Louisville Finishes 10th at ACC Rowing Championship

Saturday, May 16

Raleigh, NC

University of Louisville

ACC Championship

May 16, 2026 | Rowing

Senior Macy Whisenand earned Third Team All ACC accolades

By: Dana Brown

RALEIGH, N.C. – University of Louisville rowing concluded its season on Saturday, placing 10th as a team at the ACC Rowing Championship. Senior Macy Whisenand was named Third Team All ACC.

"Coming off a solid spring season of training on the Ohio, the Cards showed up with energy and aggression to try and out-perform their pre-competition seed of #11," said associate head coach Ed Oxlade. "Following the heats, all crews were in the Petite Finals, where the intent was to see how many crews could pull off upsets of higher-seeded teams to help the overall team championship points in an extremely contested midfield of the ACC."

"The performances of the 2V8 and 3V8 breaking their seeds, along with the other crews all holding theirs, helped the team to overcome both Clemson and Boston College to finish 10th in the conference, only two points behind longtime conference rival Notre Dame. All in all, the team showed resilience, tenacity, gratitude and adaptability to bring their best performances of the year when it mattered most."

Louisville had two boats finish third in the Petite Finals on Saturday morning.

The Cardinals' Second Varsity 8 boat, led by coxswain Hannah Cease, Grace Rodebaugh, Lauren Stedry, Claire Carver-Ritter, Katherine Cromly, Bradlie Hicks, Maya Lawrie, Dorka Szabo and Cierra Chavez, placed third in its final. The crew finished in a time of 6:48.930, placing ahead of Clemson, Notre Dame and Boston College.

Louisville's 3V8 boat continued its strong racing from Friday's preliminaries, turning in a time of 6:59.600 to finish third in the Petite Finals. The Cards once again finished ahead of No. 13 Duke in this race.

The V8 crew placed fourth after recording a time of 6:41.040, finishing ahead of the Boston College and Notre Dame crews.

Louisville's V4 team finished fifth with a time of 7:33.490 while the 2V4 placed fourth in its race at 7:44.590.

The Cardinals accumulated 35 points to earn the 10th place finish as a program.

"We are so grateful for our seniors," continued Oxlade. "Who have worked hard over their tenure to reshape Louisville Rowing and ensure that, truly, the pathway forward is bright and exciting. We look forward to continuing our development after a brief summer break and get back at it in August!"

What They Have to Say
Graycen West, Senior, 3V8
"Being a senior racing in the 3V8 this season has been truly special. After Lake Wheeler, we knew that if we put our heads down and worked hard over the next two weeks, we could take another step forward. Going from being a few seconds behind Duke to beating them in the 3V8 was definitely a highlight of the weekend. Getting to do something really challenging alongside my best friends has taught me what trust and teamwork truly look like. Watching this team grow over the past four years has been incredible, and it's exciting to see the trajectory the program is on. I'm excited for the girls who will continue building on that after I graduate as the team keeps getting faster. I'm incredibly grateful to have been a part of this team and everything it is becoming."

Mary Noschang, Senior, V8
"I am very proud of the team and had a lot of fun these past three days! This weekend was an execution of the team's fight. Fight and determination to handle the unpredictables on and off the course. I am proud of how the team has continued to make these small gains and finished ranked higher than we came in… a showing of an exciting future for this program!"

Lauren Stedry, Junior, 2V8
"The 2V8 is constantly challenging this team to dig deeper than we ever have before. We've put in the work day in and day out quietly, but the impact is loud. We have stayed true to ourselves till the very end. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished this weekend and throughout this year. From a team wide perspective, the growth in our depth this year has been incredible to watch. You can see it in the way we push ourselves and each other every single day. This weekend proved that we are headed in the right direction and that other teams are feeling the pressure. We are consistently true to ourselves and that's what it means to be a Louisville Cardinal."

