Eleanor (Gracie) O'Neill '24 Recruiting Profile

I am a three-sport Varsity athlete competing in crew. swimming, and cross country at The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. For the 2024 season, I have been selected as a Captain of the EA Girls' Crew Team. I love all aspects of rowing, from the early morning or late evening practices and the intensity of racing to the unparalleled camaraderie of the team! 

In the fall of 2024, I rowed in the Head of the Charles Regatta for my club team Fairmount Rowing Association, racing in a double for the first time and securing an automatic entry for my team for next year's HOCR. 

In my 2023 junior season, I rowed in my team's top girls' boat - the Varsity Quad 4x in the bow seat. I was thrilled to learn a new position and our boat had great success. We reached the finals of every one of our championships regattas - coming in 5th at the Scholastic (SRAA) National Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 4th at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, and medalling with a 3rd place finish at the Philadelphia City Championships. I also was honored to receive my team's John A. Harter Award for Rowing. In the summer of 2023, I am rowing for Fairmount Rowing Association. In the Philadelphia Youth Regatta, the 8+ boat in which I rowed won our race and the 4x boat in which I rowed came in third in our race. In August 2023, I will be rowing at The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.

In my 2022 sophomore season, I rowed in the 4X Junior Quad boat (2 seat), which also reached the finals of the Philadelphia City Championships, the Stotesbury Regatta, and the SRAA Nationals. This was our team's fastest boat made up of two sophomores and two juniors.

Earlier in the 2022 season, I competed in a Junior 4+ in the Stroke seat.  As a Novice in the 2021 season, I rowed in an 8+ Novice boat that medaled in the Philadelphia City Championships. 

I am a natural lightweight but I have always competed in open-weight boats. 

Since the age of six, I also have loved competing in triathlons! 

For my senior year, I have been selected for many leadership positions in academics and athletics. I have been chosen as the Secretary of EA's Student Council; elected one of the three student council representatives for my class; I am a member of the Leadership Board for Model UN; I have been chosen as the Photography Editor for our school newspaper, and in addition to captaining the Crew team, I have also been selected as the captain of the Cross Country team. 

I aspire to row in college and hope to be surrounded by young women who love to row as much as I do and are committed to both rigorous academics and athletics!