It is safe to say that the 2025 University of Notre Dame rowing team will have one of the nation’s top rowing student-athletes leading the Varsity Eight for the 2025 season.
Senior Natalie Hoefer, who has already been mentioned among the nation’s top rowers by ForStarNetworks, has been named to both the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Watch List and the Atlantic Coach Conference Preseason Watch List.
Hoefer becomes the first ACC rower to be named to the preseason watch list twice, as she was a part of the inaugural announcement last season.
The CRCA list notes that Hoefer is among the top 20 rowers in the nation, while the ACC list includes 12 of the top rowers to watch during the 2025 season.
A two-time first-team All-ACC selection, Hoefer has also competed twice for the United States Under-23 National Team, helping the W8+ finish second at the 2024 Under-23 World Championships.
Hoefer and her teammates will spend the University of Notre Dame’s spring break in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, training for the 2025 season before competing in the Cardinal Invitational to open the year on March 15 and 16.