Lower Merion rower Eva Nates signs with Stanford

Ardmore – Lower Merion High School senior rower Eva Nates, a straight A student and National Honor Society member, had narrowed her college choices down to two prestigious schools – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University.

On April 16, Nates signed her National Letter of Intent to row for Stanford at a ceremony in front of a crowd of LM crew teammates, friends and family.

Asked why she chose Stanford, Nates replied, “There’s a wide range of academic resources for the athletes at Stanford, because they have so many Division I athletes there; whereas at MIT rowing is the only Division I sport. And the weather’s a lot nicer at Stanford, you can row year-round every day in the morning. Stanford’s team has a lot of depth [of talent].”

Nates, co-captain of the Lower Merion girls’ crew team and a key member of the girls’ varsity four, has enjoyed a stellar rowing career at LM, setting the school record for 2,000 meters as a sophomore (and breaking it several times since). Currently, her school record time is 7:17.

“Eva has gone above and beyond in not only pushing herself but in motivating her teammates,” said Lower Merion crew coach Liz Miller. “She’s always upbeat and smiling, cheering on her teammates even during winter training on the rowing machines. She’s a great leader, on and off the water, helping to incorporate our younger rowers into the lineup and the team’s culture.”

Nates, whose parents (Yitzhak and Jen) and grandmother were at the signing ceremony, lived in the Sacramento area as a youngster and still has relatives living near Stanford. Her mother rowed for Brandeis University during the team’s first year as a club sport.

A fine all-around athlete, Nates has run winter track (4×800 relay, mile run, distance medley relay) at Lower Merion as a freshman, sophomore and junior, and played field hockey as a freshman for the Aces. On Mondays, when there is no crew practice, she participates in BuildOn (which she joined as a freshman).  

Nates plans to major in computer science or engineering at Stanford.