June 15, 2021
Team captain, girls tennis and equestrian team state champion, chamber choir member, National Honor Society inductee, thespian, Science Olympiad participant. Kate Roach ’11 accomplished amazing feats at Mounds Park Academy, but her latest and loftiest goal, the opportunity to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics, would top any of that.
Before Olympic dreams popped onto Roach’s radar, she was a standout tennis player and equestrian. On the tennis court, Roach and her teammates dominated the Minnesota high school scene for years. She was part of two class A state doubles championships and a member of state championship tennis teams in 2007 and 2009, earning six varsity letters.
She also led MPA to the Minnesota High School Equestrian Association 2007 team championship and earned two varsity letters along the way.
However, when it came time to decide on what to pursue collegiately, MPA’s 2011 Athena Award winner chose neither tennis nor riding. Enrolling at division I Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, Roach chose to pursue a completely new sport, rowing. With no prior experience, she chose rowing out of a desire to discover a new passion and try something new. It certainly didn’t hurt that at 5’11, she had the height and athleticism to be a budding star.
“I had no expectations for rowing, or any idea what the numbers on the screen in front of me on the erg (machine) were supposed to mean,” says Roach. “When a woman who was training for the Olympics came to talk to the walk-ons at practice, I realized this was a sport that, even without doing it in high school, I could someday go to the Olympics. So, I just went for it!”
And go for it she did. Roach became the first ever Cornell women’s rower to be named an all-American three times, and the only athlete in Big Red history to earn two first team all-American honors. She led Cornell to two consecutive top 15 finishes at the NCAA rowing championships and was named the 2014 collegiate rower of the year. That same year, she represented the United States in the World Rowing Under 23 championships in Varese, Italy, helping the American boat win the gold medal. Roach is also Cornell University’s school record holder in the 5K Erg and 2K Erg.
Active in Cornell’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, Roach graduated in 2015 with a degree in materials science and engineering, receiving academic all-Ivy League honors as senior. Following graduation, she earned her master’s degree in materials science and engineering, also from Cornell, focusing her research on new materials for display technologies.
Roach credits her time at Mounds Park Academy for much of her success. “MPA ignited my passion for learning and helped me develop so many of the skills I needed to succeed moving forward,” she says.
Roach now trains with national rowing team at the US Rowing Training Center in Princeton, New Jersey. Most recently, she represented the United States at the 2017 World Rowing Cup in Poznan, Poland. Her team finished seventh in the women’s pair against top international competition. In 2019, she was selected for the US National Team in rowing, representing the United States at the 2019 World Championships in Linz, Austria, as part of the US women’s quadruple sculls event. Her goal continues to be competing for the United States at the Olympics in Tokyo.
