Vanderbilt Rowing

Let’s get after it this spring…mark your calendars‼️ #vucommodores #vanderbilt

Ready to give it our all. One last push at the ACRA National Championships in Oak Ridge, TN. Racing May 15th-17th ⚓️🌟 Find the livestream on YouTube and live results on HereNow.

Last but not least, a shoutout for senior Ella Dzialowski!   Originally from Texas, Ella (or Dallas if you’re Emmanuel) is a Civil Engineering major with minors in Biology and Chemistry. She’s graduating with a humble Cornelius Vanderbilt scholarship, magna cum laude with a program-distinct award, a Tau Beta Pi membership, and as if that wasn’t enough, she’s also our outgoing President. Ella finds countless extra hours in the day while also being a dear friend and great rower. While Ella may have a bit of loveable sass to her, just know she’s literally always correct. Fueled off of Rand cookies and chocolate chip pancakes, Ella played a critical role in winning the 1V8+ national championship last year and will be competing in that boat again very very (very) soon. While we’ll need to find a new person to remind Gabby to drop out during drills, we know Ella will keep serving up colorful Lulu fits everywhere she goes.   On the water, Ella’s favorite team memory is winning SIRA in the 1V8+ her freshman year- the beginning of major positive momentum for the team. Additionally, Ella loved walking through many boats before making it to the medal podium at Head of the Charles in 2024. Off the water, Ella will dearly miss Tuk Tuk Thai (sponsor us) and singing Hamilton in the rental vans, Dairy Queen blizzard in hand.   This coming year, Ella will be working as a medical assistant at an orthopedic clinic before she ultimately applies to medical school… you should see those MCAT scores. We hope that she’ll visit us in Nashville lots, but she’s undeniably going to accomplish so much outside the program. We’ll miss you Ella!   Highlights: 3x ACRA First Team All-Academic 2025-2026- Women’s 1V8+: 3rd at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints, 2nd at Music City Head Race, 1st at Head of the Hooch, 8th at Head of the Charles 2024-2025- Women’s 1V8+: 1st at ACRA, 1st at MACRA, 3rd at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints, 4th at Head of the Charles, 1st at Head of the Hooch, 1st at Music City Head Race 2023-2024- Women’s V4+:  3rd at SIRA, 2nd at Head of the Hooch Women’s V2-: 6th at ACRA 2022-2023- Women’s 1V8+: 2nd at ACRA, 1st at MACRA, 1st at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints

As we near the end of senior shoutouts, Tillman Philo is next!   Yielding from South Glen Falls, NY (basically Canada), Tillman has been a mainstay of the men’s crew all four years of his time at Vanderbilt. He’s diligently served as our Vice President, crafting endless driving schedules, divvying up RARs, and somehow managing a three-year lab work tenure as a Math and Physics major. Whether he’s mogging the launch photographer with his flashy rubber duck uni or living his best granola life while rock climbing, Tillman is universally recognized at team Dad. While we are devastated to lose yet another ginger, we know Tillman will uncover nothing but the best. We wish him fewer driving spreadsheets, more hikes and mountains, and hope he keeps the dad jokes alive wherever he goes.   One of Tillman’s favorite memories is from the Varsity 8+ from his sophomore year. In the last 300 meters, the men walked half a boat length on UNC to champion them in the final. Additionally, Tillman rowed the pair with alumni Alex Kirchgaessner at Head of the Hooch last year. During the race, they crushed the likes of ex-Harvard rowers and former Olympians, fueling their underdog ambitions. Finally, this year he is proud to have rowed at SIRA in the V4+ which won the first men’s varsity sweep medal in 20+ years.   After graduation, he will be continuing lab work at Vanderbilt’s Multiscale Computational Mechanics Laboratory. Beginning in the fall, he will relocate to the east coast to pursue a PhD in Operations Research at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. We wish him luck as a Minuteman, but hope he’ll always keep the Commodores at heart.   Highlights:   2025-2026- Men’s V4+: 3rd at SIRA, 3rd at MACRA, 4th at Head of the Hooch, 10th at Music City Head Race 2024-2025- Men’s V4+: 2nd at MACRA, 4th at SIRA, 4th at Music City Head Race, 13th at Head of the Charles, 2nd at Head of the Hooch 2023-2024- Men’s V8+: 13th at ACRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints, 1st at Music City Head Race, 1st at Head of the Hooch 2022-2023- Men’s F8+: 2nd at Percy Priest Sprints, 5th at Music City Head Race Men’s V4+: 20th at ACRA, 10th at SIRA

