Riley McGonigle's muscles strain and burn.

They cry for her to stop, to take a break, to rest.

But she can't. There are eight others in the boat counting on her and the race isn't over yet.

No matter how much she wants it to be.

She sets the oar blade into the water and drives it through, putting every ounce of energy she has into the catch, drive and finish.

When the race is over, a familiar feeling washes over the Slippery Rock High graduate and junior on the Duquesne University women's rowing team.

“Death,” McGonigle says, laughing.

“Every day kind of goes against your common sense,” McGonigle added. “You spend everything you have and it's definitely something you don't get used to. About halfway through a piece you always have that second of doubt, but you can't give in to it because there are people counting on you. Rowing is the ultimate team sport.”

And it's a sport McGonigle never in a million years thought she would do.

She was a standout guard for the Slippery Rock High girls basketball team, but decided to attend Duquesne University to study history and hung up her hightops.

After her freshman year, she began feeling the tug again to compete at a high level. Then she saw a poster for the rowing team at the school and her curiosity drove her to walk on to the team.

She spent her sophomore year on the novice team and moved to the second varsity team this fall.

“I really did fall in love with the sport,” McGonigle said. “It's quite unlike anything else I've ever done and I'm grateful I discovered it. It's a weird sport. It's graceful and powerful at the same time. It's a weird juxtaposition.”

McGonigle, like most of her teammates, had no idea what she was getting herself into when she tried out for the team.

A handful of rowers are recruited, but most are walk-ons like McGonigle.

“It's nothing I ever considered and definitely wasn't expected,” McGonigle said. “I didn't know really anything about rowing. I had never been to a regatta.”

McGonigle, though, proved to be a quick learner.

She also realized quickly how serious and competitive the sport was.

“My first race was in Philadelphia at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta,” McGonigle said. “There were thousands of people there. Seeing it and experiencing it was pretty amazing.”

Duquesne takes its rowing seriously.

McGonigle and her team were third at the George Washington Invitational recently against rowing powerhouses like George Washington University, Navy, Georgetown and Drexel.

That race was on the Potomac River and the history wasn't lost on McGonigle.

“At the starting line, you could see the Washington Monument,” McGonigle said. “The first day was canceled because of the weather and our coach organized a trip for all of us to the Washington mall. We all split off for two hours and visited every monument.”

Then race day came and McGonigle prepared herself for the torment she loves.

The season is split into fall and spring campaigns. The fall races are 5,000 meters and the spring races cover 2,000 meters with each boat lined up at the start line for a mad, eight-minute sprint.

McGonigle enjoys the spring races the most.

“Those races are super competitive,” McGonigle said. “I like them better because all the boats are lined up side by side as opposed to boats starting based on times. It's a lot more fun.”

McGonigle has one more year of rowing left. She's already working out to keep herself in shape for the fall season when her muscles will be strained and that desire to push through the pain will grip her again.

Satisfaction is always waiting at the finish line along with the relief.

“Rowing is the hardest workout I've ever done before,” McGonigle said. “It's definitely a mental sport. You find things inside you that you never thought you had.”