Hall of Fame
Mary Kunes, the first female rower to be inducted into the Marietta Athletics Hall of Fame, was a four-year lettermen with the women’s crew from 1996-99. The Pioneers were the top-ranked team in the Central Region in each of her final three seasons. As a freshman, Kunes was part of the Varsity Lightweight Eight that made the finals of the 1996 Dad Vail Rowing Championship. She then moved on to the Varsity Heavyweight Eight, which made the 1997 Dad Vail finals and then finished sixth in the 1998 event. As a senior, the co-captain led the Varsity Eight to victories in the Atlantic Collegiate League Sprints and Mid-America Collegiate Rowing Association Championship as well as its first and only appearance in the NCAA Championship. In 1999, Kunes also became the first women’s rower to earn All-America honors.
Kunes, an Accounting major, went on to win the Betty Cleland Award as a senior. Following graduation, the USRowing Level III certified coach led the Greater Dayton Rowing Association for five years. During that time, the club made three appearances in the USRowing Youth National Championship. Kunes lives in Dayton with her husband Michael Moran and sons Cole and Cade.
