Neppel Named Assistant Coach for UVA Rowing

July 24, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Erin Neppel has been named assistant coach for the Virginia rowing program, head coach Kevin Sauer announced Monday (July 24). Neppel arrives in Charlottesville after serving as the interim head coach at Canisius College last season.

In 2017, Neppel guided the Griffs to a third-place finish at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women’s rowing championships, matching the program’s best finish. Neppel served the previous three seasons as assistant coach at Canisius and was part of the College Rowing Coaches Associate Region 2 Staff of the Year in 2015-16.

Neppel was a three-time All-ACC rowing standout and CRCA Scholar-Athlete at North Carolina from 1998-2001. She garnered a pair of NCAA Central Region first-team honors and was a second-team All-America selection. Neppel spent the summer of 1998 in residence at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. She graduated from UNC in 2001 with a 3.88 GPA and recently earned her master’s degree in sport administration from Canisius.

“I am psyched to add Erin to our staff,” Sauer said. “I have known Erin since coaching her at the Olympic Training Center in 1998 and also watching her excel at UNC. I believe her boundless energy and commitment to excellence will add tremendously to our team.”

Prior to coming to Canisius, Neppel was on the coaching staff at Central Florida, and she has been instrumental in running the Nike Rowing Camps in Chapel Hill, N.C.

“I’m thrilled to be back in the ACC and excited to meet the challenge of working with such an incredible staff and group of student-athletes,” Neppel said. “Throughout my rowing and coaching career, Kevin Sauer and Virginia rowing have been a model of success, and I look forward to contributing to the next great Cavalier crew!”

In addition to coaching at Canisius College, Neppel has coached the USRowing Development Camp at the West Side Rowing Club in Buffalo.