Varsity Men

Port/Starboard/Scull

Oswego East High School

High School: Fourth Dan Blackbelt in Taekwondo.

Sophomore Year: Raced the M2x at ACRA.

Junior Year (2023-2024): Served as the Men’s Team Treasurer. Raced in the M2V8+ at Music City and Bald Eagle.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Rowing the mixed men's 8 in ICRI, spring break, brass pro shop pyramid, Acra

Sophomore Year: Spring break, Nashville and the smokies with the boys

Personal: Member of Illini Formula Electric. Enjoys photography and reading.

Coxswain

Carroll Senior High School

High School: Ran four years of Cross Country/Track

Novice Year (2023-2024): Coxed the MN8+ at Music City, taking bronze.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Winning the men’s team mustache challenge during spring break and breaking an apple open with his bare hands at Ikefast

Personal: Big Strava guy. Loves running, windmills, climbing trees, and celebrating Thanksgiving. Serves drinks at Illini football and basketball games. Works as an exam proctor for the physics department. Also a member of the Catholic Illini, Best Buddies, and Engineering Outreach Society. He says: “I can read and write in morse code and I play the violin”.

Port/Starboard/Scull

The Hill School

High School: Cross country runner, JV swimmer, coxswain.

Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the MN8+ at Music City, taking bronze. Raced in the MN8+ at Bald Eagle.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Spring Break (especially the car rides) and lunch dates with Josh and Genna featuring Ella sometimes. Giving Tommy his daily hug.

Personal: Practices with a yo-yo, likes playing Pokemon on his 3DS. He says: “I can speak 5 languages!”

Port

Oak Park and River Forest High School

Novice Year (2022-2023): Raced in the MN8+ at ICRI and Redhawk Sprints (1st). Raced in the MN8+ at MACRA and ACRA.

Junior Year (2023-2024): Raced in the MV8+ at Music City and Bald Eagle. Also raced the MV4+ at Bald Eagle. Raced in the MV8+ at Lubber Cup, ICRI, MACRA, and ACRA.

Senior Year (2024-2025): Raced in the MV4+ at Head of the Charles. Raced in the MV4+ at the John Ferriss regatta (2nd).

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Team breakfasts (Ikefast)

Junior Year:

Personal: Eagle Scout. Member of the Illini Esports Overwatch Team.

Port

Lincoln-Way East High School

High School: Varsity Tennis and Hockey

Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the MN8+ at Music City, taking bronze. Raced in the MN8+ at Bald Eagle. Raced the MN4+ at ICRI, taking silver. Also raced the MN4+ at Lubbers Cup, MACRA, and ACRA.

Sophomore Year (2024-2025):

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Spring break training, and ACRA with the MN4+.

Personal: Likes going on hikes, swims, running, and doing powerlifting. Enjoys working out, and finding new music to listen to.

Starboard

Loyola Academy

High School: Played 4 years of Men’s Water Polo and Swim/Dive.

Novice Year (2022-2023): Raced the MN8+ at Redhawk Sprints (1st) and ICRI. Raced in the MV8+ Class of ‘22 at ACRA.

Junior Year (2023-2024): Raced in the MV8+ at Music City and Bald Eagle, and the M2- at Music City, along with the MV4+ at Bald Eagle.

Senior Year (2024-2025): Raced in the MV4+ at Head of the Charles, John Ferriss regatta (2nd).

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Team dinners on Spring Break.

Junior Year:

Personal: Member of Illini Water Polo. Enjoys running, swimming and taking naps.

Port

Downers Grove North High School

Novice Year (2022-2023): Placed 1st in the MN8+ at Redhawk Sprints. Raced in the MN8+ at MACRA and ACRA.

Sophomore Year (2023-2024): Raced in the MV8+ and M2- at Music City and the M2V8+ and MV4+ at Bald Eagle.

Junior Year (2024-2025): Raced in the MV4+ at the John Ferriss regatta (2nd).

