Madison, Wis. * First varsity assistant coach Jamie Whalen and novice openweight coach Marina Traub are the newest members of the revamped Wisconsin women's crew staff, head women's rowing coach Maren LaLiberty announced today.
Whalen begins his Division I intercollegiate coaching career after spending the past 12 years coaching at various levels. He has coached clubs and individuals in cities all across North America, including Annapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Miami and Toronto, among others. In 2000, he coached at the USRowing Junior Women's Development Camp in Manhattan, Kan., and in 1998 contributed his knowledge to the USRowing Sculling Development Camp in Ann Arbor, Mich. Other well known rowing camps and schools Whalen has put time into include the Northeast Rowing Center in Raymond, Maine from 1997*99, Row as One in South Hadley, Mass., in 1996 and 1997, and the Florida Rowing Center in Wellington, Fla., during 1993 through 1997. Athletes he has coached have gone on to junior national teams and have medalled in junior world championships.
In 2001, Whalen attended the five-week FISA International Coaching Academy in Seville, Spain and in 2000, earned his USRowing Level III Certificate. A 1981 graduate from St. John's College (Md.) with a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, he earned his master's degree in the history of science from the University of Toronto in 1985.
"Jamie brings to this program a vast amount of rowing knowledge acquired through his many varied coaching positions over the last 12 years," beamed LaLiberty. "In addition, our current team members will certainly respond positively to the patience and clarity that are characteristic of his coaching style. He is a very talented individual and we are fortunate to have him on our staff."
Traub begins her tenure with the UW following a successful season as the assistant women's varsity coach at California-Berkeley, helping lead the Golden Bears to a third-place team finish at the 2002 NCAA Championship. In charge of the third varsity eight and varsity four boats, she directed the former to a Pacific Rowing Coast Championship and the latter to a Pacific-10 title. She spent the 2000*01 campaign as the novice men's coach for Loyola (Md.). She has also worked in the private sector, having spent much of 2000 as a fitness specialist and trainer in Baltimore and in Charlottesville, Va.
The 2000 Virginia graduate with a bachelor's degree in government earned four letters with a Cavalier rowing squad that earned four top-four NCAA team finishes during her career. As a senior, Traub was named to the 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Crew of the Year.
"Over the last six years, Marina has been part of some of the most successful women's rowing programs," LaLiberty said. "She rowed at the University of Virginia when they competed at NCAAs four years in a row and was an assistant coach at the University of California last year when they placed third at NCAAs. Because of these experiences, she brings the high standards and expectations that must become part of any successful novice women's rowing squad. She has a great future here at Wisconsin."