Head coach Wendy Levash-Bordeau announced Kennedy's hiring late last month, which follows Kennedy's brief one year stint as the head coach of the women's crew team at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif. With the addition of Kennedy, the women's crew team will look to learn from the former crew star's competitive and coaching experiences in the hope of returning to the NCAA Championship after it failed to qualify for the tournament last season.
"I have a deep personal investment in the ongoing success of the Dartmouth women's crew program," Kennedy said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "I had an amazing experience here as a student-athlete, and I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to once again be a part of this team."
As a new assistant coach, Kennedy will shift her focus to the place where her rowing career began. Kennedy joined the team as a freshman walk-on, and quickly rose to the challenge and through the ranks as she blossomed into a powerful and natural rower.
After joining the women's eight boat on the varsity squad in her sophomore year, Kennedy steadily grew and matured as a leader. She eventually became team captain in her senior year, and led Dartmouth to an eighth- place finish in the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships.
Kennedy had previously gained recognition at the national level by making two trips to the FISA Under-23 World Championships as part of a highly selective eight-woman boat.
The Big Green star, along with teammate Kate Davison '07, represented Dartmouth on the U.S. team for its gold medal performance at Hazewinkel, Belgium, in 2006, and again at Strathclyde, Scotland, in 2007, when the team captured bronze.
"[Kennedy's] experience both at Dartmouth and on the national team is going to be an incredibly valuable asset to the team," captain Emily Dreissigacker '11 said. "Having been a Dartmouth rower herself, she's really in a position to understand our team better than anyone and even provide insight to the rest of our coaching staff."
Dreissigacker, who was recently named to the U.S. Under-23 National Team and will compete this week at the FISA Championships in Belarus, said that the entire team will gain from Kennedy's expert knowledge of the sport.
"Rowing for the national team like [Kennedy] did takes a great amount of dedication and commitment, not to mention an incredible love and appreciation of the sport," Dreissigacker said. "Knowing that she will bring these same values to coaching, I think we are incredibly lucky to be having her join our team."
After a disappointing end to the season, Dreissigacker believes Kennedy will be able to help the team achieve its goals this upcoming fall.
"We fell just short this year, but I'm confident that we have all learned from the experience," Dreissigacker said. "There is no doubt in my mind that this year we are capable of not only qualifying, but also being competitive with the best teams in the nation. This goal is something that [Kennedy] will undoubtedly be able to help us achieve."
After her senior year at Dartmouth, Kennedy took a job as assistant coach for women's crew at the University of California at Berkeley, where she helped coach a women's varsity boat to fourth place at the NCAA Championship during the 2007-08 season.
"[Kennedy's] time on the national team and her coaching experience at [Berkeley] and Santa Clara have added to her perspective," Levash-Bordeau said. "She just gets it. She understands what makes boats go fast."
Kennedy said that throughout her career she has been able to witness firsthand the transformative nature of leadership.
"As an athlete, I led by example," Kennedy said. "As a coach, I see the value of developing a growth mindset within the group a team culture that values hard work and improvement, and embraces challenge as an opportunity to grow."
Kennedy will now try to impart some of her own values to the rest of the team, she said.
"I hope to help athletes realize that attitude is everything," Kennedy said. "Strong relationships are cemented when athletes support each other through the ups and downs of life and athletics."
