Donovan: True Walk-On, True Champion
January 21, 2025 | Men's Rowing
There is no shortage of opportunity at Conibear Shellhouse, but unlocking it has always required a dedicated work ethic and personal discipline. According to junior walk-on Lyle Donovan, that is exactly how he wants it. "Washington rowing has taught me a whole other level of discipline," Lyle said recently. "The way you approach it, how you ask questions, how you work with others, push others to work as hard as you are. Relying on others to pull you up and feeding off that energy, because if you want something to be worthwhile it's going to take a lot of work. Don't back down from it."
That sentiment and approach has taken Lyle from "standing awkwardly on my first day of freshmen orientation" as a true walk-on in the fall of 2022, to a Pac-12 and IRA Championship in the 2V as a sophomore, and being named the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association "Newcomer of the Year" award recipient in 2024. In honoring Lyle, the organization specifically recognized his rapid ascension in the sport stating that, "after only 18 months of rowing, (he) is already one of the strongest athletes on the team."
A standout cross-country and track athlete growing up in Milton, Georgia, Lyle came to the UW for the academics. Although his father rowed at Wisconsin (including an IRA Championship in the Varsity 8 in 1990), Lyle did not have rowing experience, nor did he intend to row at Washington. It was only after receiving an email from Frosh Coach Sergio Espinoza inviting him to a tryout that Lyle considered the sport. "I had no more than five sessions on an erg prior to that tryout, and it was a warm up and straight into a 10k'" he said. "I felt pretty comfortable and leaned on my running experience to get through it… I didn't know what the numbers were saying on the screen but I felt confident."
That tryout and an immediate embrace of the work ethic at Conibear led to Lyle being selected as one of four walk-ons to make the team for the 2023 season. "Watching how hard the Class of '23 worked, the seniors were so committed, made me want to step up to that level and match that commitment," he said. "I was given generous opportunities to grow and develop my skills as a rower since I had zero coming in. Having the coaches giving me the experience and giving me their time… I felt that if the coaches see something in me, then I can see something in myself."
A Geography: Data Science major with an Architecture minor, Lyle has already received multiple student-athlete academic accolades. Entering his junior year, his focus remains on his academics and in improving every day on the water. "I always think I find the swing, and then I find myself finding something better. It's incremental. I don't think of myself as a person that's unsatisfied, but I always find that there is something better," he said, adding, "Having a team-oriented mindset really is the ultimate goal, not personal success. You live it so much at Washington, it's every day you are focused on the team."
Heading into a 2025 season that will see a change of conferences and multiple unknowns, Lyle remains focused on the opportunities and the challenge. "The Big 10 move doesn't change much for us, I think we come back with a lot of returners along with some new talent… but it is important to keep our head down and know our competition will be hungrier, so we need to stay within ourselves and go to work every day."
It is exactly that approach to the sport that has propelled Lyle from a walk-on to a highly valued member of the team in two years. "I am fortunate to be in a really strong class (Class of '26, motto: Zero 2 60) and to have such supportive upperclassmen and coaches on this team," he said. "I am really looking forward to the year ahead."
This story originally appeared in the Fall, 2024, edition of SWEEP Magazine. Click the link at the upper-right of this page to read the entire edition.
That sentiment and approach has taken Lyle from "standing awkwardly on my first day of freshmen orientation" as a true walk-on in the fall of 2022, to a Pac-12 and IRA Championship in the 2V as a sophomore, and being named the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association "Newcomer of the Year" award recipient in 2024. In honoring Lyle, the organization specifically recognized his rapid ascension in the sport stating that, "after only 18 months of rowing, (he) is already one of the strongest athletes on the team."
A standout cross-country and track athlete growing up in Milton, Georgia, Lyle came to the UW for the academics. Although his father rowed at Wisconsin (including an IRA Championship in the Varsity 8 in 1990), Lyle did not have rowing experience, nor did he intend to row at Washington. It was only after receiving an email from Frosh Coach Sergio Espinoza inviting him to a tryout that Lyle considered the sport. "I had no more than five sessions on an erg prior to that tryout, and it was a warm up and straight into a 10k'" he said. "I felt pretty comfortable and leaned on my running experience to get through it… I didn't know what the numbers were saying on the screen but I felt confident."
That tryout and an immediate embrace of the work ethic at Conibear led to Lyle being selected as one of four walk-ons to make the team for the 2023 season. "Watching how hard the Class of '23 worked, the seniors were so committed, made me want to step up to that level and match that commitment," he said. "I was given generous opportunities to grow and develop my skills as a rower since I had zero coming in. Having the coaches giving me the experience and giving me their time… I felt that if the coaches see something in me, then I can see something in myself."
A Geography: Data Science major with an Architecture minor, Lyle has already received multiple student-athlete academic accolades. Entering his junior year, his focus remains on his academics and in improving every day on the water. "I always think I find the swing, and then I find myself finding something better. It's incremental. I don't think of myself as a person that's unsatisfied, but I always find that there is something better," he said, adding, "Having a team-oriented mindset really is the ultimate goal, not personal success. You live it so much at Washington, it's every day you are focused on the team."
Heading into a 2025 season that will see a change of conferences and multiple unknowns, Lyle remains focused on the opportunities and the challenge. "The Big 10 move doesn't change much for us, I think we come back with a lot of returners along with some new talent… but it is important to keep our head down and know our competition will be hungrier, so we need to stay within ourselves and go to work every day."
It is exactly that approach to the sport that has propelled Lyle from a walk-on to a highly valued member of the team in two years. "I am fortunate to be in a really strong class (Class of '26, motto: Zero 2 60) and to have such supportive upperclassmen and coaches on this team," he said. "I am really looking forward to the year ahead."
This story originally appeared in the Fall, 2024, edition of SWEEP Magazine. Click the link at the upper-right of this page to read the entire edition.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing
Monday, June 15
Wednesday, June 03
Wednesday, June 03
Wednesday, June 03
