The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association is pleased to announce that Emily Ford from the University of Michigan has been selected as the Division I Assistant Coach of the Year for 2003-04. The criteria for selection is:
" He/she has demonstrated outstanding commitment to his/her program " He/she has had a significant impact on the success of his/her program " He/she has demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach
Ford has been an Assistant Coach at the University of Michigan for nine years. She spent her first two years at Michigan as the Head Novice Coach before she moved to Varsity Assistant. Currently, Ford is responsible for coaching the Second Varsity 8 which finished fourth at the 2004 NCAA National Championships. Her crews have finished in the top five nationally for six of the last seven years, including a national championship in 2001. In addition to her work at Michigan, Ford coached the 2002 Junior National Team pair to a fifth place finish at the Junior World Championships in Trakai, Lithuania. Ford is a 1993 graduate of the University of California, San Diego where she was a member of the 1993 gold medal womens lightweight 4+ at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships. She was a three-year letterwinner, a two-time team captain and the only rower in school history to earn the prestigious Outstanding Senior Female Athlete Award.