Young Wanganui rower impresses Americans | Manawatu-Wanganui Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Manawatu-Wanganui

A young Wanganui oarswoman is making waves in the highly competitive field of American college rowing.

Nineteen-year-old Paparangi Hipango was last week named Most Promising Freshman by the University of California following her first year at the highly-regarded university in Berkeley, San Francisco.

Her award came in the form of a bronze bear statuette - the UC Berkeley rowers are known as the Cal Bears and have a grizzly as their mascot.

The former Collegiate schoolgirl - known as "Papa" - honed her skills on the Whanganui River under the guidance of Collegiate coach Fiona Symes.

In 2007 she was chosen for the New Zealand junior women's coxless four which placed fourth in an international event in China, and she has also competed in Austria and France.

Her growing prowess saw her courted by a number of US colleges and she chose UC Berkeley despite offers from Yale and Princeton among others.

She headed stateside last year on a four-year scholarship, and the college environment has upped her game. She is part of a women's eight that is racing 2 kilometres in 6mins 18secs and has improved her 2 kilometre erg times, cracking the seven-minute barrier with a personal best of 6m 50s.