Sanderson Announces @CanesRowing Fall Signees
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Head rowing coach Dave Sanderson is pleased to announce the University of Miami’s 2014 fall signing class.
The Canes signed three rowers and three coxswains who are the first members of the 2019 graduating class. The Hurricanes’ head coach looks forward to seeing them develop as student-athletes over their time in Coral Gables and contribute to the program’s competitive goals within the ACC.
“I am excited to name our first wave of recruits for the incoming class of 2019,” head coach Dave Sanderson said. These athletes each have great character, a strong sense of discipline, great focus and a tremendous work ethic. Each student-athlete will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team.”
Avery Borovetz, 5-foot-8, Rower (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany HS)
Borovetz rowed for the Westerville Rowing Club, where she has helped the varsity team improve exponentially. Borovetz, who plans to major in business at Miami, has a clear goal for her Hurricane career. “My goal is to bring all I have to the team and have a positive impact on it,” Borovetz said. “I want to have a successful first season and freshman year at UM. I am really looking forward to it.”
“Avery is an exciting athlete because of her drive,” Sanderson said. “Avery decided that she wanted to row for The U, and she has followed through on that decision from the beginning. She took the same tack with her rowing: Avery came to rowing mid-way through her high school career, but she dove in head-first. As she decided she wanted to be great at rowing, she was able to take her work ethic and her self-awareness and make important gains. I am always excited for an athlete with self-awareness and first-hand experience at developing speed.”
Sylvie Brounstein, 6-foot, Rower (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich HS)
Brounstein comes from a family of athletes, as her father, Richard, was a karate champion and her mother, Laura, was a tennis player. A talented rower with Greenwich Crew, Brounstein admires Olympic rower Jamie Koven because he has been able to balance rowing at an elite level with a successful business career. She will look to have similar success at Miami as she plans to enter the Pre-Med track and helps the Hurricanes excel on the water. “My goal for my first year at UM is to excel athletically and academically,” Brounstein said. “I hope to help my team qualify for the NCAA Championships.”
“Sylvie Brounstein: leadership and charisma on land, cutthroat on the water,” Sanderson said. “Sylvie comes to us from a strong racing tradition with Greenwich Crew. She was elected team captain and will bring that global awareness to our team. Sylvie’s love for The U is also a family affair: her mother is an alumna of the University of Miami Law School. I expect big things from Sylvie Brounstein because I know she expects them of herself. Sylvie has uncompromising standards and principles for all aspects of her life; she will deliver.”
Katie Robinson, 6-foot-1, Rower (Langley Va./Langley HS)
Robinson rowed for Saxons in Virginia and she loved helping her boat to an exciting finish at the SRAA Nationals. A tireless worker, she developed her work ethic in part from her coach Mike Lehmann’s mantra: “If you can’t out row ‘em, out work ‘em!” Planning to major in business at Miami, Robinson hopes to make an immediate impact for the Hurricanes. “I would like to contribute to the team as much as possible and do well in school,” Robinson said.
“I met Katie Robinson for the first time during an unofficial visit she took at the end of her junior year,” Sanderson said. “She comes to rowing from a long swimming history and is the epitome of long and strong. As we grow our squad, Katie is an exemplar for the Miami Rower: great attitude, high-level effort and performance on water and on land. Her sharp intellect and sharp wit helped her fit in immediately with our team. She will be racing for Miami as soon as we can get her here.”
While Sanderson is excited about the three newest rowers to join the Hurricane family in the early signing period, he is also looking forward to the influx of coxswains coming in as members of this signing class.
“With two senior coxswains graduating from our current team and a growing squad size, we really had a need for more coxswains in this recruiting phase,” Sanderson said. “I am thrilled to announce Kate Edmondson, Lily Wittle and Ariannie Peña-Aleman will be joining our coxswain ranks in the fall.”
