IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association announced Monday that University of Iowa head coach Andrew Carter is the CRCA Region 4 Coach of the Year, and five Hawkeyes have earned CRCA National Scholar Athlete awards.
Carter was named the Region 4 Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. He is now a finalist for the CRCA Division I National Coach of the Year.
The five student-athletes recognized with academic honors include Rachel Canon, Kaelynn Heiberg, Logan Jones, Gemma Kerr, and Hunter Koenigsfeld. To qualify, all five Hawkeyes had to maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and row in a minimum of 75-percent of the team’s races while competing in an NCAA-eligible boat.
This is the third straight year Heiberg and Kerr have been recognized with the academic award, and the second straight year for Canon and Jones.
The Coach of the Year Award recognizes head coaches that have exhibited outstanding success during the current season, demonstrated great team improvement from the prior season, fulfilled their team's potential, and demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach.
One season after ending Iowa’s 16-year NCAA drought, Carter led Iowa right back to the national stage, setting a school-record with 69 points and an 11th place finish at the 2018 NCAA Rowing Championships. The Hawkeyes reached as high as No. 7 in US Rowing/CRCA Coaches poll, a program-best, and set a scoring record at the Big Ten Championships, placing fourth with 111 points. Three Hawkeyes earned All-Big Ten honors, and Contessa Harold recorded a program first by sharing Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors.
In Carter’s five seasons as head coach, 28 Hawkeyes have earned CRCA National Scholar Athlete Awards.