University of Iowa Athletics

Amy Schembari

Class Fr.
Hometown Oak Park, Ill.
High School River Forest
Amy Schembari - Women's Rowing - University of Iowa Athletics

2014-15…Competed with the 1N8+ crew at the Head of the Des Moines and against Kansas in the fall… competed with the 1N8+ crew at the Big Ten Double Dual, the B1G/Big 12 Challenge, against Tennessee, and the Big Ten Championships… helped the 1N8+ crew collect a first place finish with a comfortable 16-second margin over the Jayhawks at the B1G/Big 12 Challenge… helped the team finish second at the B1G/Big 12 Challenge… helped beat 1N8+ beat Michigan by 6.4 seconds at the Big Ten Double Dual… helped the team to a sixth place finish, the second highest scoring performance at the Big Ten Championships in program history, and the highest since 2003.

Before Iowa… Member and captain of high school’s volleyball team all four years… led her volleyball team to take 5th place in state her junior year… member of the J. Kyle Braid service and leadership club… member of the Tau Gamma service club… received the AP scholar award her junior and senior year… also made the Deans list all four years.

Personal… Born November 30, 1995… daughter of Marion and Linda Schembari… business major.

Why Iowa… Choosing a school was a very difficult decision for me. Until late July, I was looking at 3 different schools with intent to play volleyball. However, in the end, I decided Iowa was the right place for me. Every time I visited the school, I felt more and more at home. Everyone is really nice, it’s easy to get around campus, and it is just the right size. At first, I was unsure of my decision but immediately after I moved in, I knew I made the right choice.

My favorite aspect of rowing is… Rowing is entirely a team-oriented sport. You look to your teammates to push you to perform at your best and your teammates expect you to push them. I think this expectation actually brings everyone closer together. The teamwork involved in rowing is probably my favorite aspect of the sport.

What made you want to become a rower… By choosing to attend the University of Iowa, I had to give up certain sports that I played for a long time. However, this created an opportunity to try something new. My sister rowed on the novice team at the University of Iowa and it was always something I wanted to try. At orientation, I signed up for the team and one month later I was out on the water training.