CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – With the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference rowing season approaching, the league announced the 2025 Preseason ACC Rowing Watch List for the upcoming season.
The Watch List includes one student-athlete from each program, nominated by their respective schools. The ACC is the only conference that has a preseason rowing watch list.
Notre Dame’s Natalie Hoefer becomes the conference’s first-ever two-time Watch List honoree, as she was named to the inaugural list last year. Hoefer closed the 2024 season by landing on the All-ACC First Team where she joined fellow Watch List honorees Lena Mills of Duke and Aphrodite Gioulekas of Syracuse.
Last season, Syracuse claimed its first-ever ACC Rowing crown in dramatic fashion. Syracuse and Virginia tied atop the final leaderboard with 90 points, as the tiebreaker went to the winner of the Varsity Eight Grand Final. The Orange V8 crossed the line first with an ACC Championship-record time of 6:09.814, edging the Cavaliers by over five seconds. With the title-clinching victory, the Syracuse V8 was named ACC Crew of the Year.
Following the 2024 ACC Championship, three ACC teams were selected to compete at the 2024 NCAA Rowing Championship where Syracuse (11th), Virginia (13th) and Duke (16th) all earned top-20 finishes. Also competing at the 2024 NCAA Championships were Stanford, California and SMU, as the Cardinal led the way with a national runner-up finish. The Golden Bears claimed ninth and the Mustangs finished 21st.
The 2025 season officially gets underway with the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational, hosted by Louisville on March 15-16, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The 2025 ACC Rowing Championship is scheduled for May 16-17 from Lake Hartwell on the campus of Clemson University.
2025 Preseason ACC Rowing Watch List
Lauren Bauer, Jr., Boston College
Julia Hunt-Davis, Sr., California
Elizabeth Mueller, So., Clemson
Lena Mills, Jr., Duke
Donata Elez, Fr., Louisville
Aaliah Dawson, Sr., Miami
Lindsey Troftgruben, So., North Carolina
Natalie Hoefer, Sr., Notre Dame
Roxy Welford, Fr., SMU
Iris Klok, Sr., Stanford
Aphrodite Gioulekas, Gr., Syracuse
Meagan Goldsmith, Sr., Virginia