This feature originally appeared in the Summer edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.



There's a distinct order and rhythm to the rowing stroke.
 
Catch, drive, finish, recover and repeat.
 
There are intricacies to each phase and unique styles used to coax more and more speed from the boat, but at its core, the stroke is all about process.
 
Dana Moffat is a firm believer in the process. The list off accolades she accrued during her four years at Cal is evidence enough: two-time NCAA champion, Pac-12 champion, All-American, exemplary student, Pac-12 Women's Rowing Athlete of the Year and world champion. The list goes on, seemingly long enough to cover a 2,000-meter racecourse, and is one of the reasons Moffat left Cal considered to be the top collegiate rower in the country and one of the best to ever wear the blue and gold.
 
"There are some pretty great rowers that have come through here," said Al Acosta, two-time National Coach of the Year as head coach of the Golden Bears and a 1993 Cal graduate himself, "but Dana's among the best to ever do it. She has a really good combination of fitness, strength and skill. And she wins a lot of races."
 
A lot of races.
 
Over her last two years in Berkeley, Moffat lost just one race while competing in Cal's varsity eight, a remarkable feat given the quality of competition the Bears face on a weekly basis. But to Moffat, her success is simply an accumulation of years of hard work, supportive teammates and coaches, and daily focus on the details.
 
"There's really no cramming you can do before a big race," Moffat explained. "In rowing, you want to put in the work consistently. With the work that I've put in, I know that what I'm going to get is what I'm going to get. It's about making sure you can stay on top of the plan you've put in place and just knowing that you can be successful because of it."
 
Growing up in Manlius, New York, Moffat took to rowing early and flourished, quickly establishing herself as one of the top junior rowers in the nation. She pulled the fastest erg score in the country coming out of high school and won gold in the U.S. four at the 2015 World Junior Rowing Championships.
 
With stellar academics to complement her athletic accomplishments, Moffat was heavily recruited coming out of high school. The appeal of Berkeley eventually won out – the opportunity to escape the harsh winters of upstate New York, study at the top public university in the world, and join one of the most successful programs in the country was simply too much to pass up.
 
"Dana's a really bright student and she could have gone to school anywhere," Acosta said." I think she wanted to win races, and I think she just felt comfortable here - it was a really great fit. I think Cal was the perfect place for her, and I think it was really good for her to come here and to deal with the challenges of a big team and university that has really smart kids and a lot of stuff going on. Cal is really good at challenging you in a ton of different ways. You're not going to be spoon-fed here."
 
One of the biggest challenges during Moffat's Cal career came her freshman year. She arrived on campus fresh off her gold medal at the World Junior Championships and immediately pulled one of the fastest erg scores on the team. That fall she secured a spot in the Bears' varsity eight that won the prestigious Head of the Charles by 25 seconds. But come spring, she was no longer in Cal's top boat, racing instead in the second varsity eight.
 
"It was definitely humbling," Moffat admitted. "It put my ego back down on the bottom shelf because around here egos don't fly. But it was actually a really good experience for me, and it was a lot of fun. There was a little less pressure racing in the JV, but it was still really important that we did well for the team. We had some really great seniors in that boat and a really great vibe. I don't think anyone was really bitter that we weren't in the varsity. It was more, 'Wow, we have this great chance to do really well for our team.'"
 
That spring, Moffat and the second varsity eight won their event at the NCAA Championships at Lake Natoma, contributing key points that allowed the Bears to capture the 2016 NCAA team title. By her sophomore year, Moffat was back in the varsity eight and helped lead the Bears to another NCAA team crown as a junior in 2018, when the Cal won both the varsity eight and overall team championships. Shortly after hoisting the trophy in Sarasota, Florida, with her Cal teammates, Moffat was invited to train with the senior national team in Princeton, New Jersey, eventually earning a spot in the U.S. eight for the 2018 World Rowing Championships.
 
"For an undergraduate rower to compete on the senior team these days is really impressive," Acosta said. "The U.S. senior eight has been the class of the field and is full of seasoned veteran rowers. For her to make it on her physical gifts is one thing, but to be mentally tough enough to train with them and to be accepted into that group is pretty remarkable."
 
Even for Moffat, who is even-keeled as they come, the experience was eye opening.
 
"I was bright eyed," said Moffat. "I was the new kid and just so, so young. There were women there who were 9 or 10 years older than me, and had 9 or 10 more years of rowing experience. I was just so happy to be there training with them, and to be selected to the boat was just like 'Wow, I'm really here!' But racing at Cal has really prepared me well for that. We row fast boats every day and we have some really incredible competition, especially in the Pac-12. I know what it's like to be pushed, to put in the work and stick to the plan. Al says a lot to trust the process. If you're stressed about a big race or a big test, you can just look back and gain confidence from all the work that you know you've done."
 
Confident in where she had been and what she could do, Moffat stuck to the process and helped the U.S. eight capture gold at the World Championship in Bulgaria. Then it was back to Berkeley for her senior year, helping the varsity eight to an undefeated regular season while also completing her degree in economics.
 
"I chose Cal because I knew there would be people here who would push me," Moffatt said. "I've been really lucky to have teammates who have been there the whole way, and I think that's been a really incredible experience. And I knew here I could get the best experience with both academics and athletics, and really the best balance between the two."
 
There is no better example of that balance than on May 18, 2019, when immediately following the University's official commencement ceremony, Moffat and her fellow seniors hopped in a van and made the trip up to Lake Natoma for the Pac-12 Championships. There, the varsity eight continued its stretch of dominance and won gold. Two weeks later the team raced at the NCAA regatta in Indianapolis, where the varsity eight suffered its lone defeat of the year and finished fifth in a deep and fast final. But there was little time to dwell, as Moffat quickly hopped on a flight to the U.S. Rowing National Team training facilities in Princeton, and then to Poznan, Poland, helping the U.S. eight win silver at the World Rowing Cup II in late June.
 
The remainder of the summer and the upcoming year will be spent training and competing, with the overarching goal of competing in the eight for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. For now, Moffat is trying to remain present and focused on day-to-day improvements.
 
"It's probably going to be the hardest year of my life, just in terms of rowing and training," Moffat said. "When you're with the national team, rowing is your life. I'm excited, but it's definitely a little nerve wracking. There are a lot of moving parts, so it really comes down to consistent results; just sticking to the plan and training."
 
From New York to California, New Jersey to Tokyo. It's all about the process and one that Moffat has mastered.
 
Catch, drive, finish, recover and repeat.