No joke
Brownsville’s McCune surprised by initial contact from Eastern Michigan
Lizzy McCune thought she was the punchline of a joke when she received an email about joining the women’s rowing team at Eastern Michigan University.
The senior, who is a member of the soccer and track & field teams at Brownsville Area High School, had created a recruitment profile for both sports, but never imagined she would be recruited for a sport she never participated in.
“I replied to it, but I thought it was a joke,” McCune said. “I sent a screenshot to my mom about the email, however, once I started talking to Eastern Michigan, I learned that a lot of athletes transfer from other sports into rowing.”
McCune discovered the initial contact from Eastern Michigan wasn’t a joke, as she spoke with the coaches on the phone and also visited the campus.
“They said to me, ‘You are tall and pretty built,’ and they believed I could transfer my skills from soccer and track & field into rowing,” McCune said.
McCune attended a learn-to-row camp at Eastern Michigan where she learned the fundamentals of the sport. She has adjusted her workout schedule to build herself for rowing.
After attending rowing camp and visiting the school several times, McCune made her decision on Nov. 3 to commit to the Division I institution before signing her national letter-of-intent nine days later.
Contrary to popular belief, the team doesn’t compete on Lake Michigan, but at the schools’ rowing course at Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, Mich.
“I get asked all the time if we compete on Lake Michigan,” McCune said. “The competition lake is small and not far from campus, but it is nice to have a home course like that. I really like the coaches and the girls on the team.”
McCune attributes her athletic prowess to her mother working with her to be the best, but her determination to be a top student comes from her grandmother.
“They both helped me out so much,” McCune said. “I am eager to get started. It is great to be recruited for rowing because I am probably one of the first athletes from our area to earn a scholarship for rowing. We don’t field any teams around here, which makes it tough to get started and work your way up.”
McCune was a four-year member of the Lady Falcons soccer team, who qualified for the playoffs this past season. She was captain the past three years and selected for the All-County team.
McCune earned a section championship in the javelin as a junior.
In addition to her athletic achievements, McCune carries a 4.0 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society, French Honor Society and a three-year member of the Penn State 4.0 Club while also serving on numerous clubs within the school.
McCune works part-time at Target in Uniontown, and is a participant in the Startable Program at Verticals. She has competed across Southwestern Pennsylvania on creating and generating a plan for the process of sales and marketing on a new product. McCune and fellow Brownsville senior Ava Clark have won first and second place in the competition.
McCune, who volunteers for the Perennial Project that plants flowers and cleans up the square in downtown Brownsville, plans to study accounting and earn her masters degree in professional accountancy at Eastern Michigan University.