SMU Rowing

Throwing it back to May 3rd to celebrate Abi Smith receiving the Perseverance Award! 🏅

Abi embodies everything this award stands for, showing up every single day regardless of the challenges she faced, pushing through with resilience and determination, and always being the teammate everyone could count on. We are so proud of you, Abi. You came back stronger and inspired everyone around you. 💪

BTS of the ACC championship❤️💙

ACC Championships complete‼️

8th place finish for the Mustangs. Proud of the fight, resilience, and growth the team has shown all season long. Thank you to everyone who has supported us every step of the way.

Day 1 prelims done ✅

See you tomorrow for the finals 👀

It’s Day 1 of racing at the ACCs🔥

Follow along for today’s heats:
3V8: 8:15AM
V8: 8:30AM
2V8: 8:55AM
V4: 9:20AM
2V4: 9:45AM

Championship ready‼️

🔴 ACC Championship
📍Raleigh, NC
📆 May 15-16

Follow along for racing tomorrow:
3V8: 8:15AM
V8: 8:30AM
2V8: 8:55AM
V4: 9:20AM
2V4: 9:45AM

The mustangs have arrived!

2026 Senior Spotlight🎓

To close out our Senior Spotlight series, we would like to celebrate senior Natalie Dias.

“My time with SMU Rowing has been one of the most meaningful parts of my college experience. Transitioning from tennis to rowing was completely new, but it pushed me to grow in ways I never expected.

Through early mornings and tough practices, I found some of my closest friends and learned so much about discipline, resilience, and teamwork. I’m incredibly grateful for the memories and relationships I’m leaving with, SMU Rowing will always mean so much to me 🤍”

During her time at SMU, Natalie majored in Finance with a minor in Sports Management. She will continue her education by pursuing a Masters of Science in Finance at Notre Dame.

Best of luck!

2026 Senior Spotlight🎓

Next we would like to highlight graduate student Tara Phelan!

“I am immensely thankful for the experience this team has given me. It means the world to me that the coaches trusted me to be a part of SMU Rowing, and that I got to go down the race course with some of my greatest friends this year. The women of SMU Rowing are a force to be reckoned with, and I’m so excited to see them succeed in many seasons to come!”

Tara has completed her Masters of Science in Sport Management and will be travelling to Australia to complete an internship in sport management on the Gold Coast.

Best of luck!

2026 Senior Spotlight🎓

Up next is Francesca (Frankee) LaMarca!

“SMU Rowing has given me a family that I never knew I needed. I walked on to this team freshman year with no idea what to expect. I have grown so much emotionally, mentally, and as a teammate as the years have gone by. If you told me as a freshman that I would be able to keep up with my course load, early morning practices, double days, and team standards for a whole 4 years I would have said you’re insane.
But I wouldn’t have changed a thing. My confidence in myself and skills as a coxswain have grown exponentially through valuable time spent in fours my first 3 years and learning while actively in the deep end. I am so grateful to have been surrounded by such a loving, hardworking, strong, and supportive group of girls. I am so excited to see what this 8 can do at conference and feel blessed to be given the opportunity to race my last 2k with this boat!  SMU LOVE 🫶🏻”

Frankee has earned a Bachelors of Art in Computer Science, a Bachelors of Science in Data Science and a minor in Mathematics. Upon graduation, she will be spending time with family and friends, traveling, and determining what her next steps look like career wise in data analytics or software engineering!

Best of luck!