UCO Rowing Adds Assistant Coaches

9/4/2012 3:05:00 PM

EDMOND (Sept. 3) -- The Central Oklahoma women's rowing program has added a pair of assistant coaches for 2012-13, with Kristin Philhower and Travis Hall joining the team as graduate assistants.

“I'm very happy to have both Travis and Kristin join our coaching staff,” UCO head coach Andy Derrick said. “Kristin brings a knowledge and passion for UCO that only an graduate of the program can bring and we are very fortunate to get someone with several years under his belt like Coach Hall so that he can hit the ground running and challenge us to do things differently based on his previous experiences.

“Their contributions will be vital to the keep this program growing, both in challenging our novices and helping our varsity rowers strive toward another NCAA Championship berth.”

Philhower spent the last four years as a member of the UCO team and was captain of the squad her senior year when the Bronchos advanced a boat to the NCAA Division II National Championship for the first time. A May graduate in Exercise Fitness Management, Philhower received the Don and Shigeko Burget Athletic Scholarship, the 2010 Broncho Award and the 2011 Coach's Award with the Bronchos.

“I had such a great experience rowing at UCO that when the opportunity arouse to become a graduate assistant I jumped on it,” Philhower said. “I would love to pursue some sort of career in rowing post-graduation and I believe I could get no better experience than under Coach Derrick and Coach (assistant Amy) Jantzen. They both have shaped the way that I have experienced rowing and I believe they are great mentors.”

A native of Edmond, Philhower will be pursuing a graduate degree in Secondary Education.

Hall joins the UCO staff after previously serving as Director of Rowing and head women's coach at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Over the course of two years, Hall's crews became a competitive force within the southeast and posted solid results in several events.

In 2012, the William & Mary women finished fourth nationally in the 4+ and won gold and bronze in the women's single scull. In addition to his coaching duties, Hall also organized and ran the Chick Chase Regatta, the Colonial Erg Sprints and the William & Mary Summer Rowing Camp.

Hall coached novice men at Penn State before going to William & Mary.

Hall was a four-year oarsman for North Carolina, competing in both heavyweight and lightweight events. He earned medals from the Head of the Hooch, John Hunter Regatta and Occoquan Sprints, while also contributing the program's first national ranking in the Lightweight 8+ in 2009.

A 2009 graduate from UNC in Journalism and Mass Communications, Travis was a Dean's List student and a recipient of the Escheats Scholarship.

“I'm extremely excited to be joining the coaching staff at the University of Central Oklahoma,” said Hall, a native of King, N.C. who will be pursuing a master's degree in Adult and Higher Education. “UCO definitely represents a program that just continues to improve on an annual basis, and I look forward to contributing to that success.”

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