UVa and Wisconsin Women’s Rowing Add Assistant Coaches

As the summer marches on, more coaches are finding new homes, most recently at UVa and Wisconsin. New head coach of the Cavaliers, Wes Ng, announced the hiring of three assistant coaches, two of whom followed him to Charlottesville from his previous stint at the University of Pennsylvania.  Helen (Tompkins) Samaniego, UVa class of 2010, returns to her alma mater after coaching with Ng at Penn for two years before joining the staff last year at the University of Texas, where she helped the Longhorns win the 2024 NCAA National Championship. Samaniego also rowed for Ng at the 2013 World Championships, explaining, “Wes has shown remarkable compassion and leadership to me at Penn and as my coach at the 2013 World Championships. Working for Wes combined with coaching for my alma mater is a dream come true.”

Josie Konopka, another new UVa assistant, also joins Ng’s staff after having rowed for him, in this case at Penn. Konopka graduated in 2022, after leading the Quakers to their best performance at the Ivy League and NCAA Championships.  “I knew she would be the first person I wanted to build our staff around,” Ng said of Konopka’s hiring. “Josie’s journey from a scholastic recruit to U23 National Team athlete to First Team All-American and two-time team captain at Penn is meteoric. It is one that every collegiate athlete aims for. Her deep understanding of the sport and her ability to teach and inspire from her firsthand experience will be invaluable to our program.

To round out the UVa staff, Taylor Ruden makes the move from Ohio State to Charlottesville after four years with the Buckeyes and a successful career at Indiana.  Ng effused, “Taylor’s ability to inspire and develop student-athletes as a whole person, combined with her strategic programmatic insights, will play a crucial role in driving UVA to our ultimate ambition.”

In Madison, Badgers head coach Vicky Opitz announced two additions to the Wisconsin Women’s Rowing coaching staff. 2024 Olympian and former Wisco walk-on Sophia Vitas will serve as a graduate assistant coach after returning from Paris where she will compete in the U.S. double. Mary Anderson joins the staff as as assistant coach with the lightweight women after spending the last two seasons at Gonzaga, helping the Zags win West Coast Conference Championships in both seasons with the squad.

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