GW Men's Rowing

GW Men's Rowing 2023 Roster

Matthew Lepis

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower
2025

1st at Stotes, SRAA in 2019 Junior 4x. 3rd and 2nd at Stotes and SRAA in 2021 Senior 2x. Stroked 2nd Varsity 8+ in 2022 season at GWMR, getting 1st at ACRAs. 21x happiest man on earth champion

Braden Barnett

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower
2025
Braden is our team captain and a senior studying international affairs. While a GWMR oarsmen, he has had much success, winning the ACRA National Championship and a bronze medal at Dad Vails in 2022, and helped break GWMR's Charles medal drought bringing home 3rd in 2023. Born and raised in McLean, VA, he is an extremely active and long-time member of the DC rowing community. Braden started rowing at McLean High School out of TBC in 2017 where he rowed all four years, spending the Summers and Falls with Potomac Boat Club. Braden now gives back to his community as a high school coach, coaching the Yorktown freshman boys to a VA state championship and a 5th place finish at SRAA in 2023, and returning to his alma mater McLean as an assistant coach. Outside of rowing, Braden enjoys playing the piano, history, and honing his Russian language skills.

Andy Zivkovic

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower
2025

Mark Peoples

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower | 6'0"
2025

Mark is a junior studying Political Science and Economics at GW. Mark rowed four years at Glastonbury High School in Connecticut and served as Captain his senior year. In 2021, he rowed in the GW Men's 2V 8+ which placed bronze at the 2021 Dad Vail Regatta. Mark is also a Marine Officer Candidate and works as a Congressional Intern on Capitol Hill.

Stephen Stamas

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower | 6’5"
2025

Rowed for Montclair High School ... NJ State Champion... Brother of current varsity cox Alex Stamas
College- Freshman year sat bow seat of 2V against Georgetown and win over UVA/Hobart, Freshman 4+ at Dad Vail / 8+ at ACRA

Mark Parrish

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Rower | 6'10"
2025

Mark began rowing his freshman year at university and immediately fell in love with the sport, sparking a passion for rowing and coaching at a competitive level
In his sophomore season, Mark achieved a silver medal in the 3V at the ACRA National Championship in Oak Ridge, TN
Later in 2023, Mark began coaching for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Crew Team, where he continues to work with the next generation of rowing

Matan Rosenberg

School of Business
Rower
2025
Sophmore majoring in finance. Originally from Potomac, MD. Started rowing senior year of high school, spent freshman year competing in 3V.

Aidan Brown

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower | 6'0"
2026
Attended Montclair High School in New Jersey. In high school Aidan was a member of National Honor Society and Boy Scouts, where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout at 16. Rowing for Montclair, Aidan won Jv8 at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in 2021 and won the New Jersey State Championship in the Varsity 8 in 2022 (the only year which states was held). Additionally placed 14th at the 2021 Head of the Charles in the High School Eight category. 
 
In his freshman year at GW, Aidan was stroke seat of the 2v 8+ which placed 2nd at the Head of the Housatonic, and rowed through the ACRA grand final. He also was stroke seat of the 1v 8+ that raced at the Head of the Charles. 

Tiernan Green

School of Business
Rower
2026

Alex Gilenson

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower | 5'11"
2026

From Fort Lee, New Jersey, Alex found rowing during his junior year of high school after 8 years of competitive swimming. 

2022-2023: Stroke seat of the Freshman 8+ that placed 1st at the Occoquan Sprints and a race at the GW Invite. Rowed in the 2v 8+ at ACRA through the grand final.

2023 (fall): Rowed in the 1v 8+ through the season. Was the alternate for the 1v 4+ at Head of the Charles.

Alex is a Political Science major, and speaks fluent Spanish

Samuel Walker

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower | 6'5"
2026
Attended Vashon Island High School- In high school, Sam was captain of three varsity sports teams: baseball, basketball, and football. He was selected to First Team All-League for all three sports his junior and senior years along with winning the Bacchus Athlete Award. Sam was a member of the National Honors Society and a 12 time scholar athlete recipient.

Albert Park

School of Business
Rower
2026

JP Denfeld

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower | 6’5”
2026
Current Junior at GW studying Political Science and History in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Rowed for the New York Athletic Club in the summer of 2024. Competed in the 2V8+ for GWMR in the 2023-2024 season. Novice rower for GWMR in the 2022 spring season and rowed in the F8+, F4+, and the Varsity 2- at ACRA. Former basketball player in high school and in one semester at college. Team won 2022 CHSAA New York City Championship and finished second in the state. Graduated from Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, NY in 2022. 

William Antczak

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower | 6’2"
2026
Attended Episcopal Academy for high school. Rowed on the Schuylkill river in Philadelphia PA. In his senior year, Will rowed 2 seat in the Varsity 4+ in City Championships, finishing second, and Nationals, finishing fifth. Currently rows for GWMR.

James Thompson

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower | 6'4"
2026

2018-2022: Rowed for Norfolk Academy
2022:
Sat 3 seat of the GW 2v8, which placed 6th at ACRA
2023: Sat 2 seat of the GW 4+, which placed 3rd at Head Of The Charles

James likes long ergs in the Lerner closet, spending quality time on the team Erg Sheets, and not getting his blade in. He is pursuing a double major in International Affairs and Data Science.

