Coaches who have led programs with a championship pedigree like the open women’s rowing team know a strong class when they see one. Lori Dauphiny has guided Princeton to 14 Ivy League titles and multiple NCAA gold medals, so she has put together more than a few talented groups.
She may not be ready to say exactly where the Class of 2025 ranks with others, but she knows one thing. This group is remarkable.
“We have great leadership this year,” Dauphiny said. “This senior class is special. They are seasoned and they provide a standard for their teammates.”
This senior class has experienced plenty throughout their careers, which started after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. They have won each of the three Ivy League titles—the program has won seven consecutive Ivy crowns—and the team has finished in the top four overall at NCAAs all three seasons. The third-third-fourth team finishes at NCAAs is the best three-year run ever for the Orange and Black, and they have won four individual medals over that stretch.
Dauphiny would never trade that history for lesser success. While there are benefits that come with those experiences, she is careful to ensure that the team never rests on its laurels.
“The culture is derived from a belief that you can’t expect anything to work out because it did in the past,” Dauphiny said. “When times get rough, it’s good to be able to look back and say we’ve gotten through this before. But you can’t just think it will happen again. This team is putting in the work to make it happen.”
One new experience for the seniors this season has been the type of winter work that generations of Princeton rowers know all too well. The previous three winters on campus have been mild enough that the Tigers could spend much of February on the water. This year, not so much. Eighteen inches of Lake Carnegie ice kept the team inside the Shea Rowing Center; though it makes it challenging to select boats early, Dauphiny saw exciting progress in individual development.
“It was an adjustment and a different experience for all our rowers, but the benefit came in the way they could plug away at their own work,” Dauphiny said. “The erg has a monitor, so they could see their progress. The individual training was great.”
It does make for a long winter, which can be especially tough for a team that lacks quality leadership. That wasn’t a problem for this Princeton team, as its senior class is as strong out of the water as it is on Lake Carnegie. Led by co-captains Ella Barry and Katherine George, the Class of 2025 has set a positive culture for the program.
“The captains complement each other very well, and the entire senior class is very close,” Dauphiny said. “It’s a deep class that is very supportive of each other, and it has built strong relationships with the other classes. They bring great leadership to the program.”
Seniors alone won’t bring home gold this year, and Dauphiny is excited about some of the growth in other classes. The sophomore class is a good example of rowers who built on a foundation of training and experience last year and are now ready to impact the team this spring.
The team won’t need to travel far to see if they are ready to compete for more postseason gold. The Ivy League Championships return to Cooper River in May, while the NCAA Championships will be held at Mercer Lake from May 30 to June 1.
For the Class of 2025, there would be nothing better than keeping more gold in their home state.
Zach Vachal ’25 helped lead the 2024 heavyweight 1V to its first undefeated regular season in 18 years, and he was part of the crew that won the Ladies Plate at the 2024 Henley Royal Regatta. He won silver medals in both the 2023 and 2024 Eastern Sprints, and he is a three-time IRCA Scholar Athlete. Zach is from San Francisco, CA, and he went to Lick-Wilmerding High School.
What has been your favorite Princeton class and/or professor?
My favorite course and favorite professor happen to overlap. In my junior spring I took Theory of Algorithms with Professor Robert Tarjan. The main subject was algorithmic analysis via a technique developed by Professor Tarjan in the 80s. This ended up being the subject of my thesis work.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
Chancellor Green Library. I’m pretty sure the stained glass makes me better at writing.
What is a fun fact or hidden talent about yourself?
I look oddly similar to Alan Turing. Perhaps one of the reasons I decided to study computer science.
What is the focus of your thesis?
I am conducting empirical and theoretical average-case analysis for the algorithm used to track disjoint sets, often referred to as union-find. Essentially I am evaluating the efficiency of a popular graph algorithm.
If you could only binge-watch one show/movie for the rest of the year, what would it be?
The Office. Easy one.
What is your proudest moment at Princeton so far?
Beating Harvard in the basin last year, 2024, in the first varsity was something I had dreamed about for years. That betting shirt will always bring me back to the race: starting down and trusting each other to walk back through the crimson. We finished 8 seats up and set the tone for an undefeated regular season. For one of my most frustrating moments you can watch our sprints final from that year. Suffice it to say that this season I am excited to race Brown.
Who has had the biggest impact on your Princeton Rowing experience and why?
My freshman year captain, Jonas Juel. Jonas was always an inspiration to me, even considering that he was unable to train for most of my freshman year. He encouraged me in some of the tough moments during my first year and challenged me to push myself. All this while he devotedly led a team coming out of the chaos of Covid. I have always tried to emulate his unflinching dedication to the sport and his love for the team.
