Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Ivy League Championships
No. 7 Women's Open Rowing Nabs Ninth Consecutive Ivy 1V Gold; Wins Sally P. Shoemaker Trophy
May 17, 2026 | Women's Rowing - Open
With just the first varsity race remaining, Yale led 22-20 for the Ivy NCAA automatic qualifier.
The Tigers needed the 1V to win.
And for the ninth consecutive time, that's exactly what the boat of Lindsay Saunders, Amalka Delevante, Joely Cherniss, Anna Cowell, Michaela Ulicna, Ellie Smith, Cate Sauer, Laoise O'Donohoue and Phaedra van der Molen did.
Princeton used a strong push after the 500m mark and took the lead for good, crossing the line first at 6:09.9, 3.5 seconds in front of Yale (6:13.5), who's only loss this season was to No. 4 Tennessee. Brown nabbed bronze at 6:17.1.
The victory gave Princeton a 44-43 advantage for the Sally P. Shoemaker Trophy and the Ivy League's NCAA AQ. It's also the 11th time that the first varsity has won Ivy gold in the last 12 regattas.
"The program makes this win so special," said head coach Lori Dauphiny. "It really takes an entire team. We talk about the law of the jungle and how everyone needs to produce and support each other to get this point. I could not be more proud."
"It means everything," said the senior captain O'Donohue. "I'm over the moon for our team. It was a tough year as we lost one of our members (Kerry Grundlingh), but we really felt her in this race. The whole way down, we were doing it for Kerry and she pulled us through."
THEY DID IT AGAIN!
For the ninth straight time, the First Varsity is the @IvyLeague Champion!!!! pic.twitter.com/iO29brSpEl— Princeton Open Women (@princetonwcrew) May 17, 2026
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So much gold!
The First Varsity of Lindsay Saunders, Amalka Delevante, Joely Cherniss, Anna Cowell, Michaela Ulicna, Ellie Smith, Cate Sauer, Laoise O'Donohue and Phaedra Van Der Molen cross the line 3.5 seconds ahead of Yale! pic.twitter.com/4nJZeudSfL— Princeton Open Women (@princetonwcrew) May 17, 2026
"I am so happy," said O'Donohue who will graduate with four Ivy medals including three golds. "I started off in the 3V and have raced in almost every boat in the program. The 1V has always been a goal for me so winning gold is huge."
The Varsity Four C of Karina Li, Audrey Leurck, Malarie Jones, Harriet Burrell and Angelina DiPaola led throughout its Grand Final and crossed the line at 7:24.5, 1.7 seconds in front of Dartmouth (7:26.28) and Yale (7:27.95) to begin the racing. Cornell was fourth (7:30.01), Cornell's D boat was fifth (7:58.22) while Harvard (8:10.27) was sixth.
"They (V4C) win an award for resilience," said Dauphiny. "When things happen on the team, they are the boat that step up, fill in and make the other boats better. That was an amazing win for them, because out of all of our boats they have the fewest races together. For that boat to do that is a testament to their strength."
Starting the day with GOLD!
The Varsity Four C starts strong and gets to the line first to capture the Tigers' first??!
??- https://t.co/F3HIAWdZVx
??- https://t.co/fm2esJ4tlN pic.twitter.com/OGOwMebuiO— Princeton Open Women (@princetonwcrew) May 17, 2026
The Varsity Four C of Karina Li, Audrey Leurck, Malarie Jones, Harriet Burrell, and Angelina DiPaola capture @IvyLeague Gold! pic.twitter.com/ra67fIOSoF— Princeton Open Women (@princetonwcrew) May 17, 2026
VARSITY FOUR C CHAMPS. @princetonwcrew claimed the V4C title with a time of 7:24.559.???????pic.twitter.com/dirVT97WFf— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) May 17, 2026
The Tigers' Varsity Four B nabbed silver at 7:08.3, 3.6 seconds behind Yale (7:04.6). Dartmouth picked up bronze (7:16.42) followed by Columbia (7:19.61), Harvard (7:23.9), Brown (7:48.4) and Cornell (7:54.9).
Princeton's third varsity was fourth at 6:46.2, trailing by Brown (6:35.8), Yale (6:37.2) and Penn (6:41.7).
The Tigers' Varsity Four just missed the podium at 7:11.84, under a second back of bronze medalist Dartmouth (7:10.9). Yale took the top time at 7:07.5 while Harvard was second at 7:08.05.
Princeton's 2V of Christina Li, Emma Goedhart, Lauren Dubois, Natalie Meyer, Cami Price, Nicole Dunn, Lyla Fievez, Liv Cheesmur and Olivia Petri led wire-to-wire and took home the gold at 6:16.3, holding off a late charge from Yale (6:18.6). Brown was third at 6:18.9.
"The second varsity is an amazing boat," said Dauphiny. "No matter what the lineup change is, they're always in every race and show confidence."
The second @IvyLeague Gold for the Tigers goes to the Second Varsity of Christina Li, Emma Goedhart, Lauren DuBois, Natalie Meyer, Cami Price, Nicole Dunn, Lyla Fievez, Liv Cheesmur and Olivia Petri! pic.twitter.com/OKqk0vEYvY— Princeton Open Women (@princetonwcrew) May 17, 2026
The 2V holds off the Yale charge and takes @IvyLeague Gold!
??- https://t.co/F3HIAWdZVx
??- https://t.co/fm2esJ4tlN pic.twitter.com/foir3v17j1— Princeton Open Women (@princetonwcrew) May 17, 2026
Yale won the team points trophy with 82 points over Princeton (80), Brown (64), Dartmouth (48), Harvard (45), Columbia (45), Penn (26) and Cornell (13).
The NCAA Rowing Selection Show will be on NCAA.com on Tuesday, May 19th at 5 p.m. The NCAA Rowing Championships will take place at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia from May 29th-31st.
