Chiara Ponko

Class:
Freshman
High School:
St. Mary Academy - Bay View
Hometown:
Cranston, R.I.

High School/Club Team: St. Mary Academy - Bay View
Major: Psychology

2015-16: Named to ACC Academic Honor Roll… Closed junior season as coxswain for second varsity four boat, which earned a third-place finish at the ACC Championship… Was also the coxswain in the 2V4+ boat for a win at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge as well as races at Michigan and at Clemson Invitational… Was coxswain for varsity four boat at Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational and one race at Clemson Invite.

2014-15: Capped sophomore season as coxswain in second varsity four boat for a runner-up finish at the ACC Championship… Was also coxswain in 2V4+ at Michigan, 4V8+ at Clemson Invitational and V4+ and 2V4+ at Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational.

2013-14: Was the coxswain in the Cardinals' varsity four boat, which finished fourth in the C final at the 2014 NCAA Championship as Louisville was 17th overall in its first appearance... Also coxed in the Cardinals' title-winning varsity four boat as the team won the American Conference Championship... Was the coxswain for the varsity four crew at the Clemson Invite and was in the second varsity four boat for wins over Clemson and Stanford at the Pac-12 Challenge.

Prior to UofL: Was a coxswain for both the masters and junior teams at Narragansett Boat Club... Also coxed for high school rowing team for four years... Attended both the Sparks and Harvard Coxswain camps... Was a member of the National Honor Society, Rhode Island Honor Society and the National English Honor Society.

Personal: Born Feb. 16, 1995... Daughter of Matthew and Caroline Ponko... Has one sister, Caitlin, who is also on the UofL rowing team... Majoring in psychology... Post-college goal is to attend graduate school and pursue a master’s degree in speech and language pathology… Chose Louisville because of the amazing teammates… Says favorite thing about Louisville is the unique character and charm from the city.