How has rowing shaped the way you approach challenges outside of the sport?
Rowing has given me an absolute, perhaps at times unreasonable, confidence in my ability to overcome adversity. You couldn’t convince me that anything is as hard as a 6k prep workout in the depths of winter training so I often see challenges as exciting. Moments when I can be competitive with myself or others are motivating rather than scary. I deeply believe that if I work hard I can achieve in any field and I feel this is a direct consequence of rowing.
What is your favorite Princeton tradition (rowing-related or not)?
Our team, the heavies, have a number of songs and chants that everyone has learned over the years. I have many fond memories of belting out these tunes while walking down Prospect. Princeton chess anyone?
What is one lesson from rowing that you’ll carry with you for life?
A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner. Life will throw a lot your way but I am beginning to realize that an easy life is not one I want. Give me the challenge and I’ll enjoy it nonetheless.
What is one thing about Princeton Rowing that you think outsiders wouldn’t understand?
From the first moment I stepped on campus, this team has been more of a family to me than I could have ever imagined. The trust I have in my teammates and the loyalty I experience are profound and I don’t appreciate it nearly enough. Princeton is difficult but despite what most may think, rowing doesn’t make it harder. In fact, I don’t know what I would do without the unconditional love and support I get from the team every day.
What are your plans/goals for next year and beyond?
Next year I am attending Oxford for a master’s program in Computer Science. My plan is to row in the blue boat against Cambridge. It’s time for an upset.
Head coach Marty Crotty ’98 can point to both his first boat and his fourth boat from 2024 as reasons for optimism this coming spring. His varsity eight returns eight of nine members from a crew that placed second at the IRA Championships one year after crowning a brilliant 2023 season with gold.
As for the fourth boat, well, that just didn’t exist last year.
“Everything was pretty straightforward with lineups last year, and that didn’t promote much feistiness and competition in training,” Crotty said. “This year we have a 4V to push the 3V, a 3V to push the 2V and so on. It enhances the way we can train during the season, and it will push guys to work harder.”
The lightweight men are on their best two-year stretch in more than a decade, having won 1V gold and silver at the last two IRA Championships. The Tigers return the vast majority of their top boat from last year, and five members of the 2023 national championship crew. Leading the way is senior Nick Aronow, who joins Will Nash as co-captain and has stroked the Tigers top boat for the last two years and is a two-time IRCA First Team All-American.
Hidde Lycklama ’26, Reuben Cook ’26, David Van Velden ’25 and coxswain Adam Casler ’26 were also part of the 2023 IRA gold medalist 1V, and they were part of the 2024 1V that medaled in both postseason finals.
“We have the guys we need if we can stay healthy,” Crotty said. “We have eight guys from IRAs and they are all training well, but that is not an invitation to the 1V this season.”
Some of the newest Tigers will jump immediately into that seat competition, including freshman Frederick Middleton, whose father rowed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and older brother George won IRA gold for the Tiger lightweights. Middleton rowed with the 1V at the Head of the Charles in the fall, while fellow freshmen Jack Hume and John Kiely are among other young rowers competing for seats in the top two boats.
The fall racing season seemed to indicate that the lightweight season should be as competitive as ever. Harvard won the Head of the Charles, while Cornell, Penn, Princeton and Dartmouth all finished within two seconds of each other for the next four spots. Two weeks later, Princeton topped Cornell and Penn for the Princeton Chase, but all three boats finished within 1.5 seconds of each other.
Crotty should have an early sense of where his team stands this spring. Princeton will race four opponents over the first two weeks of the spring season, including showdowns with 2024 IRA finalists Dartmouth and Navy.
As for the preseason, Crotty likes what he is seeing from a deeper locker room.
“It’s been good so far,” he said. “The captains have the guys on the same page. They are well aware of how close the league is, and that they have to keep showing up and putting in the work. We have the ability to be fast.”
Princeton Lightweight Men vs. Navy
8:45 AM – Coxswain Meeting
10:00 AM – Fourth Varsity
10:15 AM – Third Varsity
10:30 AM – Second Varsity
10:45 AM – First Varsity – Murtaugh Cup
Georgetown Lightweight Men vs. Delaware
8:45 AM – Coxswain Meeting
11:00 AM – Second Varsity
11:15 AM – First Varsity
Princeton Lightweight Men vs. Georgetown
8:45 AM – Coxswain Meeting
3:30 PM – Third Varsity
3:45 PM – Second Varsity
4:00 PM – First Varsity – Fosburgh Cup
The Princeton Rowing Newsletter is written and produced by Craig Sachson. This newsletter will provide coverage of the Princeton crews throughout the spring season. Photos courtesy of Ed Hewitt, Row2K media, and the Office of Athletic Communications.