Next senior shoutout goes to Norah Kolb!   Norah came to Vanderbilt Rowing with a decorated history in swimming and quickly dove into even more success. In her freshman year, she broke both the overall 500m and 2000m erg boards records. This wattmaxxing pushed the 1V8+ into two national championships and earned her into a seat at the U23 national team training camp. Not only did Norah push herself to the highest level on the water, but she always takes her teammates with her (Yeah Boat!). When Norah isn’t busy pushing the team standard, she’s whipping up delectable strawberry matchas, posting another weekly aesthetic spam dump, running her own kickboard company, or making the women’s team brunch feel Michelin-star worthy. Our skerg goddess and former PR chair will be greatly missed, but her killer backsplash will still be felt.   Norah’s favorite memory comes from freshman year when she experienced the first taste of underdog victory. In the SIRA final, the women’s 1V8+ struck gold, winning in a true representation of the program’s potential. She notes that this race changed was was possible in the coming years, and that from the bottom of her heart, “I would do anything for the women in that boat.”   Next year, Norah will sport a new uniform as she carries on at Duke University- competing for their DI program while attending business school. She’ll further her Biomedical Engineering degree and experience with Ray-Board into a new academic setting, but we hope she’ll keep us in hearts on the water. Good luck Norah!   Highlights:   2x ACRA First Team All-American, Freshman All-American 2025-2026- Women’s 1V8+: 3rd at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints 2024-2025-Women’s 1V8+: 1st at ACRA, 3rd at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints, 1st at Music City Head Race, 4th at Head of the Charles, 1st at Head of the Hooch 2023-2024- Women’s 1V8+: 1st at ACRA, 5th at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints, 1st at Music City Head Race, 1st at Head of the Hooch Women’s V4+: 1st at Head of the Charles, 1st at Music City Head Race, 1st at Head of the Hooch 2022-2023- Women’s 1V8+: 2nd at ACRA, 1st at MACRA, 1st at SIRA, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints

Our next senior shoutout is for Jackson Kline! After transferring to Vanderbilt as a sophomore, Jackson has made his mark as one of the friendliest and fastest rowers in the program. Jackson decided to join the team after spectating a national team training camp at Dartmouth, and we could not be happier that he did. In his first year, Jackson earned the fastest frosh men’s 6k score ever while medaling at ACRA in the F4+. Today, he continues as a mainstay of the V4+ and holds the team’s fourth fastest 2k score ever. Besides his rowing accomplishments, Jackson is known for his adoration of Boston (you should see him during HOCR), notable talent in mechanical-bull riding, and his affinity for Crumbl cookies. Graduating with a double-major in Economics and Medicine, Health & Society, we will miss both his devotion and his watts. Jackson’s favorite memory is winning gold at SIRA 2024 in the F4+, collecting shirts from his competitors, and truly falling in love with spring racing for the first time. He’ll also never forget team Dairy Queen trips, the Natchitoches chicken shop, and having dinner with his former teammate, now mentor and coach, Vamsi. He’s grateful to have so many memories to take with him as he returns to the east coast. For the next two years, Jackson will be working under Teach For America in Rhode Island, focusing on high school mathematics. During his free time, we are hoping he will pay the team a visit and maybe make one last Dairy Queen run. We wish him all the best! Highlights: 2025-2026- Men’s V4+: 3rd at SIRA, 3rd at MACRA, 1st at Music City Head Race, 10th at Head of the Charles 2024-2025- ACRA South All-Region Team Men’s V4+: 2nd at MACRA, 4th at SIRA, 4th at Music City Head Race, 13th at Head of the Charles, 2nd at Head of the Hooch 2023-2024- Men’s F4+: 1st at SIRA, 2nd at ACRA Men’s F8+: 1st at Music City Head Race

