Varsity Women
Abigail Daniele — Women's Team Secretary (2025-2026)
Port/Starboard/Scull
Rockford, IL
5’ 7”
Sophomore - Biology
Novice Year (2023-2024): Served as one of two women’s team Novice Captains. Raced in the WN8+ at Music City, taking gold. Raced in the WN8+ at Bald Eagle, taking bronze.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Earning first place in Music City and improving my rowing abilities with my fellow novice women.
Personal: Likes baking, playing the Wii, hanging out with friends
Abigail Obradovic
Starboard
Naperville, IL
5’ 9”
Junior - Computer Science
Lockport Township High School
High School: Played Lacrosse and Soccer.
Novice Year (2022-2023): Placed 2nd in the WN4+ at ICRI. Raced the WN4+ at Redhawk Sprints, MACRA, and ACRA, placing 4th overall at ACRA.
Sophomore Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WV8+ and W2- at Music City, taking bronze in the WV8+. Raced in the WV8+ at Bald Eagle.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Breakfast after practice at the Ike dining hall with all of the novice women.
Sophomore Year: Music City - “Coen and I raced in the pair, bringing with us an enormous spider that survived the collision with Illinois pair B!”
Personal: Minor in Creative Writing. President of Women in Cybersecurity. Loves reading, baking, and watching movies.
Ananya Mani — Women's Team Captain (2025-2026)
Port/Starboard/Scull
New Delhi, India
5’ 6’’
Sophomore - Food Science
Delhi Public Schools Sushant Lok
High School: Was a member of the dance team and played cricket.
Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WN8+ at Music City, taking gold. Raced in the WN8+ and WN4+ at Bald Eagle, taking bronze. Raced in the WN8+ at ICRI and Lubbers Cup, winning gold both times. Raced in the WN8+ at ACRA nationals, taking bronze
Sophomore Year (2024-2025): Raced in the quad at Head of the Rock, the double at Music City (3rd), and the four at Bald Eagle.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Rowing into the medal dock at ACRA and flipping the XXS during spring break.
Sophomore Year: Hanging out with the team during spring break and racing the double with Ella at music city
Personal: Dancer on UIUC Fizaa, Research Assistant at Sensory Lab on Campus, Member of Association of Food Technologists and Indian Student Association. Enjoys a good murder mystery, hiking, singing, and napping. Extreme enthusiast of pink and glitter with a passion for sitcoms and bollywood music.
Ella Ghiorgas — Women's Team Treasurer (2025-2026)
Port/Starboard/Scull
Dunlap, IL
5’ 7’’
Sophomore - Finance × Data Science
Dunlap High School
High School: Tennis, Badminton, Dance (ballet, contemporary)
Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WN8+ at Music City, taking gold. Raced in the WN8+ at Bald Eagle.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Racing in Nashville, flipping the XXS during spring break.
Personal: Member of Women in Finance, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and Illinois Design Consulting. Enjoys art, fashion, running, and learning new languages. Passionate about traveling; aspires to visit every continent.
Kassandra Estrella — Team Fundraising Chair (2024-2025)
Port/Starboard/Scull
Rock Falls, IL
5’ 2”
Senior - Environmental Engineering
Rock Falls High School
High School: Ran Cross Country/Track for 7 years. Specialized in the 1600 and 3200 in Track and Field.
Novice Year (2022-2023): Raced in the Women’s Novice 8+ in the Fall. Raced in the Mix8+ at Redhawk Sprints and in the W2x at ACRA.
Sophomore Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WV4+ at Music City. Raced the Head of the Charles in the Women’s Collegiate Coxed Four.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Jumping into Lake Lanier with the team on Spring Break.
Personal: Volunteers for habitat for humanity and fundraises for Engineers in Action Bridge Program.
Katherine Altergott — Team Fundraising Chair (2025-2026)
Starboard/Scull
South Elgin, IL
6’ 1”
Sophomore - Civil Engineering
Elgin High School
High School: 3 years rowing with Crystal Lake Rowing Club, 9 years karate, 4 years weightlifting.
Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WV8+ at Music City, taking bronze. Raced the WN8+ at Bald Eagle, taking bronze. Raced in the WN8+ at ICRI and Lubbers Cup, taking gold both times. Raced the WN8+ at ACRA nationals, taking bronze.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: The moment she and the rest of the WN8+ realized they medaled at ACRA.
Personal: Member of Illini Strings (cello) Women in Civil & Environmental Engineering (WCEE). Works as an Engineering Learning Assistant for SE101. Loves traveling, her favorite destination having been Iceland. Enjoys most outdoors activities, especially hiking. Plant mom, sole boat carrier, duck enthusiast.
Lydia Schieleit
Port/Scull
Chicago, IL
5’ 9’’
Sophomore - Statistics
Northside College Prep High School
High School: Swam for 4 years, swim team captain jr/sr year. Rowed for 2 years with CRF.
Novice Year (2023-2024): Served as one of two women’s team Novice Captains. Raced in the WV8+ at Music City, taking bronze. Raced in the WN8+ at Bald Eagle, again taking bronze. Also raced in the WN8+ at ICRI and Lubbers Cup, taking gold both times. Raced the WN8+ at ACRA nationals, taking bronze.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Spending time with the novice women over spring break
Personal: Minoring in Public Health. Part of Student Consulting for Non-profit organizations, Actuarial Science Club, and Flashpoint Photography; also does research. She enjoys reading, baking, and visiting National Parks. Interested in infectious disease research.
Marie Keating
Port/Starboard/Scull
Chicago, IL
5’ 3”
Grad Student - Library and Information Science
Taft High School
High School: Cross Country/Track and Field
Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WN8+ at Music City, taking gold. Raced in the WN8+ at Bald Eagle, taking bronze. Raced in the WN8+ at ICRI and Lubbers Cup, winning gold both times. Raced in the WN8+ at ACRA nationals, taking bronze.
Second Year (2024-2025): Head of the Rock: VW8+, Music City Head Race: VW4+, Bald Eagle Invitational: VW2- B, John Ferriss Lanier Springs: VW8+ (2nd)
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Placing third at ACRA and rowing into the awards dock.
Second Year: Spring break! Seeing everyone’s personalities come out and the group becoming more than just a team.
Personal: Majored in Integrated Biology at Illinois during undergrad. Works as a graduate assistant for the employer relations department at the iSchool. Loves crossword puzzles, trivia, reading, swimming, and music!
Mia Maier — Women's Team Vice President (2025-2026)
Port/Scull
Lake in the Hills, IL
5’ 11”
Sophomore - Biology
Resurrection College Prep
High School: Played Varsity Basketball, Volleyball, and Track and Field; Hurdles and High Jump.
Novice Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WN8+ at Music City, taking gold. Raced the WN8+ at Bald Eagle, taking bronze. Raced in the WN8+ at Lubbers Cup and ICRI, taking gold in both races. Raced the WN8+ at ACRA nationals, taking bronze.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Getting bronze in the WN8+ at ACRA.
Personal: Very outdoorsy. Loves to read, listen to music, learn languages, and likes watching scary movies. Member of October Lovers club. Just Dance master.
Sylvia Gimbel — Women's Team President (2025-2026)
Port
Oak Park, IL
5’ 5”
Junior - Mathematics and Biology
Oak Park and River Forest High School
Novice Year (2022-2023): Raced the WN4+ at ICRI (2nd) and Redhawk Sprints (Grand Final). Raced the WN8+ at Head of the Rock and Bald Eagle. Raced in the WN4+ XXS at ACRA, placing 4th overall at ACRA.
Sophomore Year (2023-2024): Raced in the WV4+ at Music City. Raced the Head of the Charles in the Women’s Collegiate Coxed Four. Raced in the WV8+ at Bald Eagle. Stroked the WV8+ at Lubbers Cup, ICRI, and ACRA.
Favorite Memories:
Novice Year: Team breakfasts with the novice women!
Sophomore Year: Getting lost in the fog on Clinton Lake.
Personal: Interested in mathematical biology and is involved in undergraduate research with a focus on theoretical ecology. Enjoys spending time outside and strives to watch every show on Netflix.