Oklahoma City University Athletics

Matthew Maddamma sculls for the Oklahoma City University rowing program. One man, one 27-foot long racing shell and two 9-foot oars guiding his way down the course.

For Maddamma, a freshman from Carnegie, Penn., and this week’s Super Star of the Week, his skills on the water as a single sculler are not only a way to work on his individual well-being, but also an outlet for him to gain international acclaim in the rowing community.

“I really enjoy just the feel of myself in the single and it’s more of a connection between the boat and I rather other people in the boat,” said Maddamma. “It’s just kind of relaxing to be out there by myself, more of a stress-reliever.”

Last weekend, Maddamma participating in his form of stress relief at the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day annual rowing event. He sculled his way to his second-consecutive seventh-place finish in the championship lightweight single. As the youngest competitor in his event, Maddamma was racing against post-collegiate rowers training for opportunities to race four national team spots.

Rowing for the United States is something that Maddamma has already had a taste of, as he competed for the Junior National Team at the 2009 World Championships. In this event, competing in an open weight class, the lightweight came in fourth, less than a second behind a medal. Maddamma turned in one of the best U.S. single sculls finishes in nearly 20 years at the junior level.

“It’s actually a great feeling to know that there hasn’t been someone to accomplish as much as I have on the lightweight side of rowing since the year before I was born," Maddamma reflected. “Just to bridge that gap of lightweight rowing has, I think it’s made me a better rower, and just competing with other guys who didn’t know that lightweight rowers were that fast, it’s a good feeling to have.

“A lot of these teams, they prefer to have large, strong athletes. They kind of underestimate the abilities of lightweight rowers which may have been more motivation for me. [My finish] shows that lightweights can compete with heavyweights and sometimes come out on top.”

Rowing coach Melanie Borger knows that this international experience against older and more seasoned veterans in the rowing community will help Maddamma in his competitive collegiate career.

“I think Matt’s international experience gives him a lot more race confidence, so when he’s in the middle of a race he’s able to even outperform his own abilities,” Borger said. “Furthermore, since we have the sculling program here at OCU and Matt is one of our good scullers, he competes against a lot of post-collegiate athletes. Having already raced at the international level gives him an edge on his competitors.”

Maddamma will be hoping to take this competitive edge throughout the OCU racing season, relieving him from the stresses he might face in his first year of college while adding stress to the lives of those who he is overtaking with his boat.