Alan Lehrfeld

School of Business
Rower | 5'10"
2026
Alan Lehrfeld currently is a Junior studying Accounting in the George Washington School of Business. Alan first started as a novice for GWMR during his freshman year. One of his favorite moments has been winning our very own GW Invite.

Lucas Cannistraro

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower | 6'1"
2026
Orignally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lucas started rowing on the Charles River at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. After four years of rowing, Lucas competed in the youth 4+ event at the Head of the Charles Regatta, placing 28th out of 84. In his senior spring season, as team captain, Lucas led the CRLS boys rowing team to a Massachusetts public school state championship.

Oliver Bjorkman

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower | 5'10"
2027
Oliver is a freshman studying International Affairs and International Business. He enjoys watching and playing a variety of sports, coaching little league baseball, and running on the National Mall. His favorite thing about GWMR is the strong team camaraderie.

Julian Beadell

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower | 5'11"
2027

Haiden Bonczek

School of Business
Rower | 6'0"
2027

2022 PSRA 1x Gold Medal
2022 ODP
11 years AA/AAA Ice Hockey
2x State Champion Ice Hockey for Germantown Academy

Ryan Szafran

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower
2026

From Rockwall, Texas, Ryan is a junior studying International Affairs and Physics. He comes to GWU after earning an Associates in Chinese while serving in the United States Air Force as a Cryptologic Language Analyst. He is new to the sport, but brings a passion for teamwork and competition.

Stan Biskupski

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower
2028

Connor O’Grady

School of Business
Rower
2028

Attended Albemarle High School in Charlottesville VA where he played tennis and basketball throughout high school. Connor is a novice to the sport, and is motivated to learn and improve.

Colin Grip

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower
2028

Kellen Blakeney

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower
2028

Kellen is a freshman studying political science and statistics in the Columbian College. Kellen rowed all four years in high school at Pocock Rowing Center in Seattle and attended Roosevelt High School. He spent most of his rowing career sculling on the west coast. Kellen held multiple leadership positions during his tenure in his high school team. In his senior year he made the B final in the 2v quad at youth national championships. Kellen is excited to be living in DC and to continue high performance rowing at GWMR!

Al Zanni

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Rower
2028

Alessandro is studying economics at George Washington University. He grew up in Saratoga Springs, NY, where he rowed for 4 years with Saratoga Rowing Association. Following the disruptions caused by COVID-19, Alessandro played a key role in rebuilding Saratoga’s rowing program, helping the team debut its first 8+ boat at both the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) and Youth Nationals—their first appearance at these events in nearly 5 years.

Aryana Morales

Elliot School of International Affairs
Coxswain
2028

"Found my passion coxing on alligator infested in middle of nowhere Florida for ROCCS excited to cox the Potomac’s kayakers infested waters in the upcoming months"

Ethan Rosenthal

Elliot School of International Affairs
Coxswain
2028
Ethan is a freshman at the Elliott School of International Affairs and has been a coxswain for over three years. He went to Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia, where he competed in the Virginia State Championship, where he placed 2nd in the Novice 8+ his first year, and First in the 2v 8+ his senior year. He has also competed for clubs such as TBC Racing and One Arlington Rowing in the summer and fall, winning multiple regattas and attending the Head of the Charles his senior year.
 

Jake Springer

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Rower
2028

 rowed for Berwick Academy in Maine for all 4 years in high school, and I row for Great Bay Rowing out of New Hampshire in the summers

Lukas Rist

Elliot School of International Affairs
Rower
2028

Lukas is a freshman studying international affairs. Lukas rowed all throughout high school at Yorktown, which also used TBC as their boat house. He is excited to continue rowing on the Potomac in his home town.

Samanvitha Kaushik

Elliot School of International Affairs
Coxswain | 5'6"
2025

High School: Rowed all 4 years at Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) in Redmond, Washington
2021-22: Started coxing at GW, coxed Freshman/Novice 8+
2022-23: Coxed 1v8 that placed 1st at Head of the Housatonic, Occoquan Sprints, GW Invite, and placed 5th at Knecht Cup. Coxed 2v8 at ACRA through grand final. Named All-American first team coxswain.
2023-24 (fall): Coxed 1v8 through the season, coxed 1v4+ that placed 3rd at the Head of the Charles

Max Riviere

School of Business
Rower
2020

I'm Max and I'm a freshman from Philadelphia, PA. I'm in the school of business studying Finance and Economics with a concentration in Accounting. I've never rowed before starting at GW but I have quickly come to love every early morning on the Potomac and I can't wait to compete in my first regatta!

Aurora Mercer

Coxswain
2026

Nilesh Patel

Elliot School of International Affairs
Coxswain | 5'7"
2026

Nilesh is a sophomore studying political science and has been a coxswain for nine years

Nilesh previously attended The Bolles School, where he coxed throughout middle and high school, winning the North Florida District Championships five years in a row

At GW he has placed 2nd at Head of the Housatonic and the ACRA National Championship (3v)

Megan Kim

School of Business
Coxswain
2026

Nicole Morris

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Coxswain
2028

Sadie Simon

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Coxswain
2028

Sadie is studying political science and philosophy. Sadie was on Arlington-Belmont Crew in the Boston area through all 4 years of high school. She has been coxing for 3 years and has competed in Head of the Charles in 2022 and 2023.