Kate Edmondson, Coxswain (Westfield, N.J./Westfield HS)
Edmondson coxed for the Princeton National Rowing Association, which gave her the opportunity to lead boats at high-level venues such as the Charles River in Massachusetts, Henley Island in Canada and Lake Natoma in California. Her father, Shane, played football at Gettysburg College and loved being a student-athlete, an opportunity that Edmondson is eager to experience herself.
“For my first year at UM, I just want to establish myself as a strong student and coxswain,” Edmondson said. “For the first couple months I am just looking to learn the school, the UM ways and the team. I think everyone needs to take some time to figure out the team dynamic, how an effective practice should be run, what the goals of the team are, what each athlete is looking to achieve, and how the coaches operate practices. During that discovery period I would also like to make my goals and attitude towards the sport clear. I want the team to know I am very outgoing and fun, but I like to work hard for results. After I start getting the hang of how everything works, I am looking forward to having a set routine and really getting into the sport. Academically, I am so excited to explore everything UM has to offer. I am looking forward to using my study hall hours and my tutors to optimize every resource available to me.”
“Kate’s relationship with UM started during the fall of her junior year; from the first email her tapes were special,” Sanderson said. “We were already aware of Kate for her winning record with New Trier. As Kate moved to the Philadelphia area and started competing with Mercer Juniors, her experiences as an effective team leader were palpable as her team moved up the ranks. She is relentless in her goal setting and goal achieving and we are very excited to see her join us at Miami. Kate will be integral as we go after our goals within the ACC.”
Ariannie Peña-Aleman, Coxswain (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto HS)
Peña-Aleman is a local product of the Miami Rowing Club. The Miami native loves the Head of the Charles, for its beauty as well as its level of difficulty. “It is a fun race for coxswains to navigate while motivating their teammates,” Peña-Aleman said. She plans to major in biology at Miami and follow the Pre-Med track that will help her achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. But Peña-Aleman’s goals are not just focused on academics. “My goal as a coxswain at UM is to try to make it into the top boats on the team,” Peña-Aleman said. “My goal as a student is to really organize myself and focus in school so I can pursue my dream in the Pre-Med track.”
“Ariannie Peña-Aleman is a local coxswain who bleeds Orange and Green. Her whole family has been fans of The U across several generations. In addition to her love for alma mater, Ariannie is also an incredibly passionate coxswain: she has the special skill of coxing in both English and Spanish, primarily for men. From that experience, she brings every ounce of fire and grit a coach can hope for. Ariannie doesn’t know how to back down. Miami Rowing will be faster and better as Ariannie and her family join The U.”
Lily Wittle, Coxswain (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Jefferson HS)
Wittle has experience coxing at both the Resilient Rowing Club and for the Thomas Jefferson HS Crew. Planning to double major in marine science and mathematics, Wittle is an extremely intelligent student who is currently a National Merit Semi-Finalist. Her fondest racing memory is finishing second at SRAA National Championships during her junior year of high school and she hopes to makes many memories on and off the water at Miami. “In my first year at UM, I want to jump right into college life,” Whittle said. “I want to find a sense of balance, earn top grades, make every boat as fast I can and enjoy a year without sub-freezing temperatures.”
“Lily Wittle brings incredible intellect and aptitude to her role as coxswain,” Sanderson said. “Lily not only ‘gets’ what makes a crew faster, she can articulate it from the mindset of a mathematician, or the mindset of a laser-focused racing competitor. Lily’s greatest strength will be her ability to prioritize and plan as she joins our process for developing new speed. Lily embodies our team motto of ‘Make Fast Choices’ as she is ruthless with her calculations of what is most needed.”
Borovetz, Brounstein, Edmondson, Peña-Aleman, Robinson and Wittle are set to join the Hurricanes for the 2015-16 season.
Look forward to more updates as Miami Rowing recruits through the spring towards the next signing date in April 2015.
For official updates and information please visit our website at HurricaneSports.com or “Like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/canesrowing. You can also “Follow” Miami rowing on Twitter at http://twitter.com/canesrowing. The program is also on Instagram.
