Madeleine Stearns signs her national letter of intent with Cal-Berkeley as her dad, Steven, and coach, Liz Trond, watch.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Maddie Stearns, left, rows in the CanAmMex Regatta this summer, where she won two gold medals.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Madeleine Stearns completed her first year of rowing with a bold exclamation point when she signed her national letter of intent to join the women's crew team at the University of California-Berkeley. Stearns, a senior at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, started rowing last November with coach Liz Trond.

A former standout for the Ludlowe Falcons in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, Stearns decided less than a year ago to drop basketball and train with Trond "to try something new and get in shape for lacrosse." She made an immediate splash at Boston's Crash-B Indoor Regatta in February by rowing the 2,000-meter piece in 7:42, placing her in the top tier of more than 300 high school girls at the international competition. After spending her February school break training at the Florida Rowing Center and with Trond's encouragement, Stearns hung up her lacrosse stick and grabbed an oar.

"From the moment she walked into the gym last November, Maddie has been one of the hardest working athletes I have ever coached,'' Trond said. "With her work ethic and positive attitude, she has developed into an elite level high school rower."

Stearns led Norwalk-based Connecticut Boat Club's novice boats to gold medals in the 8+ and 4+ boats at USRowing's Northeast Regional Championships in Lowell, Mass. In June, Stearns earned a position on USRowing's Jr. National CanAmMex Team and garnered national recruiting attention when she won both her events, the 8+ and 2-, in the International CanAmMex Regatta in July in Oakridge, Tenn.

Stearns helped the Connecticut Boat Club continue its dominance this fall in the "head racing" season. Her boats won gold in the 8+ at the Head of the Housatonic, bronze in the 4+ at the Head of the Charles in Boston, gold in the 8+ at the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia and double medals in the 8+ (gold) and 4+ (silver) at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival in Newport Beach, Calif.

Stearns cited several reasons for choosing Cal-Berkeley. "The chemistry and the energy of the coaches, athletes and campus at Cal are remarkable," she said. "I've studied Chinese for four years at Fairfield Ludlowe, and I've worked very hard to establish myself in the sport of rowing. I want to continue my focus on Chinese and Asian Studies, and I want to win an NCAA rowing championship. I thought Cal-Berkeley offered the best all-around opportunity."