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Broke an erg and got to sit out the last 3 minutes of a workout.

Sophomore Year: “Making s’mores with the team immediately after I got surgery on my hand (which I thankfully don’t have memory of)”

Junior Year:

Personal: Enjoys lifting and getting 8 hours of sleep.

Port/Starboard/Scull

Paul D. Schreiber High School

High School: Luke “the Hound” Ficalora rowed all through junior high and high school, including coxing at an earlier age.

Novice Year (2023-2024): Served as Novice Captain. Raced in the M2V8+ at Music City.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Spring break cook-out consumption

Personal: Certified EMT and member of the Liquid Rocketry team at Illinois. Also a member of Painting Club. Enjoys cooking. He is also known for his stylish fish themed footwear.

Port/Starboard/Scull

York High School

High School: Wrestled for 4 years, qualified for sectionals. Competed in Track & Field for 1 year: shotput, discus, and sprints.

Novice Year (2021-2022): Raced in the M4x at ACRA.

Sophomore Year (2022-2023): Raced in the MV8+ Class of ‘22 at ACRA. Raced in the MV8+ throughout the season.

Junior Year (2023-2024): Served as Men’s Team President. Raced in the MV8+ and M2- at Music City, taking gold in the M2-. Raced in the M2- and MV8+ at Bald Eagle. Raced in the men’s collegiate coxed 4 Todd Tisdale at Head of the Charles.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: “Earning a silver medal in the M4x at ACRA and visiting the bass pro shop pyramid after the spring break trip.”

Sophomore Year: “Racing through hail, high winds, and choppy water at MACRA in the MV8+ and visiting Nashville after the spring break trip.”

Junior Year: “Racing at Head of The Charles in the Men's Collegiate Four and earning an automatic bid.”

Personal: Enjoys long boarding and reading. Teaches ENG 100 orientation class for first-year students as an Engineering Learning Assistant. Minor in Computer Science.

Starboard

Naperville North High School

High School: Played on the Men’s Volleyball Team.

Novice Year: Raced in the MN8+ at ICRI, Head of the Rock, and Bald Eagle. Raced the Mix8+ at Redhawk Sprints. Raced in the MN8+ at MACRA and ACRA.

Sophomore Year (2023-2024): Raced in the M2V8+ at Music City and Bald Eagle. Studied abroad in Singapore during the Spring Semester.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Spring break training trip to Georgia.

Personal: Member of AMA, Wishmakers, and Zero2One

Port/Starboard/Scull

Lakeview Academy

High School: 7 years of rowing

Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the M2V8+ at Music City.

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: “All the fun team bonding over spring break! My favorite part was the men’s team mustache competition.”

Personal: Massive Taylor Swift fan and Hello Kitty enthusiast. He says: “I love building LEGOS and playing video games (especially Fortnite).”

Starboard

Bartlett High School

High School: Played 4 years of baseball, 4 years of marching band.

Novice Year (2021-22): 1st place in the U23 500m at Crash-B’s. Raced in the MN8+ at Head of the Rock.

Sophomore Year (2022-2023): Raced in the MV8+ at Head of the Rock, Bald Eagle, and Redhawk (1st). Served as Men’s Team Captain. Raced in the MV8+ Class of ‘22 at ACRA.

Junior Year (2023-2024): Served as Men’s Team Captain. Raced in the MV8+ and M2- at Music City. Raced in the men’s collegiate coxed 4 Todd Tisdale at Head of the Charles. Raced in the M2- and MV8+ at Bald Eagle.

Senior Year (2024-2025): Raced in the MV4+ at Head of the Charles. Also raced in the MV4+ at the John Ferriss regatta (2nd).

Favorite Memories:

Novice Year: Racing in bucket hats at Head of the Rock and going to the bass pro shop pyramid on the way home from spring break.

Sophomore Year: Having a cat in his hotel room at spring break.

Junior Year:

Personal: Vice president of the Illini Cubers club. Plays trombone.