Our next senior shoutout is Naia Charland! Naia is undeniably one of the most seasoned Vanderbilt veterans, bringing years of experience across programs, lineups, and boats. These past two years, she’s been a steady force in the 2V8+, holding it down as the ultimate bow baddie with the confidence and precision that only comes from her roots at Row New York. Beyond the boat, Naia has made her mark as secretary on the board and earning academic honors as a Law, History, and Society major. Her personality is the perfect mix of ferocious and bubbly- she’ll push you to be better and hype you up in the same breath. As the proud parent of two frosh buddies, Mahi and Chelsea, she’s been both a mentor and a friend, always looking out for the team. If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes around her and Megan, you’ll know she’s a die-hard sports fan, be it Vanderbilt football, baseball or the New York Knicks. Naia’s favorite Vanderbilt Rowing memory is medaling at Head of the Charles as a freshman. This race marked the first HOCR medal in women’s program history, continuing the success of the men’s team the year prior. Naia remembers this as a jumpstart to unprecedented gains over the last few years and has learned to value rowing as a true team sport. She is honored to experience this one of many “firsts” with the team. Following graduation, Naia is planning to fundraise for Row New York, train to run the 2026 NYC Marathon, study for the LSAT and begin applying to law schools, all while potentially coaching high school rowing. There’s no doubt she’s going to be busy, but we’ll miss her all the same! Highlights: 2025-2026- Women’s V8+: 2nd at Music City Head Race, 1st at Head of the Hooch, 8th at Head of the Charles 2024-2025- Women’s V8+: 4th at Head of the Charles, 2nd at Music City Head Race, 1st at Head of the Hooch, 1st at Percy Priest Sprints Women’s 2V8+: 5th at SIRA, 1st at MACRA, 3rd at ACRA 2023-2024- Women’s 1V8+: 1st at ACRA,, 1st at Head of the Hooch, 1st at Music City Head Race 2022-2023- Women’s V4+: 3rd at Percy Priest Sprints, 6th at SIRA, 2nd at MACRA, 2nd at Head of the Charles, 1st at Music City Head Race, 2nd at Head of the Hooch

Another great weekend of racing in the books📚✅ Congrats to all our rowers bringing home hardware from Indianapolis🏆 Results: Women’s 2V8+: 1st🥇 Men’s F4+: 1st🥇 Men’s Single: 2nd🥈 Men’s V4+: 3rd🥉 Men’s Pair: 3rd🥉 #vanderbilt #vucommodores #vu #rowing

We’re back… and faster than ever. Happy race day🌟 MACRA Championships 📍Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, IN 🗓️April 26th #vanderbilt #vucommodores #vu #rowing

Next in line for our senior shoutouts is William Weidner!   Our second New Jersey senior of the year, Will arrived on the scene with impressive prior rowing experience and a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact personality that somehow makes him twice as funny. Will is a Math and Economics major- we’ve all overheard him speaking in equations with Aaron. After dominating the fall biathlon, he went on to have one of the most memorable ACRA sprints ever in the MV2- last year. Whether he’s rocking his Hudson hat or one of his countless sun hoodies, Will is guaranteed to be both pulling massive watts and cracking jokes with the men along the way. The French-speakers on the team are sure to miss him, but he’ll forever be an honorary member of the team.   As mentioned, Will’s favorite memory is rowing the pair in the second heat of ACRA last year. He and Arda Mert (c/o 2025) had not yet raced an all-out 2k against other teams. Regardless, after starting out down off the blocks, they dogged their way to first place in the last 50 meters. Will also cherishes racing in the men’s eight at Head of the Hooch last year and spending time with his teammates at Head of the Charles.   After graduation, Will is headed back to the east coast to work in investment banking at BNP Paribas. We wish him all the best as he takes on the city that never sleeps.   Highlights:   2025-2026- Biathlon Winner Men’s V4+: 1st at Music City Head Race, 10th at Head of the Charles, 1st at Head of the Hooch Men’s V8+: 6th at Music City Head Race, 11th at Head of the Hooch   2024-2025- Biathlon Winner Men’s V2-: 5th at ACRA Men’s V4+: 6th at Percy Priest Sprints Men’s F4+: 1st at Percy Priest Sprints, 3rd at MACRA, 5th at Music City Head Race, 7th at SIRA

Frames from lately #rowing #row

For the first time in over 20 years, the Men’s Varsity 4+ takes home SIRA hardware, placing 3rd after a competitive weekend of racing. Three more boats joined them on the podium. Results: 🥉 Men’s Varsity 4+ 🥉 Women’s Varsity 8+ Open 🥈 Women’s Second Varsity 8+ 🥈 Men’s Novice 4+ Women’s Varsity 4+: 5th Grand Final Men’s Pair: 4th Grand Final Men’s Double: 6th B Final Women’s Double: 7th B Final Men’s Single: 2nd B Final #vanderbilt #rowing #vucommodores