Kelly Harris
Head Coach

Kelly Harris begins her third year as the Head Women’s Rowing Coach at Marietta College in 2009-10. This past spring, Marietta’s Varsity 8+ placed third at both the Mayor’s Cup and Knecht Cup, while taking fourth at the Marietta Invitational, Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship and Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship.

In her first year with the Pioneers, Harris led the team to one of its most successful seasons. The Varsity 8+ ranked among the top 22 D-III schools in the country and consistently met its goal of reaching the Grand Final at every event. Marietta placed second at the Mayor’s Cup, took fifth at the Knecht Cup, swept the Marietta Invitational with wins in all categories and was a close third at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Championship.

Before coming to Marietta, Harris spent two years at Marist College, a Division I rowing program, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where she oversaw all aspects of the freshman and varsity programs. The two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year led the Red Foxes to back-to-back MAAC championships in 2006 and 2007. Marist's Varsity Lightweight 8+ and Varsity 4+ finished runners-up at the 2006 ECAC Metro Regatta. The Varsity 8+ took third in the event in 2007. In addition to its success on the water, Marist had seven women named CRCA National Scholar-Athletes.

Before Marist, Harris served as the assistant men and women’s rowing coach at Vassar College from 2002-2005. Under her direction, the Brewer women's Freshmen 8+ placed fifth at the 2005 N.Y. State Championships, the highest ranking at the event in Vassar history. In her first season at Vassar, Harris also led the women’s 2nd Varsity 8+ to its first ever qualification and a 10th place finish in the 2003 ECAC Collegiate Championships.

Before beginning her full-time coaching career at Vassar, Harris served as a graduate assistant from 2001-02 at New Hampshire. Harris was primarily responsible for assisting with both the varsity and freshmen women's squads, where she helped lead the 2nd Varsity 8+ to a first place finish in the Petite Final at the 2002 New England Championships. Harris also coached two seasons of scholastic rowing at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., upon graduating from UNH. This opportunity has afforded Harris the invitation to serve as Director of the Crew Program for the Phillips Exeter Academy Summer School since 2003, where she has more recently also undertaken the position of Associate Dean of Students.

A 2001 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Harris was a four-year member and two-year co-captain of the team. During her rowing career at UNH, Harris rowed to a gold medal in the Varsity 8+ at the 1999 New England Championships and helped UNH win the All-Around Women's Points Trophy at ECAC’s that same year.

Harris participated in the 2001 East Coast Lightweight National Team Development Camp at Riverside Boat Club in Boston, Mass., and the 2000 Mid-west Lightweight Development Camp at the University of Wisconsin. Harris also won the bronze medal in the collegiate lightweight category at the world-renowned CRASH-B Indoor Rowing Championships and was named an All-American Athlete by the National Strength and Conditioning Association in 2001.

A 1997 graduate of F.D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, N.Y., Harris got her start as a coxswain in eighth grade. She coxed for three years before beginning to row her junior year at FDR, where she won the bronze medal in the Junior 8+ event at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa.

"I look forward to continuing to lead the Marietta women's rowing program to a new and greater phase of achievement," Harris said. "Much emphasis will need to be placed on the recruitment and retention of new student-athletes, as well as the development of the experienced upperclassmen. The tools and resources are available. It is my goal to tap those resources and utilize my D-I and D-III experience to catapult Marietta women's rowing to a bid for the NCAA D-III Championship in the near future."

Harris lives with her two cats, Hudson (Hudson River) and Tookay (2K), in Marietta, Ohio.

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Former University of Mary Washington head coach Philip Schmehl begins his first season with the women’s rowing program in 2009-10.

“It is a true privilege to have Coach Schmehl join our coaching staff at Marietta College,” Head Coach Kelly Harris said. “His wealth of knowledge and experience at the Division III level will help to further elevate the women's rowing program to even greater levels of success.”

Schmehl joins the Pioneers after five successful seasons as the varsity rowing coach of both the men and women at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. During his time with the Eagles, he elevated both programs to the national scene. In 2009, Schmehl led his crews to titles in the first ever Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (MARC) Championship. In 2007, the women advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in school history and finished seventh. He has also guided Eagle boats to the Grand Finals in the Dad Vail Rowing Championship as well as appearances in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship.

“I am very excited to be working with Kelly and the young women on the team,” Schmehl said. “Having the opportunity to work with one team will really help me refine my coaching skills. My expectations are to assist Kelly in making the Pioneer women's crew one of the fastest teams in the region and nation. I am confident that we can get it done.”

Schmehl came to 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., assisted with the Smith College program for two years and 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. He had experience coaching with the Yankee Rowing Club in Hadley, Mass., as well as at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore.

Schmehl’s and his wife Becky plan to live in Athens. She recently accepted a job as an Assistant Professor with the Visual Communications department at Ohio University, her alma mater.

“That was the primary reason for the change,” Schmehl said. “It was simply too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Marietta women’s rowing is coming off a season of growth in 2009. The young Pioneers earned a bronze medal at the Mayor’s Cup and Knecht Cup, while taking fourth at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship and the MARC Championship.

“As we continue to mold and strengthen the team atmosphere, Coach Schmehl will have a great positive influence,” Harris said. “His ability to recruit quality student-athletes who understand the commitment and dedication the sport requires will help to catapult our roster size and retention from year to year. I have no doubts that Marietta women's rowing will greatly benefit from all that Coach Schmehl has to bring to the team, both on and off the water.”