SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis senior Caroline Coyle knows how to play a role, whether it is on stage or in a boat. She will take her skills to Los Angeles and the UCLA Crew team next fall as a coxswain after competing for Capital Crew in Sacramento.

“I definitely chose UCLA because it is a growing program,” said Coyle. “They have recruited really fast girls for my class so I am super excited. I think I can make a different on the team.”

Coyle was drawn to the sport by her brother, Scotty, who competes for Cal.

“I started coxing my freshmen year and my brother (Scotty) was a rower and was recruited to Cal,” said Coyle. “He took me under his wing and I have loved it ever since.”

Coyle is not afraid of the important role of the coxswain.

“A lot of time people belittle coxswains because of our size,” said Coyle. “It is really important to get a good coxswain because we are the mentality of the team. If the team doesn’t have a solid coxswain, we are not going to grow and get improvements for each of the girls.”

Coyle, who recently performed in the Flying Money Production of Spring Awakening as Ilse Neumann, lived in LA two summers ago and found her happy place.

“Two summers ago my cast mates and I were living in LA for the Hollywood Fringe Festival and I decided I wanted to go to college there.”

 In Los Angeles, she will get to develop both her passions.

“The school is in a perfect location for me,” said Coyle. “I love Los Angeles. It is a big university which is different than St. Francis but I am excited because it is going to be so diverse and filled with eclectic people that I get to meet and bond with.”

Coyle knows how to play a role and sees her strengths come out on the boat and the stage.

“I put on a role in both situations,” said Coyle. “I love becoming someone else for a brief moment in time. On land, I am really bubbly and loud, but when I am in a boat, I have to be completely serious. It is my job to call it out. I have to develop into a character when I am in the boat.”

She said her strengths revolve around her calls and how she delivers them.

“I can really balance the aggressive side with the calming technical side,” said Coyle. “I have had the most experience and time to develop my technical calls and can pinpoint a single person and give them a critique to make the entire team better. I can balance that with the motivational side. I can yell when I need to yell.”Coyle is looking forward to taking advantage of a UCLA education.

“I plan to major in business and minor in acting, but I am fully decided yet,” said Coyle. “I look forward to growing in my academics while studying at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. I could not be more excited.”

She will participate in the St. Francis Collegiate Signing Day Celebration on Nov. 11.