Courtesy of Connecticut College Athletics Department
Underneath the courts of the Athletic Center sits the Christoffers Rowing Training Facility, the hallowed training grounds for the men’s rowing teams, whose palmares include a NESCAC conference championship in the ‘90s. The first thing a visitor notices are the two massive indoor rowing tanks—giant pools with a simulated 8 person “boat” in them to allow close-up coaching. Beyond the tanks are ranks of rowing machines, training bikes, and gym equipment, their patina of use a testament to the tens of thousands of hours that Conn athletes have spent training in this room. Yet, despite these amenities, the men’s rowing program has been a shadow of its former glory days. The 2022-2023 season saw only fourteen people on the team, not even enough rowers to fill two eight-seat boats. Despite the efforts of the tiny team, there was little success in their races. Recruiting was suffering. Critical mass became more elusive. The future of the once-champion CoCoBroRow was dark and uncertain. Until this fall.
First, generous alumni, including a former champion rower Jessica Archibald ‘95, rebuilt the waterfront—a unique asset among NESCAC schools, where other rowers must shuttle from campus to their rivers. The Athletics Department then saw that while the waterfront had been revitalized, the men’s rowing team needed that same touch. It was time to pull hard together for the successes last seen years ago. The first and largest step toward this was the hiring of Cian Noone as the new head coach of the men’s rowing program. Noone is well experienced, having most recently served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Bates College. Following Bates’ high placement at the IRA National Championship, he was honored with the Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s D3 Staff of the Year award. Now, as he begins his journey at Conn, he’s aiming to make the same difference he made at Bates here at Conn.
“It’s been a great experience so far,” reported Noone when asked about his time at Conn this fall. “Having athletes with this level of enthusiasm and seeing how happy they are when they come off the water as they know they’re improving is the best part of the job.”
The men’s rowing program is already improving. Their fall season yielded the most successful results seen in a while, having seen significant improvements in placement at the Head of the Charles. Their lead four-boat took home a silver medal at the Wormtown Chase, the team’s final race of the fall– a resounding improvement from their second-to-last placement the year prior. These results are credited to the massive changes in form and preparation seen this season. “We all learned how to do the very thing we’ve done thousands of times a completely different way,” explained Philip Eppen ‘25, the stroke seat of the men’s lead four-boat. “That offered many challenges in of itself.”
The practices themselves have seen quite the overhaul. While the rowers have had to learn a new and more effective way to row in a very short time, Coach Noone has made a successful effort to always incorporate fitness into every practice. Nearly every session now features pieces (a timed, intense workout), as well as form drills. These types of rows, seen once in every few practices in years prior, now happen multiple times per day. Noone has also taken a much more hands-on and direct approach to coaching, with verbal corrections and constructive criticism offered on the water while rowing rather than in talks on land.
The aforementioned changes and victories have the rowers and Coach Noone in high spirits about the future. “We have a new coach who is focused on not just improving our team right now, but through recruiting, he’s invested in the team’s future as well,” remarked Jacob Dietch ‘26, a well-experienced rower. Fortunately, Noone plans to do everything he can to meet these expectations.
“My end goal is a competitive program, of course. I want to see Conn College rowing back to the level it used to be,” Noone explained. “More so than that, I want to create an environment where people can learn not just about rowing, but about being a good teammate and person.”
Of course, more challenges await the newly-motivated men’s rowing team in the spring season. More races, colder weather, and a longer season will definitely make things more difficult– but nothing Camels can’t handle. The winter off-season will see no slowing down from the rowers, with captain’s practices being held nearly every day on the rowing machines and in the weight room. The rowers are more than ready to crank efforts into overdrive, promising intense improvement in both strength and cardiovascular ability in time for a competitive spring. It won’t always be smooth sailing– or rather, rowing –but with effort, resilience, and excellent coaching, the Connecticut College men’s rowing team will certainly continue their upward trend into the far future.
