Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Undergrads Howe, Barakso Leads Deep Tiger Field Into World Championships
August 30, 2015 | Heavyweight Rowing, Women's Rowing - Open, Men's Rowing - Lightweight
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Rising senior Martin Barakso and rising junior Georgie Howe will lead a group of 11 current or former Princeton rowers into the 2015 World Rowing Championships, which begin Aug. 30 in Aiguebelette, France.
The open women, who have won two of the last three Ivy League championships, will be represented by five current or former Tigers; besides Howe, the other four members are former NCAA champions in the varsity eight.
The heavyweight men will send Barakso and three prominent alumni, including former captain Michael Evans '13, who will be Barakso's teammate in the pair.
The lightweight men will have two former members in competition, while assistant coach Bill Manning will return to the coaching staff.
OPEN WOMEN
Howe was the lone freshman in the varsity boat that won the 2014 Ivy League championship for Princeton, and she was a member of the Australian women's four that placed fourth in the A finals at the U-23 World Championships.
“This opportunity is incredible, and I cannot believe it,” Howe said. “Not only will I be rowing alongside the best sweep rowers in Australia, but hopefully I will be able to race fellow Tigers such as Heidi Robbins '13 and Lauren Wilkinson '11, women who I have looked up to as a younger Tiger. It is an experience I will treasure and make the most of.”
If Howe can help the Australians to the A final, she could get that opportunity. Both Robbins and Wilkinson, teammates on Princeton's 2011 NCAA champion varsity eight, will represent their home nations in France. Robbins, who will row in the 5 seat, returns to the boat after helping the USA win gold at the 2014 World Championships. She was also part of a world record performance in the eight at the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup III.
Wilkinson was the senior stroke on the 2011 NCAA champion, and she helped Canada win silver at both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 World Championships in the eight. Canada has been one of America's top challengers over the last three years, and Wilkinson will stroke the Canadian eight with golden aspirations.
The other two open rowers come from the 2006 NCAA champion varsity eight, and neither is two-time Olympic gold medalist Caroline Lind '06. Instead, both Kate Bertko '06 and Gevvie Stone '07 will compete in the single sculls competition. Stone, the USA representative at the 2012 Olympics, will compete in the women's sculls, while Bertko will compete in the lightweight women's sculls.
HEAVYWEIGHT MEN
Barakso will conclude an extremely busy five months at the most prestigious competition of the year. The rising senior helped Princeton medal at both Eastern Sprints and the IRA national championships, and then traveled to the Royal Henley Regatta to compete in the Ladies Plate Competition.
He traded his Princeton colors temporarily for those of Team Canada when he helped his home nation win Pan American gold in the eight. His former teammate, Evans, was part of that boat, and the duo will join together in Canada to compete in the pair. Evans was the captain during the important 2013 season, when the heavyweights were able to return to the A finals at both Sprints and the IRA Championships.
Joining Barakso and Evans at the World Championships will be the American duo of Glenn Ochal '08 and Ian Silveira '12. Ochal was a member of Princeton's 2006 Sprints champion and IRA silver medalist, and he won bronze for the USA in the four at the 2012 Olympics. Ochal will return to the four at the 2015 World Championships, while Silveira, the 2012 captain, will stroke the quadruple sculls. Silveira is a former gold medalist in the eights at the U-23 World Championships (2012), and he won bronze at the 2013 Senior World Championships.
LIGHTWEIGHT MEN
Tyler Nase '13 captained the 2013 Princeton lightweights, and he will be a member of the USA lightweight four at the Senior Worlds. His top international experience in the fours came at the 2012 U-23 Worlds, where he finished seventh.
Robin Prendes '11 was the driving force for Princeton when it won both the Sprints and IRA championships in both 2009 and 2010, and he was a US Olympian as a member of the lightweight four at the 2012 London Games. He will compete in the men's lightweight pair, which will be led by current lightweight assistant coach Bill Manning.