Mathes Interview

TACOMA, Wash. - Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing student-athlete Sienna Mathes is a psychology major with minors in Hispanic studies and sociology and has been a member of the Lute rowing team for the past four seasons. 

Mathes came to PLU from Lincoln, Nebraska. She wanted to experience something new and be in a state where it rains more often. PLU gave Mathes the best opportunity to come to the Pacific Northwest and she fell in love with the campus right away. 

"I chose PLU because I really wanted to go out to the West Coast and go somewhere different and I liked the idea of their being a lot of rain," said Mathes. "When I toured PLU I liked the atmosphere on campus and I also got enough financial aid to come here."

During Mathes first year, she walked onto the rowing team. She had never done sports before and was interested in rowing and wanted to try it out. 

Mathes is a part of the chapel choir on campus and also is the student coordinator for The Commons, PLU's dining hall. Although she is busy, she makes it a priority to also spend time with friends.

During spring break, the women's rowing team traveled to California to practice and compete. They spent a few days training at Newport Aquatics Center where local teammate Kiana Boyer-Viceroy grew up rowing at. The lake that the team competed in, Lake Paris, is the proposed rowing site for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 

"We went down to California outside of LA and spent the first couple of days rowing out of the Newport Aquatic Center and then we went to Lake Paris which is the proposed site of rowing for the 2028 Olympics which was super cool. We got to practice what it's like to be on a buoyed course which is not something we've done yet this season."

After graduating from PLU in the spring, Mathes has a goal of working for the Peace Corps. She would like to stay out on the West Coast until she goes to work for the Peace Corps, getting more experience in non-profit work. 
 
Mathes and the rest of the Lutes will be back on the water on Saturday with a chance to win the program's fourth consecutive Northwest Conference title at the 2019 NWC Championships on Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Washington.