Who was Karenna Groff? All about former NCAA woman of the year and family of doctors killed in Copake NY plane crash

Karenna Groff was one of the victims in the airplane crash that led to the death of several Groff family members on April 12. A small private plane, carrying six members of the Groff family and their partners, crashed in Copake, upstate New York, near Massachusetts, in the afternoon, as per The Associated Press.

Karenna Groff was an accomplished student-athlete who was already making her mark felt. A native of Weston, Massachusetts, Groff attended the Weston High School, graduating in 2018, according to MIT Athletics. Groff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological engineering from the prestigious MIT in 2022. A prolific student, Groff earned a master's degree, also from MIT, in biomedical engineering, where she worked on focal epilepsy from 2022 to 2023, as per her LinkedIn page. Groff was the recipient of the Peter J. Eloranta Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship at MIT.

According to MIT News, Karenna Groff undertook research for her master's degree at the Boston Children's Hospital, and she hoped to create a new gene therapy for epilepsy. Groff later enrolled to study medicine at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine in 2023, and she was set to graduate next year, in 2026, according to her LinkedIn page.

Karenna Groff's collegiate athletic career

While at MIT, Karenna Groff played soccer and was the captain in 2021 and 2022, as per MIT Athletics. As a soccer player, Groff holds the record for the second-fastest hat trick in Division III history, at 51 seconds. Groff ranks second in career goals, having scored a total of 50 goals throughout her time as a collegiate soccer player.

Groff was named the NCAA 2022 Woman of the Year. As per MIT News, the honor recognizes the academic, sporting, and community-oriented achievements of female student-athletes. Speaking after receiving the honor in January 2023, Groff had said,

"I am so incredibly honored to be named as the NCAA Woman of the Year. Really, this recognition is a testament to my MIT women's soccer family and all of the guidance, support, and friendship they have provided for me over the years. I could not be more appreciative."

As per MIT News, Groff was a co-founder of openPPE, which worked on creating a new design of masks for healthcare professionals at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Karenna Groff’s family

Karenna Groff was born to doctors Michael Groff and Joy Saini. Dr. Michael Groff was a neuroscientist and an executive medical director of neuroscience, according to NBC Boston. As per the news outlet, Dr. Groff was also pursuing an executive MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Dr. Joy Saini, who was of Indian origin, was a urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon who founded Boston Pelvic Health & Wellness, as per the center’s website. She was certified in obstetrics and gynecology in 1999 and earned her board certification in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery in 2013.

Karenna Groff had a brother, Jared, who also perished in the plane crash alongside his partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte. Both Jared and Alexia had graduated from Swarthmore, and while Jared worked as a paralegal, Alexia was set to attend Harvard Law School, according to The Associated Press.

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Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro, was also aboard the plane, which was flying to the Catskill Mountains for a holiday. According to ESPN, Santoro and Groff had met at MIT, where Santoro was a mathematics major and a lacrosse athlete. As per the outlet, Santoro worked in investment for a hedge fund in Connecticut, and the couple lived together in Manhattan.

As per The Associated Press, a full report on the tragic plane crash, which has devastated multiple families, would likely become available anytime between 12 and 24 months.

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