Aiste Balciunaite

Photo by: Rob Pungello

Class:
Senior
Height:
5-10
High School:
Harriton
Hometown:
Bala Cywnyd, Pa.

CAREER HONORS
2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee, University of Massachusetts
2019 UMass 21st Century Leader Award
2019 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
2019 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team
2018 UMass Spring Scholar-Athlete
2018 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team
2018 Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team
2017 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team
2016 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team
2015 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team
2015 Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll
UMass Co-Athlete of the Week (May 6, 2015)

AS A REDSHIRT SENIOR IN 2018-19
Spring 2019: Reached the Varsity Eight Grand Final at the Atlantic 10 Championship (5/18), finishing fifth (6:54.115) ... Won the Petite Final (6:29.222) in the Varsity Eight at the Dad Vail Regatta (5/11), nipping conference rival Fordham in a race that came down to the wire ... At the Knecht Cup (4/14), raced the Varsity Eight to sixth (6:58.75) in the Petite Final ... Won the Pair (8:23.18) at the Knecht Cup (4/14), leading UMass finishes in the top three spots ... Had a sixth place finish (7:02.62) in the Varsity Eight Petite Final at the Doc Hosea Regatta (3/30) ... Tabbed sixth (6:56.35) in the V8 Petite Final at the Cooper Sprints (3/24).

Fall 2018: Was seventh (21:19.276) in the Women’s Club Singles at the Head of the Charles (10/21) ... Won the Single (19:20.8) at the UMass-hosted Hadley Chase Regatta (10/13) ... Rowed to a second place finish in the Single final (8:22.51) at the Small Boat Challenge (10/7).

AS A SENIOR IN 2017-18
Spring 2018: Stroked the Varsity Eight throughout the Spring season ... Capped the Spring with silver (6:30.092) in the Grand Final at the Dad Vail Regatta (5/11-5/12) ... Advanced to the V8+ Grand Final at the Atlantic 10 Championships (5/5), ultimately finishing second (6:40.23) ... Earned placement in the Grand Final by way of winning the early morning heat (6:39.89) ... Claimed fourth in the Pair (8:35.14) at the Knecht Cup (4/14) ... Took fourth in the Varsity Eight Petite Final (6:58.48) at the Knecht Cup (4/14) ... Took fifth in the V8+ Petite Final (6:50.65) against a challenging field at the Doc Hosea Regatta (3/31) ... Claimed bronze in the Varsity Eight Grand Final (7:34.12) at the Cooper Sprints (3/25) to open the Spring season.

Fall 2017: Won the 1x (14:14.90) at the Head of the Fish (10/28) ... Had the top collegiate time (20:29.23) in a third place Women’s Club 1x at the Head of the Charles (10/22).

AS A JUNIOR 2016-17
Spring 2017: Raced the Varsity 8+ to first in the Grand Finale (6:45.14) at the Atlantic 10 Championships (5/6) ... Finished fourth (6:49.90) in the Varsity 8+ at the Knecht Cup (4/8), just six seconds off the lead boat ... Finished fourth in the Second V8+ Petite Final (7:13.91) at the Doc Hosea Regatta (4/2).

Fall 2016: Did not compete.

AS A SOPHOMORE 2015-16
Spring 2016: Did not compete due to injury.

Fall 2015: Finished 24th in the Championship 8+ at the Head of the Charles with a time of 17:37.8 (10/18) ... Took ninth in the 8+ Collegiate at Head of the Housatonic in a time of 15:40.8, 20 seconds ahead of Atlantic 10 rival Rhode Island (10/10).

AS A FRESHMAN 2014-15
Spring 2015: As a member of the Varsity 8+ boat, took home a silver medal in head-to-head meet with Rhode Island (3/28) ... Placed third in competition with Boston College, MIT, and Dartmouth (4/4), fourth at the Knecht Cup Finals (4/12) and first vs. Connecticut (4/16) ... Was a member of the decisive Varsity 8+ boat at the Atlantic 10 Championship, which won gold in 6:50.23, clinched the 2015 A-10 title for UMass and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships ... Earned first during the Varsity 8+ opening heat (6:46.947) at the Dad Vail Regatta (5/8) ... Also topped the semifinal Varsity 8+ race (6:31.808) at the Dad Vail Regatta (5/9) for a berth into the Grand Final ... Took home the Evelyn Bergman Trophy as the Varsity 8+ outpaced the field (6:36.376) during the Dad Vail Regatta Grand Finale (5/9) ... Was a member of the Varsity 8 boat that placed 20th overall at the NCAA Championships in Gold River, Calif., and finished with a time of 6:56.967 in the "D" final on Championship Sunday.

Fall 2014: Earned a second place finish in the 4+ in a time of 17:35 at the Head of the Housatonic (10/11) while also competing in 8+ ... Finished fourth in the 2x and second in the 4x/4x+ at the Seven Sisters Sculling Regatta (10/12) ... Earned a silver medal in the Club 8+ at the Head of the Charles (10/18), finishing in 16:47.50 ... At the Head of the Fish (10/25), won a pair of gold medals in the 8+ and Novice 8+.

BEFORE UMASS: Earned three letters for rowing under Coaches Liz Miller, Lauren Corkery and Nora Kenty ... Was named captain as a senior ... Captured silver in the prestigious Women's Henley Regatta in England ... During junior campaign, rowed in the three seat and helped her boat to gold in the SRAA Nationals and silver in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta ... As a sophomore, also rowed in the three seat and led boat to second and third in the SRAA Nationals and Stotesbury Cup, respectively ... Started high school career rowing in the seven seat ... Earned three additional letters in volleyball and swimming ... Won the Princeton Book Award and was a National Merit Semifinalist in 2013.

PERSONAL: Born in Uppsala, Sweden, to Darius Balciunas and Jorune Balciuniene ... Sister of Aurimas ... Plans to attend medical or graduate school upon graduation ... Most admires Lithuanian rower Milda Valciukaite ... Spends five weeks every summer in Lithuania rowing in Trakai.