ANNAPOLIS, Md. – As the 2019-20 season came to an untimely conclusion for all collegiate teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Naval Academy Athletic Department is recognizing and honoring the student-athletes and seniors from Navy with a series of "Sunday Salutes." The next program to be recognized with a Sunday Salute is Navy Women's Rowing.
 
The 13 women who compromise the Class of 2020 have made Navy the premier women's rowing program in the Patriot League and amongst the top contenders on the East Coast year-in and year-out. Starting with the 2017 season, this class has earned the Patriot League Championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in every year. On a boat-level, Navy crews finished first at the Patriot League Championship in seven out of a possible nine events, including a clean sweep of the first varsity eight, second varsity eight and first varsity four races at the 2019 regatta. At the NCAA Championship, the Class of 2020 started with a 20^th-place result in 2017 before moving up to 17^th in 2018 and again in 2019. At the 2019 national regatta, all three of Navy's crews competed in the C-Finals for the first time in program history.
 
Individually, 10 members of the Class of 2020 have been a part of Patriot League boat titles with Raye Brackett leading the way with gold medals from the 2017, 2018 and 2019 championship regattas. After winning the V4 title as a freshman, she secured gold the next two years with Navy's V8 crew. Seven other seniors have two titles to their names from Patriot League Championships, the list includes, Elizabeth Drake (2V8: 2018 & '19); Sam Fox (2V8: 2018 and V4: 2019); Caroline Kelly (V8: 2018 & '19); Emily Krulik (V8: 2018 & '19); Grace Lawrence (V8: 2018 & '19); Jessica Martin (2V8: 2018 & '19) and Clare McCarthy (2V8: 2017 & '19). Both Ashlyn Dawson and Riley Schliem collected gold in 2019 as Dawson rowed with the first varsity eight, while Schliem was a member of the Mids' second varsity eight.
 
Brackett, Dawson, Kelly, Krulik and Lawrence have all garnered All-Patriot League honors for their individual roles in those varsity eight boat titles.
 
The Class of 2020 has also represented the Naval Academy internationally as the trio of Brackett, Dawson and Krulik all wore the red, white and blue during the Summer of 2019 as part of the United States Armed Forces team for the King's Cup competition at the Henley Royal Regatta. Dawson earned a spot in the King's Cup crew that won the prestigious international contest for the first time since 1919. Training with the King's Cup team, Brackett and Krulik tested themselves at the Henley Royal Regatta in the Hambleden Pairs Challenge.
 
Isabel Billinge, Caroline Dooley and Maya McPartlin round out the Class of 2020 for Navy Women's Rowing. Billinge was a standout for the Mids in the classroom with a pair of Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selections to her name, in addition to the time on the water in Navy's lower boats. Both Dooley and McPartlin showed great versatility during their three-plus seasons of collegiate competition as Dooley started out rowing in Navy's lower boats before transitioning to a coxswain role later in her career, while McPartlin saw action in four different boats for Navy moving up from the third varsity eight as a freshman to spots with the Mids' first varsity four at the 2018 NCAA Championship and second varsity eight occasionally as a junior in 2019.
 
Krulik served during the 2019-20 academic year as the team captain.

Navy Women's Rowing Class of 2020
Isabel Billinge – Brooklyn, New York – Major: Applied Physics - Service Selection: Marine Corps Ground
Raye Brackett – Twin Falls, Idaho – Major: Political Science - Service Selection: Marine Corps Ground
Ashlyn Dawson – Annapolis, Maryland – Major: General Science - Service Selection: Surface Warfare (EDO)
Caroline Dooley – North Chatham, Massachusetts – Major: Political Science - Service Selection: Marine Corps Ground
Elizabeth Drake – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Major: Cyber Operations - Service Selection: Marine Corps Ground
Sam Fox – Ann Arbor, Michigan – Major: Oceanography - Service Selection: Submarines
Caroline Kelly – Charlotte, North Carolina – Major: Oceanography - Service Selection: Surface Warfare (Oceanography)
Emily Krulik – Martinsville, Indiana – Major: English - Service Selection: Marine Corps Pilot
Grace Lawrence - Haverford, Pennsylvania – Major: Cyber Operations - Service Selection: Surface Warfare
Jessica Martin – Richmond, Virginia – Major: Computer Science - Service Selection: Surface Warfare
Clare McCarthy – San Francisco, California – Major: Cyber Operations - Service Selection: Surface Warfare
Maya McPartlin – Bloomfield Hills, Michigan – Major: Operations Research - Service Selection: Navy Pilot
Riley Schliem – Grand Rapids, Michigan – Major: Ocean Engineering - Service Selection: Navy Pilot