Stefanie moved to Palm City in 1995 with her family. After graduating from Martin County High School in 2000, she attended the University of Florida and rowed for the club team. In her Junior year, she moved to Boone, NC, and transferred into the Nutrition program at Appalachian State University. She completed her B.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Science and moved back home to Stuart for work.

 

Stefanie took the reigns of the youth rowing program in 2011 when the program was in its second year with less than 20 high school-aged kids, no State Championships, and just a few older boats. Since then she has taken a small recreational program and grown it into a crew with over 80 youth from 8 - 18 years old, 9 State Championships, and a very large competitive fleet. 

 

The club's first State Championship was the 2017 Women's Freshman 4+ at the FSRA Sweep State Championship 

 

In May of 2017, three crews competed at the USRowing Southeast Championship moving to the A Finals and placing top 7 in the region. 

 

In 2018, her Women's Junior 8+ won the State Championship. 

 

In 2019, the Junior Women came out on top again in the Varsity 2- winning the State Championship. The Men's Freshman 4+ won the first title for the men's side of the program, then moving on to win the SE Regionals and 3rd place at the U17/15 National Championship.

 

The Juniors then traveled to the USRowing SE Youth Championship and where all 7 of the crews went to the finals with the women's 2- winning gold, the Women's 2x winning silver, and the Women's 4x winning bronze...all three crews earning bids to the 2019 Youth National Championship where they finished the season ranking 4th in the 4x, 5th in the 2- and 12th in the 2x.

 

In 2020, the club faced unprecedented challenges as the pandemic swept the world-changing rules of social interaction and safety. The club was forced to close its doors for the first time in its history but Stefanie kept the kids engaged by lending out rowing machines and going 100% virtual with the training program. Although the rest of the 2020 season would be canceled she knew how important keeping the kids focused would be to their mental and physical health. Her perseverance during this difficult time paid off in 2021 when the team rose to the top once again winning 4 State Championships, Women's Freshman 8+, Women's 2nd Freshman 8+, Men's Junior 4+, and the Women's Freshman 4x.