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After eight years at the helm of the Iowa rowing program, head coach Andrew Carter resigned Tuesday. Assistant Katie Thurstin takes over the head coaching duties.
Jeff Sigmund
Trainer Andrew Carter speaks to reporters about the end of the rowing competition in Iowa on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Iowa Athletics announced Tuesday that rowing coach Andrew Carter has resigned with immediate effect.
Carter was named Iowa Rowing Head Coach in July 2013 and served at the helm of the program for eight years.
“I have had the opportunity to work with countless wonderful people over the past eight years, and I will always appreciate this opportunity and value these relationships. Thanks to the sports director [Gary] Barta for it, “Carter said in a press release on Tuesday. “This is the right time for my family and me, however, so I am ready for someone new to have this chance. I wish all the best for the future, not just to the rowing team, but to all of Hawkeye athletics. “
Under Carter’s tenure as head coach, rowing in Iowa made three consecutive seasons in the NCAA championships from 2017-19 – making it the second, third, and fourth appearance in program history.
Iowa was also featured 33 times in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association poll, with the highest ranking ranked 7th nationwide in 2018.
Carter was the CRCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
In a cut schedule for 2020, Iowa finished seventh in the Big Ten Championships on May 16 and failed to make the NCAA championships.
“We appreciate the longstanding service that Coach Carter has provided as the director of our rowing program for women,” Barta said in a press release. “We wish him continued success. A national search for his successor will begin immediately. “
The former coach and the Hawkeye rowing program are currently selected to host the U.S. Rowing U23 Selection Camp in 2020 and 2021.
Carter did not mention any future plans in the press release after his resignation.
Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Katie Thurstin will serve as the interim head coach while Iowa Athletics looks for Carter’s replacement.
Before Thurstin joined the rowing coach on September 30th, 2021, she was the head coach of the men’s and women’s rowing teams at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida from 2017-21. She was previously an assistant coach at Drake University and head coach of the Des Moines Rowing Club.
Thurstin only began competitive rowing in her freshman year at the University of Minnesota and graduated with a degree in global studies in 2003.
Thurstin is currently studying at Stetson University and is working on an MBA.
Rowing in Iowa has another member of its coaching staff – research assistant Katie Pearson.
Pearson joined the coaching staff after graduating from Iowa in 2021. She competed in Hawkeye rowing from 2017-21 and is completing a Masters in Teaching Degree in Iowa.
Iowa rowing began its season on October 1 in Iowa City with an exhibition against Indiana and Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes will compete at the Jayhawk Jamboree in Lawrence, Kansas on October 24th before taking a three-month break from competition.
The Hawkeyes begin their spring rowing season on Merritt Island, Florida with an exhibition against the SMU on February 10th.
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