Sanderson Announces @CanesRowing Staff
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — University of Miami women’s rowing head coach Dave Sanderson has announced the Hurricanes’ staff for the 2016-17 season.
Heading into his fourth season at the helm of the Hurricanes, Sanderson welcomed three new members of the rowing staff and named a new recruiting coordinator in assistant coach Briana Pittman. Miami also added assistant coach Claire Frenkel, graduate assistant Lindsay Shoop and boatman Erick Thiemke to its rowing staff.
“Briana has been a fantastic coach for our varsity squad over the last year and she has stepped into the recruiting coordinator role with great enthusiasm and a keen eye for talent,” Sanderson said. “I look forward to working with her as we bring in the next generation of Hurricane rowers.”
Frenkel joins the Hurricanes after a successful career as a coxswain at UCF. A four-year letter winner with the Knights, Frenkel was team captain as a senior in 2011-12. She also was selected the Most Inspirational Athlete on the team in three of her four years of college. Frenkel was also an excellent student, earning a spot on the Dean’s List five times while at UCF and was a two-time recipient of the American Cancer Society’s R.O.C.K. Scholarship.
In addition to her success as a collegiate coxswain, Frenkel also has coaching experience after working for nearly four years with the South Orlando Rowing Association (SORA). While with SORA, Frenkel taught basic technical rowing skills to student-athletes and prepared them for racing. She planned and implemented daily practices and helped student-athletes establish and achieve individual and team goals.
“Claire’s passion for rowing and her passion for teaching and developing student-athletes new to the sport is tremendous,” Sanderson said. “She is a meticulous student of the sport and will be a great coach for our novices as she helps them develop into varsity level athletes.”
Shoop is a first-year graduate assistant at Miami, joining the Hurricanes after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Barry University. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Shoop learned to row at Virginia during the spring semester of her junior year. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in Spanish and a minor in art history in 2003. Shoop then pursued a graduate program during a fifth year of eligibility in 2004, a year in which she rowed in the Varsity Eight and was a team captain.
In 2005, she rowed on the U.S. National Team at the World Championships in the eight and in the pair, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively. She is a three-time gold medalist in the women’s eight at the World Championships and won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics as part of the U.S. women’s eight. She was inducted into the USRowing Hall of Fame in 2014.
“It’s safe to say Lindsay is not your typical graduate assistant coach,” Sanderson said. “With an Olympic gold medal and multiple world championships, Lindsay is quite literally one of the heroes in our sport. I am so excited for our student-athletes to be able to learn from her and work with her. It is easy to be inspired by her championship results, but it is her willingness to share her knowledge and her experiences that I believe will have the biggest impact on our team.”
Thiemke brings a wealth of experience to Miami, having worked in rowing since 2000. Prior to joining the Canes, Thiemke served as the head women’s rowing coach at Assumption College from 2012-2015. He also was the head men’s and women’s rowing coach at Clark University from 2003-2012 and has coached for Lake Quinsigamond Community Rowing, Armherst College and Worcester State College.
In addition to his coaching experience, Thiemke has 15 years of experience in boat maintenance and general repair. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1999 and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Worcester State College in 20012. Thiemke earned a master’s in physical education from Bridgewater State University in 2015 and has been studying with the Institute for Rowing Leadership since June 2011.
“Erick has an extensive and varied background in our sport,” Sanderson said. “He has been in Miami a few months now and our equipment and boathouse have never looked better.”
For official updates and information please visit HurricaneSports.com or “Like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/canesrowing. You can also “Follow” Miami rowing on Twitter at http://twitter.com/canesrowing. The program is also on Instagram.
