STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford women's rowing program bolstered its 2017 signing class with the addition of three of the nation's standout scholastic rowers. Sophia Boyd-Fliegel, Miranda Nykolyn and Sarah Ondak complete head coach Derek Byrnes' first signing class.
The trio joins Sarah Commesso, Julia Cornacchia, Maria Kent, Kaitlin Kynast, Sophia Lynn, Grace McGinley, Sasha Moore, Sheridan Stephenson and Abby Tarquinio as part of the Cardinal's highly-regarded 2017 class.
"With the addition of Sophia, Miranda and Sarah to our class, we have put together what I see as a fantastic group of student-athletes that will immediately have a positive impact on our team's culture and speed," Byrnes said.
Boyd-Fliegel has rowed for Mount Baker Rowing, the same club as current Cardinal rowers Margaret Seaton and Anika Christofferson, since 2013. She rowed in Mount Baker's varsity eight along with Seaton and Christofferson, which placed fifth at the 2015 USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida. Boyd-Fliegel was a member of the winning varsity eight and junior varsity four at the 2015 USRowing Northwest Youth Championships in Vancouver, Washington. A two-time team captain of the Mount Baker Rowing program, Boyd-Fliegel was the recipient of the Most Inspirational Award in 2014.
Boyd-Fliegel, who attends Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, was invited to USRowing's team selection camp in 2016. She rowed for the junior national team in the 2016 CanAmMex Regatta in Sarasota, Florida.
"When two of the most respected, hard-working individuals on your team implore you to recruit one of their former teammates, you listen," Byrnes said. "That's what we did and we are thrilled Sophia chose Stanford."
A native of Huntington, New York, Nykolyn is a member of the Long Island Rowing Club. She rowed in the quad that placed second in the 2016 New York State Scholastic Rowing Championships.
She competed for the the Long Island Rowing Club in the pair and the varsity four at the 2016 USRowing Youth National Championships in West Windsor, New Jersey. She also rowed in the double that placed 10th at the Head of the Charles regatta in the fall of 2016. Nykolyn was a member of the quad and the double that placed fifth and sixth, respectively, at the 2016 Head of the Schuylkill. She also rowed in the single that that placed sixth at the Head of the Schuylkill.
Nykolyn rowed in the two-seat of the quad and the bow-seat of the four that each reached the semifinals of the 2015 USRowing Under-19 Club National Championships in Bethel, Ohio.
Nykolyn attends Huntington High School in Huntington, New York, where she is a three-year varsity letterwinner in tennis. She has helped guide the Blue Devils to a pair of conference titles.
"Miranda is a small boat technician from a tiny club out of Long Island but we know she is going to make a big impact at Stanford," Byrnes said.
A native of Edmond, Oklahoma, who attends Edmond Santa Fe High School, Ondak has rowed for OKC Riversport club team since 2011. She was a member of USRowing's pair that placed fourth at the Junior National Championships. Ondak, also rowed in the USRowing eight that finished fourth in the 2014 Junior National Championships. The OKC Riversport varsity eight placed second in 2013 and third in 2014 at the Head of the Charles regatta.
She was invited to USRowing's selection camp each of the last two years, competing for the United States at the Junior World Rowing Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Rotterdam in 2015, the Netherlands in 2016). A two-time bronze medalist at the Junior World Rowing Championships (2015 and 2016), Ondak was named OKC Riversport's Athlete of the Year in 2016.
"Early on in our recruiting, we realized OKC had two highly skilled team centric student-athletes," Byrnes said. "Thankfully, both will be calling the bay area home for the foreseeable future as Durant is now with the Warrior and Sarah is headed to The Farm."
The 12-member class will begin competing with the Cardinal in the fall.