Q&A: College Rowing
& Coxing 101

DIRECTOR OF ROWING | STETSON UNIVERSITY

Jamie rowed at University of Central Florida, coached at Penn State for four years, Mercyhurst University for five years, and Embry-Riddle for five years. Francis built the ERAU rowing program from the ground up and quickly developed it into a competitively successful program. While at Penn State, he was named the Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Coach of the Year from the American Collegiate Rowing Association. His Penn State teams boasted 29 Academic All-American student-athletes, three All-Americans, and five Mid-Atlantic All-Region student athletes. Jamie has held committee member positions with the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association and the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association.

HEAD COACH | CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

Katie was a walk-on at Ithaca College where she was part of three NCAA appearances in the V8, was a four-year CRCA Scholar-Athlete, and a first-team Pocock All-American. She participated in the inaugural post-graduate program at the Institute for Rowing Leadership, a year-long rowing education program specifically designed to train rowing coaches, and holds a USRowing Level 3 Certification. Katie coached at The Winsor School, University of Washington, the U.S. Rowing Junior Sculling Development Camp, and George Mason University before becoming head coach of CUA. In its short history as a varsity program, Catholic Men's & Women's Rowing has had three All-Americans, 39 Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference All-Conference athletes, 82 MARC Academic All-Conference honorees, 14 IRCA Scholar Athletes, and 8 CRCA Scholar Athletes. Highlights from the 2025 spring campaign included all women's boats medaling at the MARC Conference Championships and the women's Varsity Eight winning Dad Vails.

COACH | CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

Declan joined the CUA rowing staff in 2024 after previously competing as a student-athlete at the university. Born into a military family, Waters grew up in Carlisle, PA where he played soccer, lacrosse, and swam before he found rowing. Declan was one of the founding members of CUA’s varsity team. A three-time captain, Declan was part of the first crew to ever represent Catholic U at the IRA Championships, and he has the distinction of being the program’s first IRA All-American.

ASST. COACH | GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

Marie was a walk-on at George Mason where she spent time in the 1st and 2nd varsity 8s during her 4 years as a student athlete. She was nominated by her teammates for the inaugural Mason Kindness Ambassadors cohort, and recognized with the Linmarie Row Model Award as the student athlete each year who best represents the spirit of George Mason Rowing. After graduation, she volunteer coached for her high school team before being hired as an assistant coach at George Mason in the fall of 2023, where she focuses on walk-on/novice recruiting, novice training, and coaching the V4. She has worked to recruit and retain the largest diverse group of walk-on athletes in the history of Mason’s Rowing program. She helped coach a freshman/novice 4 to a gold medal at the 2024 Dad Vail Regatta. Marie is USRowing Level 2 Coach certified.