Cupini Wins CRCA Region Three Coach of the Year, Tennessee Coaches Named Regional Staff of the Year

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee rowing head coach Kim Cupini has been named the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Division I Region Three Coach of the Year, with Tennessee's coaching staff earning the title of CRCA Region Three Staff of the Year, the organization announced Monday.

Cupini and her impressive staff guided the Lady Volunteers to the program's best-ever NCAA Championship finish in 2024, earning third place overall.

The recognition serves as Cupini's second 2024 Coach of the Year honor, as she also won the Big 12 Coach of the Year award in her first season on Rocky Top.

It stands as the first time a Tennessee head coach has won this honor from the CRCA.

Tennessee's five assistant coaches—Karly Braun, Colleen Gillis, MJ Keys, Violette Legrand and David Hall—empowered Tennessee rowing to new heights and new successes in 2024, setting the standard for what the future in Knoxville will look like.

Of these five assistants, Hall was the lone coach not in his first season at Tennessee. He arrived on Rocky Top prior to the 2021-22 campaign.

Randy Duffy, in his first season as Tennessee's boathouse director after spending six years working with Cupini as the boatman at SMU, put forth tireless effort in the Wayne G. Basler Boathouse this season, ensuring a first-class operation for Tennessee's student-athletes and coaches alike.

Tennessee's 1V8+ crew accounted for a stellar 44-4 boat record this season. Its Second Eight crew posted a 42-6 mark, while the 1V4+ boat capped the year at 38-9. That totals out to a 2024 combined record of 124-19 (.867) for the Lady Vols' trio of NCAA Championship crews.

As was announced Friday, four Tennessee rowers and one coxswain earned spots on the CRCA Pocock All-America Team. Meg Flanagan, Sarah Abrams, Alice Fahey and coxswain Sasha Radovanovic each achieved First Team All-America status, with Emma Seawright earning All-America Second Team honors.

Prior to its quartet of First Team All-Americans in 2024, Tennessee's most recent First Team All-America selection was Chelsea Pemberton 20 years ago, in 2004. Pemberton (2004) and Kaitlin Bargreen (2003) were the only two previous CRCA First Team All-Americans in program history.

The Regional Coach and Staff of the Year Awards are bestowed upon coaches who have exhibited remarkable achievements during the current season, showcased significant team improvement from the previous season, and consistently upheld the values of professionalism and integrity.

Region three is made up of members of the ACC and Big 12.

2024 CRCA Division I Regional Coaches of the Year
Region 1: John Murphy (Brown), Lori Dauphiny (Princeton)
Region 2: Joe Wilhelm (Northeastern)
Region 3: Kim Cupini (Tennessee)
Region 4: Mark Rothstein (Michigan)
Region 5: Derek Byrnes (Stanford)
Lightweights: Paul Rassam (Princeton), Mary Foster (Boston)

2024 CRCA Division I Regional Staffs of the Year
Region 1: Princeton
Region 2: Northeastern
Region 3: Tennessee
Region 4: Michigan
Region 5: Stanford
Lightweights: Boston

University of Tennessee Athletics

Cupini Wins CRCA Region Three Coach of the Year, Tennessee Coaches Named Regional Staff of the Year

Players Mentioned

Sarah Abrams

Alice Fahey

Meg Flanagan

Sasha Radovanovic

Emma Seawright

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