Norwalk Club Rowers Headed to Top Colleges

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. – For the second straight year, the list of college choices for the seniors from the Connecticut Boat Club reads like a high school guidance counselor's dream team.

Rowers from the Norwalk-based club have firmed up their choices in the past few months, and are headed to schools in the Ivy League and Atlantic Coast Conference and to other rowing heavyweights. 

“It shows the strength of the program,’’ said captain Abby Stevenson, a senior from New Canaan who will attend Dartmouth. “They all have standards that they’re looking for. Coming from this club they know you’re going to be able to meet those standards.”

Stevenson will be joined at Dartmouth by Lexie Lynn, who graduated last year but took a year off. Co-captain India Knight, who attends Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, will become Stevenson’s Ivy League rival when she goes to Columbia.

Ali Hornung will go to Virginia, Wilton’s Tori Babchak is headed to Northeastern and Darien’s Emily Olsen will head to Wisconsin. Deirdre Fitzpatrick, who also attends Sacred Heart Academy in Greenwich, will go to the University of Southern California.

Shelby Penfield, Sarah Schwartz and Lizzie Steinborn are still deciding.

“When I was a freshman we were part of a different club, we weren’t even CBC yet,’’ Knight said. “I had no idea where I was going to go. We pretty much surprised ourselves with our choices.”

“We all wanted to go through the process,’’ added Hornung, who is from Weston. “We wanted to take our time and consider all the different choices.”

In its brief history, the team coached by Liz Trond has provided college lineups with a wide range of talent. Last year’s senior class was one of the best in the nation, and proved it with a strong showing at last June’s U.S. Junior Nationals. This year’s seniors had a tough act to follow.

“I don’t think we felt pressure to get into a top school,’’ Stevenson said. “We just wanted to work hard and do as well as we possibly could. Getting into a good school is like putting the cherry on top.”

For more information on the club, visit its website at ctboatclub.org.

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