Former Marist head coach Kelly Harris hired to lead women's rowing program at Marietta College
Harris brings a successful rowing background

June 5, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — Former University of New Hampshire standout and Marist College head coach Kelly Harris was hired as the new women's rowing coach at Marietta College Tuesday (June 5) morning, according to Athletics Director Debbie Lazorik.

Harris replaces Karen Glowacki, who resigned following the 2007 season after five years with the Pioneers' program.

"It is a privilege to become a part of the Marietta College community, and I am eager to work in such a positive and supportive environment," said Harris. "Marietta is clearly committed to the success of their athletic programs, and I want to thank the department for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a long-standing tradition and history of this sport at the College.”

Harris spent the last two seasons at Marist, a Division I rowing program, where she oversaw all aspects of the freshman and varsity programs. The two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year led the Red Foxes to back-to-back MAAC championships in 2006 and 2007. Marist's Varsity Lightweight Eight and Varsity Four finished runners-up at the 2006 ECAC Metro Regatta. The Varsity Eight took third in the event in 2007. In addition to its success on the water, Marist had seven women named CRCA National Scholar-Athletes.

"We welcome Kelly to our department," Lazorik said. "Her successful background as a student-athlete and coach, as well as her understanding of and commitment to the Division III philosophy will help move our program forward."

Before Marist, Harris served as the assistant men and women's rowing coach at Vassar College from 2002-2005. Under her direction, the Brewer women's Freshman Eight placed fifth at the 2005 N.Y. State Championships, the highest ranking at the event in Vassar history. In her first season at Vassar, Harris also led the women's 2nd Varsity Eight to its first ever qualification and a tenth place finish in the 2003 ECAC Collegiate Championships.

Before beginning her full-time coaching career at Vassar, Harris served as a graduate assistant from 2001-02 at New Hampshire. Harris was primarily responsible for assisting with both the varsity and freshman women's squads, where she helped lead the 2nd Varsity Eight to a first place finish in the Petite Final at the 2002 New England Championships. Harris also coached two seasons of scholastic rowing at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., upon graduating from UNH. This opportunity has afforded Harris the invitation to serve as Director of the Crew Program for the Phillips Exeter Academy Summer School since 2003, where she has more recently also undertaken the position of Associate Dean of Students.

A 2001 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Harris was a four-year member and two-year co-captain of the team. During her rowing career at UNH, Harris rowed to a gold medal in the Varsity Eight at the 1999 New England Championships, and helped UNH win the all-around Women's Points Trophy at ECAC's that same year.

Harris was invited to the 2001 East Coast Lightweight National Team Development Camp at Riverside Boat Club in Boston, Mass., and the Mid-west Lightweight Development Camp at the University of Wisconsin in 2000. Harris also won the bronze medal in the collegiate lightweight category at the world-renowned CRASH-B Indoor Rowing Championships and was named an All-American Athlete by the National Strength and Conditioning Association in 2001.

A 1997 graduate of F.D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, N.Y., Harris got her start as a coxswain in eighth grade. She coxed for three years before beginning to row her junior year at FDR, where she won the bronze medal in the Junior Eight event at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa.

"I look forward to leading the Marietta women's rowing program to a new and greater phase of achievement," said Harris. "Much emphasis will need to be placed on the recruitment and retention of new student-athletes, as well as the development of the experienced upperclassmen. The tools and resources are available. It is my goal to tap those resources and utilize my D-I and D-III experience to catapult Marietta Women's Rowing to a bid for the NCAA D-III Championships in the near future."