A Father’s Hunch, A Daughter’s Journey
December 02, 2025 | Women's Rowing
How Jordan Freer found her place in rowing — just as her dad imagined.
From the latest edition of Sweep Magazine
When Jordan Freer was growing up in Lotus, Calif., her dad often told her she would make a good rower. She lived just half an hour from Lake Natoma, one of the West Coast's premier rowing venues, but she stuck with swimming and water polo instead.
It wasn't until college that Tom Freer's prediction came true.
At UC Santa Barbara, Jordan headed to the recreation fair planning to sign up for club water polo. The water polo tent happened to be right next to rowing's, and she was pulled over to try an erg test. "It didn't look very fun, but I tried it anyway," she says. "Then they handed me a schedule and said, 'See you at practice tomorrow.'"
She showed up — and kept showing up. Before long, she was hooked.
When she called home to tell her parents, her dad's response was simple: "Yeah, I have a good feeling about this."
Jordan thrived in her new sport, surprising even herself. By the end of her freshman year, she had made close friends and was competing at a high level. A teammate suggested she might be able to row for a Division I program.
Skeptical, she sent a few emails to West Coast coaches. One, almost as a joke, went to Washington. "I thought, 'They won't want me. I'm not good enough.'"
But Husky head coach Yasmin Farooq replied immediately. "I knew she had the raw ingredients and was going to be an outstanding teammate," Farooq says. "Her work ethic was clearly there. We had to get her."
Leaving UCSB was not an easy choice, but Jordan couldn't ignore the opportunity. "This is probably the one chance I'll have to be an athlete at this level," she says. "Life is about experiencing everything you can. So why not go for it?"
She transferred to Washington just before fall quarter, moving in with her aunt to ease the transition. Less experienced than her new teammates, she wasn't sure where she'd fit. But within weeks, she realized that hard work could close the gap.
That spring, Jordan raced in the second varsity eight at the San Diego Crew Classic and later in the varsity eight against Cal. She finished her first season with a Pac-12 championship and fourth place at NCAAs.
Since then, she's become a mainstay in the Huskies' second varsity eight and a three-time CRCA Scholar-Athlete. She earned bronze at the 2024 Under-23 World Championships in the U.S. women's four, helped UW sweep the Big Ten Championships, and claimed NCAA silver this past spring. Always eager for new experiences, she even tried out for the U.S. Beach Sprints Team over the summer.
Now, with her senior season ahead, Jordan's focus is squarely on her teammates.
"The thing I want most is to help the team succeed," she says. "Wherever I am, I just want to push the level of the people around me as much as possible."
From water polo recruit to national medalist, Jordan's path has been anything but conventional. But as her dad saw long ago, rowing was always the right fit.
You'll find this story and much more in the latest edition of Washington Rowing's SWEEP Magazine. See the link at the top of this page to check it out.
From the latest edition of Sweep Magazine
When Jordan Freer was growing up in Lotus, Calif., her dad often told her she would make a good rower. She lived just half an hour from Lake Natoma, one of the West Coast's premier rowing venues, but she stuck with swimming and water polo instead.
It wasn't until college that Tom Freer's prediction came true.
At UC Santa Barbara, Jordan headed to the recreation fair planning to sign up for club water polo. The water polo tent happened to be right next to rowing's, and she was pulled over to try an erg test. "It didn't look very fun, but I tried it anyway," she says. "Then they handed me a schedule and said, 'See you at practice tomorrow.'"
She showed up — and kept showing up. Before long, she was hooked.
When she called home to tell her parents, her dad's response was simple: "Yeah, I have a good feeling about this."
Jordan thrived in her new sport, surprising even herself. By the end of her freshman year, she had made close friends and was competing at a high level. A teammate suggested she might be able to row for a Division I program.
Skeptical, she sent a few emails to West Coast coaches. One, almost as a joke, went to Washington. "I thought, 'They won't want me. I'm not good enough.'"
But Husky head coach Yasmin Farooq replied immediately. "I knew she had the raw ingredients and was going to be an outstanding teammate," Farooq says. "Her work ethic was clearly there. We had to get her."
Leaving UCSB was not an easy choice, but Jordan couldn't ignore the opportunity. "This is probably the one chance I'll have to be an athlete at this level," she says. "Life is about experiencing everything you can. So why not go for it?"
She transferred to Washington just before fall quarter, moving in with her aunt to ease the transition. Less experienced than her new teammates, she wasn't sure where she'd fit. But within weeks, she realized that hard work could close the gap.
That spring, Jordan raced in the second varsity eight at the San Diego Crew Classic and later in the varsity eight against Cal. She finished her first season with a Pac-12 championship and fourth place at NCAAs.
Since then, she's become a mainstay in the Huskies' second varsity eight and a three-time CRCA Scholar-Athlete. She earned bronze at the 2024 Under-23 World Championships in the U.S. women's four, helped UW sweep the Big Ten Championships, and claimed NCAA silver this past spring. Always eager for new experiences, she even tried out for the U.S. Beach Sprints Team over the summer.
Now, with her senior season ahead, Jordan's focus is squarely on her teammates.
"The thing I want most is to help the team succeed," she says. "Wherever I am, I just want to push the level of the people around me as much as possible."
From water polo recruit to national medalist, Jordan's path has been anything but conventional. But as her dad saw long ago, rowing was always the right fit.
You'll find this story and much more in the latest edition of Washington Rowing's SWEEP Magazine. See the link at the top of this page to check it out.
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