New Haven Rowing Club

DAVE Vogel, HEAD COACH

Dave Vogel is a legendary rower and rowing coach whose career in the sport spans more than four decades. Dave’s three decades as a Yale coach, first as the head coach of the lightweight team and later the heavyweight squad, included multiple Eastern Sprint and National Champion crews. He retired from Yale rowing in 2002 as the winningest coach in the program’s storied history. Dave is a former President of U.S. Rowing, and represented the United States at international rowing Congresses. He is also the former director of the U.S. Rowing Foundation, a position from which he retired in 2013. He was the on-site announcer for the rowing events at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and has also announced rowing events at various national and international regattas for more than twenty years. Dave began coaching at New Haven Rowing Club in 2012.

Margaret gordon, sweep and SCUlling coach

Margaret Gordon, a Connecticut native originally from Old Lyme, joined the NHRC staff in 2022. She has 40+ years of rowing history starting as a teen at Lyme/Old Lyme High School and Blood Street Sculls. She rowed in college at Syracuse, and won a silver medal in 1984 in the 4- at the first Lightweight Worlds Regatta to include women. Her coaching background is extensive. She has experience coaching sweep and sculling at all levels and ages, ranging from novice to elite, and juniors to masters. She has held coaching positions at Miami Rowing Club, Miami Beach Rowing Club, Bachelor’s Barge Club, Craftsbury, Syracuse, UMiami, Columbia University, Haverford College, Craftsbury, The Baldwin School, the Independent Rowing Program, Radnor’s Girl Crew Club, and currently at Saugatuck in Westport.

Lucas Wilheim, Sweep and Sculling Coach

Lucas Wilhelm joined NHRC in 2024. He was named head coach of the Sacred Heart rowing team in 2021 after stints with Indiana, Boston College, UC Santa Barbara, and successful junior programs Saugatuck and Community Rowing Inc. He also brings experience with the elite level of rowing having coached athletes at the Senior, U23, and Junior level at trials. Wilhelm was named the 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year after the team had the best season in program history.

After walking on to the University of California, Santa Barbara, rowing team his freshman year of college, he was named an All-American for all four years by the ACRA. After graduating, Wilheim moved to Boston to join a group of elite scullers at CRI. In 2017, he won USRowing Trials in the 2x and raced it in Europe as part of the Schuylkill Navy High Performance Group. He also won trials in the 4x and raced for Team USA as part of the men’s quad at World Championships.

Wilheim is a 2015 graduate of the Institute of Rowing Leadership in Boston. His emphasis was on athlete development and training program design.

DAVE thomas, sweep and sculling coach

Dave Thomas is a veteran rower and rowing coach (US Rowing Level 2 Certified) whose career started in 1974 at the University of Tampa. Tampa was a prime winter training spot for many notable northern crews. Early in Dave’s coaching career he was mentored by several exceptional rowing coaches of the time. These included Al Rosenburg (1976 Olympic Coach), Tony Johnson (Yale), Finley Miesohn (Cornell), Hart Perry (Kent School) and of course, Dave Vogel (Yale). Dave finished his education and coaching at UT with several victories at the Dad Vail Regatta and a Hall of Fame award for his team’s accomplishments. While Dave pursued his business career at Pitney Bowes, he continued coaching at the Merchant Marine Academy and Dowling College. At the same time, he picked up masters rowing and has been a successful competitor at many notable master’s regattas including Masters Nationals. Dave is passionate about rowing and enjoys coaching anyone who wants to learn the sport.

MITZ CARR, SCUlling coach

Mitz Carr won the gold medal at the Head of the Charles in the 1x in 2016. She is head coach at Hopkins and a former varsity assistant at Wisconsin. She has been with NHRC for over a decade and has served on the Board of Directors. She believes in a well-rounded approach to rowing performance that combines blade work, body movement, mentality, and nutrition.

MIKE GENNARO, SPECIAL ADVISOR

Mike Gennaro, a special advisor to New Haven Rowing Club, is the Associate Head Coach of Yale’s men’s heavyweight crew. He joined the Yale heavyweight coaching staff as an assistant in August of 2016 and helped the Bulldogs capture three straight National Championships and EARC Sprints Titles in 2017, 2018, and 2019. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2021.

Gennaro, a Havertown, Pa., native, began his rowing career at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, where he was co-captain of the squad in 2007. Gennaro earned a spot on the 2007 U.S. Junior National team in the bow seat for the 8+ that finished fifth at the Junior World Championships in Beijing.

His rowing career continued at Syracuse University, where he was team captain and helped the Orange make their first grand final at the IRA National Championships in 20 years. While at Syracuse, Gennaro’s international career blossomed as he rowed for three Under-23 U.S. National Teams, winning silver medals in 2009 and 2010 and, immediately after graduating, gold as stroke of the U.S. Under-23 8+.

In subsequent years, Gennaro competed internationally for the U.S. National Team. He was an alternate on the 2012 squad that competed in London, and won medals at world championship regattas in 2013–15 in various sweep boat classes.