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UMW Rowing Head Coach Phil Schmehl

Head Coach Philip SchmehlPhilip Schmehl begins his fourth season as the varsity men’s and women’s rowing coach at the University of Mary Washington, having already lifted the programs to unparalleled success on the national scene. In Schmehl’s first season with the Eagles, UMW received a national ranking and had an All-American on the women’s team, with the men advancing to the grand final race in the lightweight four at the Dad Vail National Championships, and advanced to the IRA Nationals in June.

The next year saw the Eagles gain another first team All-American,and UMW was ranked as the top women’s team in the Mid Atlantic region by the NCAA selection committee. In 2006-07, the women advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history, placing seventh, and creating a buzz across the rowing community for their rapid growth into one of the top programs in the nation.

“I am very attracted to the program at Mary Washington”, says Schmehl, adding that he enjoys working with the quality student-athletes at UMW. Schmehl came to the University of Mary Washington from Charlottesville, Va., where he had been the head coach of the Rivanna Rowing Club.

Prior to moving to Virginia, he completed his master’s degree from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and assisted with the Smith College program for two years, and also served as the head of the Northampton Youth and Community Rowing program. He received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University in 1999.

A four-year collegiate rower at Bucknell, Schmehl was the president of the crew club his senior year, assisting with practices, fundraising, organization, and web page design. He was named to the U.S. Rowing’s second team honor roll in 1999, and gained nine career medals, including six golds and three silvers.

Schmehl is certified by U.S. Rowing as a level III coaching member, is American Red Cross lifeguard, CPR, and first aid qualified, and has also had experience coaching with the Yankee Rowing Club in Hadley, Massachussetts, as well as at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. He and his wife, Becky, live in Fredericksburg,