Finals Results – Petite Finals
V8
1 – North Carolina (6:27.740); 2 – SMU (6:29.510); 3 – Clemson (6:33.000); 4 – Louisville (6:41.040); 5 – Boston College (6:41.570); 6 – Notre Dame (6:42.600)
2V8
1 – North Carolina (6:39.760); 2 – SMU (6:41.550); 3 – Louisville (6:48.930); 4 – Clemson (6:49.710); 5 – Notre Dame (6:51.960); 6 – Boston College (6:59.290)
3V8
1 – Notre Dame (6:55.220); 2 – Boston College (6:58.010); 3 – Louisville (6:59.600); 4 – Duke (7:01.590); 5 – SMU (7:13.870)
V4
1 – Duke (7:24.790); 2 – Miami (7:29.540); 3 – Boston College (7:31.550); 4 – SMU (7:31.850); 5 – Louisville (7:33.490); 6 – Clemson (7:38.710)
2V4
1 – Duke (7:30.350); 2 – SMU (7:38.700); 3 – Miami (7:39.990); 4 – Louisville (7:44.590); 5 – Clemson (7:46.360); 6 – Boston College (8:01.250)

ACC Team Scores

Stanford – 132
Virginia – 118
California – 108
Syracuse – 103
Miami – 77
North Carolina – 75
Duke – 69
SMU – 47
Notre Dame – 37
Louisville – 35
Clemson – 29
Boston College – 25

2026 All-ACC Rowing Awards
ACC Coach of the Year: Derek Byrnes, Stanford
ACC Newcomer of the Year: Georgia Allen, Virginia
ACC Crew of the Year: Stanford Varsity Eight (Coxswain: Ella Casano, Nora Goodwillie, Celia Dupre, Matilda Drewett, Emma Bagrie, Claire Van Praagh, Charlotte Jett, Annika Jeffery, Quincy Stone)

2026 All-ACC Rowing Team
First Team
Ella Casano, Stanford
Annika Jeffery, Stanford
Matilda Drewett, Stanford
Celia Dupre, Stanford
Elsa Hartman, Virginia
Flynn Greene, Virginia
Paula Lutz, Virginia
Ella Wheeler, California
Ellie-Kate Hutchinson, Syracuse

Second Team
Brie Joe, Virginia
Nora Goodwillie, Stanford
Minou Bouman, California
Olivia Roth, California
Acorn Cassidy, Syracuse
Katia Ustiuzhanina, Syracuse
Naroa Zubimendi Varela, Miami
Carmen Sagues, North Carolina
Chloe Zollman, Duke

Third Team
Kira Obsitnik, California
Jovana Stanivuk, Miami
Maya Schultz, North Carolina
Lena Mills, Duke
Kate Kulig, SMU
Emma Hopsicker, Notre Dame
Macy Whisenand, Louisville
Rose Imbesi, Clemson
Lauren Bauer, Boston College

Louisville Lineups
Varsity 8
Coxswain – Olivia Guarnaccia
8 – Macy Whisenand
7 – Mary Noschang
6 – Haley Kunz
5 – Anna Brennan
4 – Emma Bell
3 – Jana Berelsmann
2 – Lexi Bernard
1 – Clara Jane Van Dyk

Second Varsity 8
Coxswain – Hannah Cease
8 – Grace Rodebaugh
7 – Lauren Stedry
6 – Claire Carver-Ritter
5 – Katherine Cromly
4 – Bradlie Hicks
3 – Maya Lawrie
2 – Dorka Szabo
1 – Cierra Chavez

Third Varsity 8
Coxswain – Madelyn Pleune
8 – Alana Cureton
7 – Graycen West
6 – Kate Eisenbeis
5 – Stella Scott
4 – Stella Mancini
3 – Addison Sorrell
2 – Bria Ragauckas
1 – Rhiannon Hockey

Varsity 4
4 – Angels Ventura Rodriguez
3 – Ellie Fazio
2 – Addie Clark
1 – Keira Krebs
Coxswain – Zoe Desserich

Second Varsity 4
4 – Olivia Koproski
3 – Claudia Smith
2 – Claire Allie
1 – Wilkey Smith
Coxswain – Victoria Grayson