CARDINAL PRINCIPAL: Gabrielle Zammit is all smiles as she guides the Stanford University men’s rowing varsity eight this spring. Coxswain Zammit, a Princeton High grad and former Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA) Mercer Junior Rowing Club standout, enjoyed a memorable sophomore season this year for the Cardinal. Zammit helped the Stanford varsity eight qualify for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Grand Final with a full field for the first time since 2009 and earned Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA) second-team All-American honors in the process. (Photo by Stockton Photo, provided courtesy of Stanford Athletics)
By Bill Alden
Gabrielle Zammit faced challenges on and off the water as she joined the Stanford University men’s rowing team in the fall of 2024 as one of the program’s coxswains.
“I had a little bit of difficulty just adjusting my bearings to learn how to navigate on open bodies of water and how to deal with the environment of being on a men’s college team,” said Zammit, a Princeton High grad and former Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA) Mercer Junior Rowing Club standout.
“It is just very different, just building that relationship with the guys on the team. There was definitely a bit of nerves in my freshman year which is why it was a little bit of an adjustment. As I got to know them more, that respect was built both ways over time. They are great teammates.”
Zammit made some great progress as her freshman season unfolded, starting by coxing the second varsity eight and ending up guiding the varsity eight for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) national championship regatta.
Coming into this spring, Zammit sensed that her sophomore campaign could be special.
“From last year we didn’t graduate many seniors from varsity so we had a lot of returning guys,” said Zammit. “We knew we had the ability to do something cool.”
Zammit ended up doing some very good things, helping the varsity eight qualify for the IRA Grand Final with a full field for the first time since 2009 (the Cardinal made it in 2021 in a field limited by COVID-19) and earning Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA) second-team All-American honors in the process.
Starting the season by going 3-0 at its Redwood Shores Invitational in early March, the Cardinal top boat made an early statement as it defeated UC San Diego, Santa Clara, and University of San Diego.
“I think from the beginning when we started putting lineups together we definitely knew we had something really good,” said Zammit. “I think having freshman year under my belt already I was definitely more confident than the year before. Also I did a couple U.S. U-23 camps so that definitely
also helped.”
In mid-April, Zammit enjoyed a homecoming as Stanford headed east to compete in the Princeton Invite on Lake Carnegie. In its first race at the event, Stanford finished second to Princeton while defeating Penn and Columbia. The Cardinal then went on to beat Yale in a head to head race.
“That was pretty wild,” said Zammit. “I trained there in high school a couple of times. I had been on the water there before but it was really weird. It was in my backyard kind of racing for a completely different school. It was awesome, my parents came out to watch. It was a fun time. We had a really good day racing against Yale.”
In its final regular season race, Stanford fell to archival Cal but made progress. The Bears posted a winning time of 5:49.8 over the 2,000-meter course at Redwood Shores with the Cardinal coming in at 5:52.6.
“Cal has always been one of those big dog players,” said Zammit. “They have always been a big goal of ours to be able to sit with them and race with them. I think this year especially was a really big step for us in that we really felt that we could stay up with them. It felt more like a race with them than it ever has in the past few years so that was really promising.”
Heading into the IRA championship regatta, which was held in late May on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif., Stanford was primed to race hard.
“This year we did a lot more six-lane racing than we did last year,” said Zammit. “The coaches did a really good job setting that up. On the west coast, it is really only us, Cal, and Washington that are really at that high-performing level so it is nice to be able to race the top guys as much as possible before the IRA. Making the A final was the big carrot on the stick this year; every single practice was how bad do we want to make it to the Grand Final of the IRA.”
After taking second to Princeton in the first round of the IRA, Stanford advanced to the semis where the top three would make the Grand Final.
“All year when we trained, the mentality was like what are we going to do when we are in the semifinals at the IRA,” said Zammit. “The semifinal is the really, really important day especially when our goal is making the Grand Final. The whole year our coaches did a really good job of mentally preparing us for how high pressure the semi would be and everyone as a team just did a good job of getting themselves in the head space that the semis are really the target race of the week. If there is any race of the year to really execute it is the semi.”
On the eve of the semi race, Zammit liked the vibe around the squad.
“I remember sitting down the night before our race and just meeting as a crew and the language that everyone was throwing out around the race was just really mature and high level,” said Zammit. “It was just about all of the work we had put in going in towards that race and everyone just felt really prepared and really confident with all of the racing we had done up until that point.”
The Cardinal displayed that preparation in the semi as they took third to book a spot in the Grand Final. Stanford clocked a time of 5:41.77 in placing third, edging out Penn (5:42.89) for the final spot in the Grand Final.
“From the second we got off the line, I kind of knew that we had it in the bag,” said Zammit. “I think I was just excited all the way down the course. The guys probably picked up on that and probably went with that a little bit. It was really thrilling for sure.”
The members of the boat were very excited to achieve their IRA goal.
“It was an amazing feeling, it was the best post-race feeling I have ever had in my life,” said Zammit. “The seniors were crying, the guys were very happy. A couple of the guys were slapping the water after we raced. I remember coming up on shore and seeing our 2 and 3Vs and everyone was just really proud. Everyone who was part of the process was so proud of how we did as a group because it really was a reflection on the whole team. Everyone has been pushing each other all season. It was an amazing feeling.”
In the Grand Final, Stanford took sixth helping the Cardinal finish fifth in the Ten Eyck Trophy team points standings, tying a program record for best finish since a fifth-place result in 2009.
“I think it was a little bit of less nerves but more like we could just race without any kind of nerves and nothing stressing us out or holding us back,” said Zammit. “The guys just had a lot of fun with it. Although the result wasn’t necessarily what we wanted or expected, everyone was proud with how
we did.”
While Stanford had hoped to finish higher in the Grand Final, it gained valuable experience from the effort.
“We are only graduating two seniors from the varsity eight,” said Zammit. “It is definitely really promising going into next year. It is kind of the thing that you don’t really know how racing the Grand Final is until you are in it. Now that we are laying the bricks of being able to experience these steps that are closer and closer towards being able to get a medal at the IRA. It is more and more achievable now that we get closer and closer to it.”
Earning the second-team All-American accolade was icing on the cake for Zammit after the IRA breakthrough.
“It is really great to have the recognition,” said Zammit, who took part in the U.S. U-23 camp this summer but didn’t get selected for the team. “It is from a panel of coaches within the league which is really cool. There are so many accomplished coxswains in the league who have big impacts on their team and are good leaders. So it is pretty big to be chosen as a top two cox.”
Zammit is having a great time off the water at Stanford. “It is amazing, I can’t even begin to describe it,” said Zammit.
“It is such a cool experience. I am sad I only get four years there because I am surrounded by so many intelligent and hardworking people that have amazing stories and do amazing things. I just want to sit there forever and soak it in. It is such a special place.”
Looking ahead to her junior season, Zammit is ready to get back to work as the Cardinal aim to make more of an impact on the national scene.
“At this point, I am getting really hungry and antsy for a medal at the IRA,” said Zammit. “It could be a really good benchmark for us. If we really put our nose to the grindstone that it is something we can reach for.”