Former club teammates Joely Cherniss and Quincy Stone reunited in the United States women’s eight to win U23 world gold in Duisburg on 26 July. The American crew finished in 6:05.70, beating Great Britain by 6.36 seconds in the World Rowing Under 23 Championships final.
Cherniss and Stone both attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco and started rowing at Marin Rowing Association before leaving for different universities.
For Princeton senior Cherniss, the Duisburg result ended a run of two consecutive U23 silver medals in the women’s eight. It also came exactly one year after her close friend and Princeton teammate Kerry Grundlingh died after being struck by a car while cycling. Cherniss said every member of the American crew carried Grundlingh’s name in the boat.
U.S. Moves Through Britain
Great Britain led the women’s eight final from the start, but the Americans moved ahead through the middle of the race and extended their advantage. Germany followed the British crew home for bronze.
Alongside Cherniss and Stanford senior Stone, the United States lineup featured Olivia Bachert, Amelia Boes, Lauren Dubois, Elsa Hartman, Katherine Nordheim, Hannah Smith and coxswain Amy Werner. The victory extended the American women’s eight’s podium run across all 20 editions of the U23 championships.
Stone faced four Stanford friends racing in the British eight.
“I’m a big fan now of wearing a hat in the boat. It helped me to not look outside the boat,” Stone said in an interview with the Marin Independent Journal. “There were four Stanford rowers in the Great Britain eight and they’re all close friends.”
The result capped Stone’s final season of U23 eligibility. A first-team All-American, she rowed in the Stanford varsity eight that finished as national runner-up and was named ACC Crew of the Year for the second successive season.
Cherniss, a second-team All-American, helped Princeton’s varsity eight win the Ivy League title before finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships. Her previous U23 campaigns had both ended in silver.
“Winning gold was what we all wanted,” Stone said. “Rowing with Joely was amazing. I just wanted Joely to win. Joely is just the hardest worker I know.”
Kerry Grundlingh’s Name in the Boat
The anniversary was significant for Cherniss and Princeton teammate Dubois. Grundlingh was 21 when she died on 26 July 2025, after a car struck her while she was cycling in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“I was over the moon to get gold and with it being the one-year anniversary of one of my best friends passing, to have all the other people on the boat wear her name was incredible,” Cherniss said.
Grundlingh, a South African member of Princeton’s Class of 2027, majored in economics and belonged to Mathey College. She had represented South Africa at age-group level before rowing in Princeton’s varsity programme.
In 2025, she helped the Tigers’ first varsity eight win the Ivy League Championship and the NCAA Petite Final. She had also raced at the NCAA Championships in 2024, when Princeton’s second varsity eight finished sixth after taking Ivy League bronze.
Cherniss had met Grundlingh at the start of their time at Princeton. In a remembrance published by The Daily Princetonian, she described Grundlingh as the first person she met at the university and said they did everything together.
Marin’s Long Drive to the Creek
Stone and Cherniss were classmates at St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco and trained at Marin Rowing Association’s boathouse on Corte Madera Creek. Stone began rowing as a sophomore; Cherniss joined the programme as a junior.
Their shared routine included a 45-minute drive from school to the creek, often spent together in a carpool. They later attended rival colleges, but their Marin connection remained intact.
“It’s been such a crazy journey from when we started rowing at Marin,” Stone said. “We grew up together in a way, and even though we go to different colleges, we still have that connection. To get to compete in the same boat again is amazing.”
Cherniss credited Marin with preparing its athletes for the demands of a national team assembled from leading college programmes.
“Marin did such a good job of teaching us to be successful in a competitive environment and to be a good teammate,” Cherniss said. “Having such talented, driven people in our boat made the U23s experience so incredible.”
Across the regatta, the United States collected four gold medals and two further podium finishes, its best U23 World Championships performance in Olympic boat classes. Cherniss will now return to Princeton for her senior season.
“I’ve been rowing for nearly 10 months straight and I want to go right back to it,” she said.
