Sara, a Madison native, found her passion for rowing while living in Seattle, Washington, where she learned to row in 2011 and earned a seat on the Lake Union Crew nationally competitive women’s team, with whom she rowed for three years. During that time, Sara also led yoga classes for her fellow rowers and served as an assistant coach for adult learn-to-row classes. Since returning to Wisconsin, Sara has continued to row as a member of the Milwaukee and Mendota Rowing Clubs, and is a US Rowing Assistant Referee. She is delighted to be back in Madison and is enthusiastically looking forward to coaching with the Mendota Rowing Club.

Sara can be reached at skrizan@mendotarowingclub.com

Nate first started rowing with his dad when he was 10 on the Schuylkill River in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA and quickly fell in love with the sport. In high school, he rowed for The Shipley School, primarily in the Varsity double and won a gold at the Stotesbury Cup and bronze at scholastic nationals in that event. He then rowed at MIT for four years as stroke seat in the freshman and varsity eights and served as team captain in his last two years there while studying Aerospace Engineering. Over the summers he raced for the Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia, winning gold in the U23 8 at Canadian Henley and Club Nationals, and also competed in the 19^th Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning golds in the four and pair. After college he coached the MIT novice men's team for one semester, then completed a master's degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and assistant coached the novice team there as well. He moved to Madison in 2018 and is currently completing a PhD in Nuclear Engineering at UW-Madison. Nate rows with the MRC master's team in the summers and looks forward to coaching as well.

Lorenzo is a third year student at UW Madison studying Biochemistry with the intention of attending medical school. He is from Wilmette, IL and has been rowing for 7 years. He rowed for his high-school team, New Trier Rowing, and is currently on the UW team.

His senior year in high-school he placed 3^rd overall at the Head of the Charles regatta in the Men’s Youth 8 event sitting in seven seat. His freshman year at UW he competed in the varsity 4 at the IRA regatta sitting in 2 seat, placing 15^th overall. 

Lorenzo enjoys spending time with his friends, listening to music, and playing the saxophone. He is determined to continue his rowing career as an athlete and as a coach, and hopes to share his knowledge and experience with others!

Ashley is a third year student at UW Madison studying Life Sciences Communication and Sports Communication. She is from the greater Cincinnati area, rowing for the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club through high school and competed for 2 years both on the UW Women’s Lightweight and Openweight teams.

When she was an athlete, she placed 5th in the country the Youth Lightweight 8+ in 2015, 3rd in the country in the Youth Ltwt 8+ and 1st in the Youth Varsity 8+ at Head of the Hooch in 2016, 4th in the country in the Youth Ltwt 8+ in 2017. In her college career, she placed 4th at the 2020 Big Ten Championships in the 1st Novice 8+.

As a coach, Ashley strives to form relationships with her athletes on and off the water. She is excited to continue coaching and learning from the athletes she works with.

I am currently a student at UW-Madison studying biology with intentions to attend Physical Therapy school. I am from Menomonee Falls, WI and grew up playing volleyball and basketball before starting my rowing career. I attended a summer learn to row camp at UW-Madison and fell in love with the sport. I rowed briefly at Milwaukee Rowing Club during my senior year of high school before continuing my academic and athletic career at UW-Madison. I have raced in the first novice 8+ and second varsity 8+ during my time at Wisconsin and am excited to share all that I have learned with the athletes at Mendota Rowing Club!