RowAmerica Rye’s boys and girls varsity eights continued their dominance at the 2025 U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships, repeating as national champions recently in Sarasota, Fla.
The youth nationals represent the highest level of competition in the country, where the fastest teams from six regions come together to race for national titles. RowAmerica Rye sent 24 crews across 18 different events and age categories.
“In the most competitive event of the regatta, our boys varsity eight achieved a historic milestone by winning the national championship for a third consecutive year, marking our fourth title in this event since the club’s founding,” said Marko Seramifovski, RowAmerica Rye’s director of rowing.
The Rye boys finished third overall in the opening heats, then second in their semifinal. Facing the Deerfield Boat Club, the crew everyone was talking about and winners of their semifinal, RowAmerica Rye took it out fast and held on to win by just over a second in the 2,000-meter race.
The girls had an easier time defending their title. They were faster than all the other crews by more than 10 seconds in the preliminaries, won their semi by over 11 seconds, and comfortably defeated the Newport Boat Club in the final by more than five seconds.
The girls second varsity eight finished in second place, the girls under-17 eight took third, and the girls straight four also came in third. Of Rye’s 24 qualified crews, 10 reached the A Final (top eight nationally).
“We are incredibly proud of our team and every athlete who trained and competed throughout the past year,” Serafimovski said. “These achievements are the result of year-round dedication, consistent training, and an unwavering commitment to excellence from our athletes and coaches.”
Three of Rye’s national championship rowers — Claire Van Praag, George Dolce, and Isaac Rabinowitz — are to represent the U.S. in August at the Junior World Championships in Trakai, Lithuania.
