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Head Coach - Heather Swan

One of Heather's stipulations when selecting a college was that they have a novice crew team. In 93' this led her to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia where she became team captain her first season on a winning novice crew.  Her senior year of college she went on to learn sculling with PGRC and Bachelors Boat Club on the historic boat house row competing at the national level for 4 more years. After a 12 break Heather came back to rowing as an assistant coach at the Waynflete school in Portland Maine and is now very excited to be a part of the Mendota coaching team. Heather can also help excel your land training as she is a certified yoga, health and fitness coach!

Heather can be reached at hswan@mendotarowingclub.com



Junior Lead Coach - Samantha Winn

Sam began her rowing journey in 2012 at her high school in northern Virginia. After discovering that rowing was her favorite part of most days, she decided that it would always have a place in her life and has followed that thought since. She rowed in college for Virginia Tech all four years while obtaining her B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and continued to row for various programs post-graduation before moving to Madison and finding the perfect club to support her rowing appetite. She is incredibly grateful to be able to give back to the sport that she loves so much by serving as the Junior Lead Coach, and hopes to support the next generation of rowers in chasing their goals and finding how rowing fits into their lives.

She can be reached at: swinn@mendotarowingclub.com


Middle School Head Coach - Rose Sears

Rose started rowing first year of high school in West Michigan and quickly fell in love with the sport. They went on to row D3 at Smith College, where they studied Engineering and Spanish. After graduating in the spring, Rose moved to Madison in August 2022 and immediately joined Mendota Rowing Club. They are excited to work with the Middle Schoolers on building teamwork and camaraderie while strengthening fitness and rowing technique. Outside of rowing, Rose is an energy engineer passionate about climate change; they work in implementing renewable energy for heating and cooling buildings.


Rose can be reached at rsears@mendotarowingclub.com


Assistant Coach - Rebecca Kite

Rebecca Kite is from Denver, Colorado, and is an alum of the UW Women’s Rowing Team, Class of 2021. She walked-on to the team in Fall 2017 having never rowed before, and went on to compete at the BIG10 and NCCA Championships. She raced in the second varsity eight and first varsity four while on the team, sitting bow or 3 seat. At the end of her 4 years, she received a senior award for her dedication, spirit, and inspiration. 

As an athlete her whole life—of soccer, basketball, field hockey, swimming, and rowing—Rebecca appreciates the way sport cultivates personal and communal harmony through our most innocent and primal of urges, moving our bodies and competing! She is a cheerleader of mental health and fortitude and believes sport can be a conduit to understanding ourselves and others more deeply.

Rebecca is receiving a degree in Journalism from UW-Madison. Her love of the outdoors comes from her years spent as a summer camper and counselor in Colorado and as a little kid exploring the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario with her family. She is so excited to continue her rowing journey with the awesome folks of MRC! 

She can be reached at: rkite@mendotarowingclub.com


Assistant Coach - Charlie Westhoff

Charlie was born and raised in Dumfries, Virginia. He started rowing in 2014 and continued to row year-round for the next 4 years throughout high school. He attended the College of William & Mary where he obtained his B.S. in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health. During this time, he took a break from rowing so that he was able to focus on his studies and graduate early. Then, he immediately began his Master’s of Public Health at George Washington University which he is currently finishing remotely. After moving to Madison for work, Charlie reignited his passion for rowing on the adult master’s team. 

Charlie can be reached at cwesthoff@mendotarowingclub.com

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Mailing Address:
PO Box 646
Madison, WI 53701

Boathouse Address:
622 E Gorham St
Madison, WI

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