Team New Zealand during her third World Rowing Championships next month in Aiguebelette, France.
O'Brien, who competed at UT under her maiden name, Erin-Monique Shelton, is no stranger to the big stage, as she has rowed in two World Championships and five World Cups for New Zealand, receiving bronze medals in three of the events.
"Erin-Monique was extremely coachable, always positive and hardworking," Tennessee head coach Lisa Glenn said on her former athlete. "She is the kind of athlete that every coach wants to be able to coach at some point. She was somebody that truly earned and deserved the support that we have here at Tennessee. She is the kind of athlete that we want here. We want somebody who can soak things up like a sponge, take full advantage of the resources and pursue comprehensive excellence."
During her time with the Volunteers, O'Brien was a three-time CRCA All-American, garnering the award from 2006-08 and becoming one of only two rowers in school history to ever earn the honor three times (Chelsea Pemberton being the other).
"I started at UT in the fall in 2005," O'Brien said on her time at Tennessee. "I had been rowing for a few years already and had my mind set on making the Olympic Games one day. I hadn't been greatly successful in New Zealand, failing to make a junior team, but I came to Tennessee in the hopes of becoming the athlete that I dreamed of being. Little did I know that not only would I become a better athlete, I would also make friends for life and have the opportunity to study what I was most passionate about, Art."
O'Brien was a key part of the 2007 team that advanced all the way to the NCAA Championships, finishing in ninth place, but that isn't what stands out to her the most now.
"My most memorable rowing times at Tennessee were perhaps some of the most grueling training sessions that I have ever done," O'Brien said. "They hurt then, but now, I look back and can say that it was those moments that I am really proud of."
After graduating in 2009, she returned to New Zealand with aspirations of representing her country in the World Championships.
In 2013, O'Brien got her chance, being selected to row in the women's quadruple sculls in the World Championships, the World Cup I and the World Cup III. Her boat finished in third with a time of 6:26.750 in the World Cup I, winning her first medal in world events.
Improving in 2014, O'Brien competed in the World Cups II and III, finishing in third and earning her other two bronze medals. In the World Championships, she helped lead Team New Zealand to a fifth place finish with a time of 6:15.560, her fastest time during any finals heat.
"She is the example of hard work paying off," Glenn said. "One of our boats in the boathouse is named the HWPO (Hard Work Pays Off). With rowing being an endurance sport, you have to put in the time. You work months for a couple of seconds of improvements. You work years for just a few seconds of improvement. Erin-Monique is a really good example of that because she knew she wanted to make the national team before coming to Tennessee, and she knew were that level was and how far she was from it. She just kept working and eventually got there. It is such a pure story; don't lose sight of your goal, and you will reach it."
O'Brien has already competed in one event so far this year, finishing sixth at the World Cup II held in Varese, Italy, but she still has a busy road ahead of her.
"For most of the year I live with my husband, and cat, and train with the rest of the New Zealand team at Lake Karapiro in Cambridge," said O'Brien on her timeline for this year. "For the next three months, I am living in Europe and training for the Rowing World Championships in France in September. I am part of the New Zealand Women's Quad aiming to qualify the boat for the Rio Olympics. To qualify the boat, we are looking for a top five finish at this year's World Championships. I am extremely proud of how far we have come as a crew in the last couple of years and am excited to see what we can do over the next few months. Next up, we have the third World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland."
Despite competing to qualify for the Olympics and winning three bronze medals, O'Brien will always remember her roots as a Volunteer.
"Tennessee was a huge part of my life and still is," O'Brien said. "Some would say that I wear more orange than the average person. My time at UT went by so fast that sometimes I worry it was only a dream. I sincerely hope to come back one day and show my family the place that had such an impact on me."
