Head coach Martin Stone has trained Notre Dame rowing from the moment the University granted the team varsity status back in 1996. Since his hiring, he has brought the program to national prominence, winning 10 consecutive Big East Conference rowing championships and coaching several athletes who have gone on to compete in the Olympics.
Heading into this year’s season, Stone’s group had aspirations of returning to the ACC rowing championship for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The core of a team that placed top five in each of the past two ACC championship regattas returned in 2025, headlined by senior captains Natalie Hoefer, Neev Gamble and Grace Collins. A two-time First Team All-ACC selection, Hoefer was selected by the For Stars Network as one of the nation’s top rowers and was put on the preseason watch list by both the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association and the ACC. Seniors Margaret Newell and Annmarie Wallis made their way onto the For Stars Network watch list as well.
Cold weather prevented the Irish from competing in their first race until mid-March. The team’s preparation, however, began much earlier.
“We started training at the beginning of the school year, end of August, early September,” Hoefer said. “Trusting that each day is going to compound, that we are working toward something bigger … all that hard work that you put in is really going to pay off.”
Notre Dame wasted no time when race season came around, taking on some of the top competition in the country. In their opening regatta at the Cardinal Invitational, the Irish finished second behind then-No. 16 Duke in all five races during the weather-shortened Saturday session. They returned to Melton Lake the following day, securing wins against Navy, Wisconsin and North Carolina in the 1V4, 2V4, 2V8, 3V8 and 4V8. On the final weekend of March, they traveled to San Diego to take on many of the nation’s best, a field that included then-ranked No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Washington, No. 8 Cal, No. 23 Southern California and No. 24 Washington State. The Big Ten Invitational later in April was no easier, as Notre Dame took on yet another stacked field that included then-ranked No. 3 Washington, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 9 Rutgers, No. 11 Penn, No. 12 Michigan, No. 17 Oregon State, No. 18 Harvard, No. 21 Indiana and No. 24 Southern California. They posted respectable finishes in both regattas, including second place in the second and third varsity eights on Saturday in Sarasota.
“That was by design,” Stone said when asked about the challenging schedule. “We want to make sure we’ve had the opportunity to race against some of the best … there’s no surprises, we know what the best looks like, and we know what we need to do.”
At the Dale England Cup, the Irish posted their best performances to round out the final regatta of the regular season, placing second in the field behind three race victories throughout the day.
The ACC Championship regatta took place May 16-17 in Clemson, South Carolina, where the Irish finished tied for eighth.
