Around 10 years ago, Becca Jeffries ’27 was told she may not be able to walk again. Now, Jeffries is the latest member of the Cornell women’s varsity rowing team.
From newbie to coach to Division I player, Jeffries has truly experienced all the aspects of the sport of rowing — her tenacity and perseverance helped her earn a spot on the varsity roster this past month.
High School Rookie and Compassionate Club Coach
Wanting to get involved in a sport that was outdoors and in nature, Jeffries began rowing in her freshman year of high school at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in November 2019. She rowed for her high school for four years as a two-time captain and was also a member of Resilient Rowing in her home state of Virginia.
During the college selection process, Jeffries said she had spoken to a couple of universities about committing for rowing. However, in the end, Jeffries decided to put rowing in the back of her mind and pick a school based on her academic preferences.
“I really wanted to prioritize academics when making my college decision, and I felt like rowing was clouding my judgment a little,” Jeffries said. “I ended up choosing Cornell specifically for the academics.”
Jeffries enrolled in the College of Engineering in the fall 2023 to study electrical and computer engineering. She joined the Cornell Rowing Club that same semester. While Jeffries “enjoyed the opportunity to continue rowing,” there were some points of frustration.
“Practices were often disorganized and inefficient, which meant we would not get that much time on the water,” Jeffries said. “However, I made some of my closest friends through CRC my freshman year and have a lot of good memories associated with it.”
Her sophomore year, Jeffries took a coaching position for CRC. As a coach, Jeffries was responsible for providing training schedules for the members of the club and managing the maintenance of equipment. She worked closely with another coach for the club, Samantha Durocher ’26, to make the practices run smoothly.
One of her biggest improvements to the club’s organization, according to Jeffries, was creating lineups and schedules before practices started to increase efficiency and maximize water time.
“Being a coach gave me a fresh perspective on the sport,” Jeffries said. “My favorite thing about coaching was working with passionate athletes like [Alex Slezak ’28, Joseph McMahon ’28, Merrick Word-Brown ’28 and Aiden Parsa ’28], and seeing their passion for the sport reignited my own passion and energy.”
One of her favorite coaching memories was working with Slezak, Word-Brown, Parsa and Peter Mueller ’28 — who were all new to rowing — and helping them place first at the Head of The Fish Regatta in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Jeffries attributed her decision to work towards walking onto the varsity team in November 2024 and her now successful efforts to Slezak, McMahon, Word-Brown and Parsa.
“I owe it all to the guys, because it is so much more fun and motivating when you are with other people who are equally passionate about the sport and willing to push you,” Jeffries said.
Working to Walk-On and Pushing through Pain
After making it a goal to walk on to the varsity team, Jeffries started her two-month-long training schedule to get more athletically fit for the Division I level. During winter break of 2024, Jeffries completed a 2K test to gauge her fitness and readiness for the team. Following the test, she emailed the women’s rowing coaching staff with her times and interest in the team.
“I got an email back asking to set up a meeting, and once I got back to campus we talked about me joining the team,” Jeffries said. “Then we kicked off the clearance process.”
Jeffries described the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s clearance process — blood work test, applying for NCAA eligibility, getting a physical examination from a medical professional, completing a baseline concussion test and meeting with the athletic trainer — as “long and tedious,” with various challenges along the way. Jeffries had to complete it in around two weeks time.
On top of that, the Ivy League and Cornell athletics have their own paperwork process that Jeffries had to handle during her transition.
While working through the clearance process was challenging, Jeffries described her reaction to an offer on the team as “surreal” because of previous and ongoing medical problems.
Jeffries lives with complex regional pain syndrome — a chronic pain condition where a person feels severe and constant pain in a particular area, usually following an injury or surgical procedure, that is more intense than the initial pain.
Jeffries developed CRPS at around nine years old following an ankle injury. Her recovery process consisted of her working through “three hours of excruciating physical therapy” for several months and even then, her doctors made no guarantee she would be able to walk again.
“I never expected to be in this position, because there was a point in my life where my doctor thought I’d never walk again,” Jeffries said. “Having the chance to compete at the Division I level is something that is difficult for me to wrap my head around and something I am incredibly grateful for.”
Fortunately, Jeffries was able to make a complete recovery, but she still remains “vigilant” as to not aggravate her chronic condition.
“CRPS is dormant in my system now, but I have to always be cautious if I get injured again to work through the pain,” Jeffries said. “I owe some of my success in rowing to that. It showed me how much pain I was capable of enduring, which is an important aspect of the sport.”
Looking forward, Jeffries hopes to get integrated with the team and adjust to her new and rigorous schedule. She said she knows one of her most difficult challenges will be “proving” herself to the team, but she is “definitely up to it” and excited to work hard.
She is also looking to maintain her connections to the club rowing team.
“I still plan to be involved in the club through the social events and coaching on some Sunday mornings when I do not have practice,” Jeffries said. “Getting dinners on West or North Campus with members of CRC is a fun tradition that I look forward to continuing.”
Jeffries hopes that her medical journey and adversity can provide hope to someone going through something similar.
“I hope that if there is anyone else going through something really challenging, medically or in any other aspect, I want them to know that things can change so much more than you realize,” Jeffries said. “Just because it's really hard right now doesn't mean it always will be and it doesn't mean that you'll be completely held back or limited by the challenge.”
Now, Jeffries is excited to make her mark on the varsity squad for the remainder of her time at Cornell.
“Reflecting on it I think I would not be where I was today if it had not been for each of those individual experiences,” Jeffries said. “Being a player, then becoming a coach and even my injury process were all vital parts of my development as a person and player so I am just excited to contribute however I can to this team.”
