Who Was Karenna Groff? Former NCAA Star From MIT, Her Family Killed In Copake Plane Crash

Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year was killed in the plane crash in Copake, New York on Saturday. She, along with her parents and her boyfriend were on the private plane when it crashed, killing them all. Karenna Groff father, a neuroscientist, Dr Michael Groff, her mother, Dr Joy Saini, a urogynecologist and Karenna Groff's boyfriend, James Santoro, another recent MIT graduate, were all killed in the crash, James’ father, John Santoro confirmed to the Associated Press.

Santoro said that the victims were on the privately-owned Mitsubishi MU-2B on their way to Columbia County Airport in Hudson, New York, for a family gathering. They were then supposed to go to a birthday party, but the plane crashed approximately 30 miles off their destination. Who Was Karenna Groff? A native of Weston, Massachusetts, Karenna Groff graduated from Weston High School in 2018.



She went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning a bachelor's degree in biological engineering in 2022, followed by a master's in biomedical engineering. Also read: Was Cody Balmer 'Upset' With Gov Josh Shapiro Over Property Seizure? Court Doc Surfaces At MIT, Groff was a standout on the women's soccer team, serving as a two-time captain and earning All-American honors. She led the Engineers to multiple conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances.

In recognition of her overall excellence—including co-founding openPPE during the COVID-19 pandemic—Groff was named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year. At the time of her passing, she was enrolled in the accelerated MD program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, aiming for a career in neurosurgery. “They were a wonderful family,” Santoro was quoted saying by the Associated Press.

“The world lost a lot of very good people who were going to do a lot of good for the world if they had the opportunity. We’re all personally devastated.” “The 25 years we had with James were the best years of our lives,” he added, “and the joy and love he brought us will be enough to last a lifetime.

” With inputs from the Associated Press. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News, World and around the world..