Reflecting Back on Fall 2025
The time has once again come for our team to dust off the erg screens and sleep in until 5:59; winter training is officially upon us. As we enter into this new season, we take the time to fondly reflect back on our historically active fall semester. With twenty-four novices, four regattas, and one extra special surprise, it’s safe to say that Illini Rowing stayed booked and busy. From quad day to medal tallies, it’s time for the fall recap!
Determined to spread the word about our team, rowers hand out recruitment flyers at Quad Day.
Arriving back to campus in August, our varsity team came ready to impart their rowing knowledge with the incoming novice class! From flyering to Illini Frenzy and Quad Day to tryout week, our recruitment period proved to be very successful in acquiring twenty-four top quality novices. Equipped with varying levels of rowing experience, the 2025 fall novices all exhibit exceptional amounts of determination, patience, and drive that will serve them well in rowing, as it does in life. We would like to extend a thank you to our varsity members, our assistant coaches, Tommy Moreno and Maura Maguire, and our head coach, Peter Filice, for their aid in developing the blossoming skills of our new rowers.
Smiles and hardware sparkling alike, our varsity members proudly display their medals from Tough Cup XI.
Before we knew it, August had come and gone, and it was time for our first regatta! Traveling up to Chicago, Illinois on September 27th, our varsity team made a debut splash at Tough Cup XI. Combining summer training with the eagerness to get back on the water together, all five crews produced performances to remember. Although we believe that success is measured by ability rather than placing, our crews amazingly excelled in both. Results are as follows:
Women’s Collegiate: 2x 1st
Men’s Collegiate 4x: 1st
Men’s Collegiate 4+: 2nd
Women’s Collegiate 4+: 1st and 4th
Sending the Deighan down the Rock River, the Novice Men’s 8+ earns a third place finish at Head of the Rock.
As the fall progressed, October presented our team with more opportunities for competitive fun. Returning to Rockford, Illinois for the second year in a row, our rowers competed in Head of the Rock as our first all-team race of the season. Full of nerves and excitement for their first ever regatta, our novices put their month of learning to the test. With seven medaling crews in the categories of Women’s Collegiate 2-, Women’s Collegiate 4+, Men’s Collegiate Novice 8+, Women’s Collegiate Novice 8+, Women’s Open 2x, Men’s Collegiate 4x, and Women’s Collegiate Novice 4+, it stands to reason that our racing season was off to a good start.
With the season leading up to this moment, the Charles 4+ launches their shell through one of the seven bridges.
In the week following Head of the Rock, some of our Varsity Women hopped a flight and traveled East. Arriving in Boston, Massachusetts on October 16th, four athletes, Sylvia Gimbel, Katherine Altergott, Maddie Rankin, and Abigail Obradovic, along with their coxswain, Abigail Daniele, geared up for a weekend at Head of the Charles. When the time came on Sunday afternoon, the four were able to truly embody what it means to be incredible in rowing. With their catches together, their drives on point, and their bow cutting through the Charles River, the crew demonstrated their best skills thus far. Although unforeseen circumstances showed results not indicative of their ability, we are extremely proud of their work nonetheless.
Capturing a photo after moving boxes, rowers pose alongside Rent-a-Rower supporter, Ms. Judy.
In between regattas, our crews finished out October with our third volunteer Community Day. By performing tasks such as yard work, heavy lifting, and moving, our team was able to serve five different locations in the greater Farmer City Area. Thank you to all of those who participated in this event and presented us with the opportunity to give back. We are incredibly grateful to reciprocate part of the generosity and support that we receive from our community.
Shared in late October, a computer model depicts a first look of the plans for the new boathouse.
Just following Community Day, our team received some exciting news that will forever alter the future of rowing in Illinois. We are incredibly ecstatic to announce the construction of our new boathouse! Aiming for an April opening, this boathouse is a major opportunity to spread the sport of rowing further through the University of Illinois as well as throughout the community. At the time of this newsletter, we have fundraised a total of $104, 280, just $40,720 shy of our current fundraising goal. If you are interested in supporting the next generation of rowers who find their sense of purpose, teamwork, and resilience on the water, visit the link and hear more about our plans.
Giving it their all during the last 250 meters, the Novice Women’s 4+ finishes in 5th place.
Through unforeseen equipment mishaps, confounding buoy placement, and astonishing wind gusts, our team thoroughly persevered and found Bald Eagle Invitational to be a great motivator for entering the gauntlet of winter training. Although on paper this regatta did not yield the same results as those earlier in the season, our team overall improved an incredible amount. Most notably, the Novice Women’s 8+, placing 40 seconds behind Grand Valley at Head of the Rock, shortened the gap to only a three second difference, securing our team a bronze medal in the process. Furthermore, the Varsity Men’s 4+ and Varsity Women’s 8+ also finished one minute and nine seconds and two minutes and six seconds faster than their time at Head of the Rock, respectively. Overall, this November regatta proved to be a satisfying conclusion to our 2025 racing season and has us looking forward to our return to the water.
Putting in the work at the ARC, rowers prepare for this year’s Ergathon.
Just following fall break, we’re returning to campus by hitting the ground running, well erging. Rowing on the quad for 24 hours straight, this Giving Tuesday will mark the start of our annual Ergathon fundraiser. Stay tuned to @illinirowing on all platforms this December 2-3 for updates on our team’s 7 marathons, 4 half marathons, and overall goal of 820,000 meters! Don’t forget to show your support by donating to our Rally Up through the link!
Happy Thanksgiving from Illini Rowing! We are so grateful for our wonderful team, coaching staff, Clinton Lake site, and supporters, like you. We’ll see you again in December!