SILVER LINING: Gevvie Stone powers to the finish line in a single sculls race this season. Stone, a former Princeton University star who took seventh in the women’s single sculls in the 2012 Summer Olympics, made it to the podium in the 2016 Rio Summer games, taking second in the single sculls final last Saturday to earn a silver medal. Stone, 31, became the 20th Princeton rower to win an Olympic medal, and the second to win one in the women’s single sculls; Anne Marden ’81 also won a silver medal for Team USA in the 1988 Olympics. (Photo provided by USRowing)

When Gevvie Stone decided to resume her rowing career after initially retiring in the wake of taking seventh in the women’s single sculls at the 2012 London Summer Games, the former Princeton University standout sensed that she had untapped potential that could result in an Olympic medal.

Juggling her studies at Tufts University medical school, where she earned  her MD in 2014, with her training on the Charles River in Boston, Stone’s intuition proved correct.

Moving up the ranks of world sculling over the last two years and qualifying this spring to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Stone, a 2007 Princeton grad, made waves in Rio. She placed first in her opening heat and second in the semifinals and capped her ride to glory by taking second in the finals last Saturday to earn a silver medal.

While Stone trailed winner Kim Brennan of Australia throughout the race, she made a gutsy late charge and put a scare into Brennan. Stone clocked a time of 7:22.92 over the 2,000-meter course at the Rodrigo de Freitas rowing venue in Rio with Brennan posting a winning time of 7:21.54.

Stone, 31, became the 20th Princeton rower to win an Olympic medal, and the second to win one in the women’s single sculls; Anne Marden ’81 also won a silver medal for Team USA in the 1988 Olympics.

After earning a bronze in the U.S. men’s four at the 2012 Summer Olympics, another former Tiger, Glenn Ochal ’08, put himself in position for another medal as he helped the men’s eight qualify for the finals with a win in the repechage (second chance) race. In the final on Saturday, the U.S. boat took fourth, nearly three seconds out of the bronze medal position. Great Britain placed first to earn the gold medal with Germany coming in second and the Netherlands taking third.

Lauren Wilkinson ’11 suffered a similar fate as she competed for the Canadian women’s eight. That boat made it to the finals on Saturday, getting off to a strong start before fading to fifth. The U.S. women’s eight, which trains out of Princeton University’s Shea Rowing Center on Lake Carnegie, pulled away to the win to earn its third straight gold medal with Great Britain placing second and Romania taking third.

Two other former Princeton rowers Taylor Nase ’13 and Robin Prendes ’11 saw their U.S. men’s lightweight four just miss out on making the A final as it placed fourth in its semifinal heat. The boat went on to finish fourth in the B final last Thursday to take 10th overall. Kate Bertko ’06 and Devery Karz took 10th in the women’s lightweight double sculls, finishing fourth in their B final on Friday.

Over at the track, Donn Cabral ’12, produced a trademark late surge to place third in his opening round heat of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase last Monday to advance in the competition. He clocked a time of 8:21.96 which was the third fastest overall in the three heats contested on the day. Cabral who took eighth in the event in the 2012 Summer Olympics, will race in the finals on August 17.

Former Princeton women’s soccer star Diana Matheson ’08, who helped the Canadian women’s squad earn bronze at the 2102 London Summer Games, is in the hunt for another medal. The star midfielder helped Canada edge France 1-0 last Friday in the quarterfinals. Canada is slated to face Germany in a semifinal contest on August 16 with the winner advancing to the gold medal match and the loser playing for the bronze on August 19.

Star goalie Ashleigh Johnson ’17 came up big for the U.S. women’s water polo team as it cruised past host Brazil 13-3. Johnson saved all six shots she faced inside the Olympic Aquatic Stadium during a dominating performance by the Americans. The U.S. led 10-0 at halftime and had a 13-0 lead after three quarters, when Johnson came to the bench for the remainder of the game. The U.S. will face Hungary in the semis on August 17 with gold medal and bronze medal matches slated for August 19.

The U.S. women’s field hockey team appeared to be headed for a medal run as it won its first four games of pool play and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. With Princeton standouts Kat Sharkey ’13 and the Reinprecht sisters, Katie ’13 and Julia ’14, all playing key roles, the U.S. defeated Argentina 2-1, Australia 2-1, Japan 6-1 and India 3-0. But on Saturday, the U.S. squandered a 1-0 lead over Great Britain to lose 2-1 and end up second in Pool B.

In its quarterfinal matchup last Monday against Germany, the third-place finisher in Pool A, the U.S. fell behind 2-0 and saw a late rally come up short in a 2-1 setback. Katie Reinprecht assisted on the U.S. goal as it ended its run in Rio.

Princeton fencing standout Kat Holmes also came up just short of competing for a medal in the women’s team epee competition. Holmes, along with sisters Courtney and Kelley Hurley, fell 24-23 to Romania in the quarterfinals. The American trio ended the competition on a high note, topping France 32-28 and South Korea 22-18 in the classification round to earn a fifth place finish overall in the competition.