Nov. 28, 2011

LOS ANGELES -- LMU Coordinator of Rowing Vaclav Kacir announced Monday that Victoria Meireles (above left) and Mackenzi Sherman (above right) have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their education and rowing careers as members of the Lions' women's rowing program beginning in 2012-13.

Meireles, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, currently attends International Studies Charter High School in Miami while also competing for the Miami Beach Rowing Club and head coach Kyle Loten. She began rowing in eighth grade, then went on to win the Southeastern Erg Springs in the freshman category the following year.

Meireles placed in the top three at the Southeastern Erg Sprints in both 2010 and 2011, and also raced in the varsity women's single at the 2010 USA Junior National Championships. During the past two summers, she attended the USA Junior National Team's women's sculling selection camp and also trained with the Brazilian National Team as they prepared for the Rowing World Championships.

"Victoria does a lot of training on her own and is exceptionally self-motivated," said Kacir. "Her work ethic and experience racing the single will be an invaluable part of building a culture of success at the LMU boathouse."

Sherman hails from Los Almitos, Calif., where she attends Hope Christian Academy. She has rowed for the Long Beach Junior Crew (2007-11) and the US Junior National Team (2011), and currently competes for the Long Beach Rowing Association (2011-12) and head coach Ian Simpson.

Sherman competed at the USRowing Youth Nationals in 2010, earning gold in the women's 4x and silver in the women's 2x. She earned fourth place in the women's 4x at both the 2011 USRowing Youth Nationals and at the 2011 FISA World Junior Rowing Championships.

"We are excited to add an athlete of Mackenzi's caliber to our squad," Kacir said. "As a member of the US Junior National Team, she will have an immediate impact on our program. On top of Mackenzi's international experience, our team will benefit from her work ethic and dedication to the sport of rowing. Mackenzi is a racer, and that is one of the intangible qualities we need to build our team."