Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Six Open Rowers Claim CRCA Honors; Barakso Chosen For Pan Am Games
June 03, 2015 | Heavyweight Rowing, Women's Rowing - Open
There were several individual honors handed out this week by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), and six members of the Princeton open team were among those honored.
The All-Region awards were announced, and three members of the Princeton varsity eight were honored. Senior captain Faith Richardson and junior Meghan Wheeler both earned first-team recognition, while sophomore Georgie Howe was named to the second team.
This is the second straight year that Richardson earned this first-team honor; last year, she also earned second-team All-America recognition. Both Wheeler and Howe were part of the 2014 Ivy League champion varsity eight with Richardson, and both earned their first all-region honors this season as a member of the same boat.
Richardson's fellow co-captain, Nicki Byl, was among three Princeton rowers who earned CRCA National Scholar-Athlete honors. Byl joined sophomore Amanda Rutherford and senior Olivia Sayvetz, who also shared those honors, which requires both a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher for their career (through the fall semester/quarter for the current competition year) and having rowed in the institution's NCAA eligible boat(s) for a minimum of 75% of the current spring races or racing in a regional conference event.
This was the second straight year that Byl has earned CRCA Scholar-Athlete honors; she rowed in both the 1V and 2V this season, and she helped the varsity eight retain the Eisenberg Cup against Yale while taking bronze at Ivies. Sayvetz was the coxswain of the varsity eight all season, while Rutherford served as coxswain of the second varsity this season.
On the men's side, junior heavyweight — and 2016 captain — Martin Barakso was named to the 2015 Pan American Team by Rowing Canada this week. Barakso will row in both the 8+ and the 2-, and he will be joined in the double by a familiar face. Michael Evans '13, the captain of the Princeton heavyweights during Barakso's freshman season, will be his partner in the boat.
Barakso, who helped the heavyweights earn bronze at the IRA Championships last weekend and has rowed in the varsity boat since his sophomore season, has had international success for Canada. Last year, he won a gold medal in the Canada 4- at the U23 World Championships in Varese, Italy.