By Jensyn Hartzell
Sports Editor
Washington College Athletics welcomed back Assistant Coach Colleen Ryan to the WC women’s rowing team.
Coach Ryan assisted coaching from 2017-2019 at WC, where she started as the assistant to the men’s team but moved to the women’s.
During this time, she helped the Shorewomen win two Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conferences and place in two National Collegiate Athletics Association Championships.
Ryan also helped develop two First Team All-Americans and 19 National Scholar athletes.
Before her time at WC, Ryan studied and rowed at Indiana University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
She was team captain her junior and senior year for her rowing team at Indiana University.
She continued her education at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa. to earn her master’s degree in the same field. Ryan was also inducted into the Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society and the Alpha Lambda Epsilon Graduate Honor Society while at Saint Joseph’s University.
She then began coaching in Annapolis, Md. at the Annapolis Rowing Club’s Masters Women’s Team after rowing on the team for several years. She coached at the club level until joining WC’s program.
The WC women’s rowing team Head Coach Kari Hughes describes Ryan as a “quiet leader” and “empowering” to the Shorewomen, according to the WC Athletics website.
The women’s rowing team now has three assistant coaches, including Lauren Shaw and Caren Saunders, behind Coach Hughes, with an assortment of volunteer assistant coaches to help the Shorewomen during their season.
The Shorewomen’s 2022 spring season will begin on Mar. 26, when the team hosts the Washington College Invitational on the Chester River.