Rowing Signee Profiles: Gabriella Crawford
12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
Alabama rowing signed seven student-athletes during the early signing period who will join the team for the 2016-17 season. Over the coming days, we will be posting individual profiles on rolltide.com for the each member of the class. Our third profile is on Gabriella Crawford.
A native of Milton Keynes, England, Gabriella Crawford is the first international signee for Alabama rowing.
"Gaby is the kind of student-athlete we seek to help our program progress to the next level," Alabama head coach Larry Davis said. "She patiently developed her rowing skills in her native England, where rowing holds the same kind of notoriety and passion as football does in the United States."
Crawford began rowing at the Bedford Girls School when she was 14 years old. At the time, it was a brand new program, created by the joining of two separate schools. After starting in smaller boats, both sculling and sweeping, Crawford began rowing with fours, quads and eights. The program quickly grew into a major competitor, as Crawford was a member of the bronze-medal Junior 4x crew at the 2014 British Rowing Championships and won the 2015 Boston Rowing Marathon, a long-distance course of 31 miles.
Crawford's journey to Tuscaloosa began when one of her current coaches, Carmen Failla, encouraged her to pursue opportunities to attend college in the United States. An opportunity to row at a high level while pursuing a degree in biochemistry led her to the University of Alabama.
"Beyond her rowing achievements, Gaby has proven herself to be an excellent student and a leader," Davis said. "Her athletic ability, high-level rowing experience, academic excellence and leadership make Gabby the kind of student-athlete we need to further accelerate our program's upward momentum. We are very excited she committed to Alabama."
Crawford is a House Prefect at the Bedford Girls School and is a member of the Harpur Science Forum. In addition to rowing, she also enjoys playing rugby and netball.
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