Sam began her rowing journey in 2012 at her high school in northern Virginia. After discovering that rowing was her favorite part of most days, she decided that it would always have a place in her life and has followed that thought since. She rowed in college for Virginia Tech all four years while obtaining her B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and continued to row for various programs post-graduation before moving to Madison and finding the perfect club to support her rowing appetite. She is incredibly grateful to be able to give back to the sport that she loves so much by serving as the Junior Lead Coach, and hopes to support the next generation of rowers in chasing their goals and finding how rowing fits into their lives.

She can be reached at: swinn@mendotarowingclub.com

Rose started rowing first year of high school in West Michigan and quickly fell in love with the sport. They went on to row D3 at Smith College, where they studied Engineering and Spanish. After graduating in the spring, Rose moved to Madison in August 2022 and immediately joined Mendota Rowing Club. They are excited to work with the Middle Schoolers on building teamwork and camaraderie while strengthening fitness and rowing technique. Outside of rowing, Rose is an energy engineer passionate about climate change; they work in implementing renewable energy for heating and cooling buildings.

Rose can be reached at rsears@mendotarowingclub.com

Rebecca Kite is from Denver, Colorado, and is an alum of the UW Women’s Rowing Team, Class of 2021. She walked-on to the team in Fall 2017 having never rowed before, and went on to compete at the BIG10 and NCCA Championships. She raced in the second varsity eight and first varsity four while on the team, sitting bow or 3 seat. At the end of her 4 years, she received a senior award for her dedication, spirit, and inspiration. 

As an athlete her whole life—of soccer, basketball, field hockey, swimming, and rowing—Rebecca appreciates the way sport cultivates personal and communal harmony through our most innocent and primal of urges, moving our bodies and competing! She is a cheerleader of mental health and fortitude and believes sport can be a conduit to understanding ourselves and others more deeply.

Rebecca is receiving a degree in Journalism from UW-Madison. Her love of the outdoors comes from her years spent as a summer camper and counselor in Colorado and as a little kid exploring the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario with her family. She is so excited to continue her rowing journey with the awesome folks of MRC! 

She can be reached at: rkite@mendotarowingclub.com

Charlie was born and raised in Dumfries, Virginia. He started rowing in 2014 and continued to row year-round for the next 4 years throughout high school. He attended the College of William & Mary where he obtained his B.S. in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a concentration in Public Health. During this time, he took a break from rowing so that he was able to focus on his studies and graduate early. Then, he immediately began his Master’s of Public Health at George Washington University which he is currently finishing remotely. After moving to Madison for work, Charlie reignited his passion for rowing on the adult master’s team. 

Charlie can be reached at cwesthoff@mendotarowingclub.com

Taylan learned to row and fell in love with the sport in 2012 during their freshman year at Bucknell University. After a fall semester on the water and winter training, Taylan moved up from the learn to row program to the varsity team. In 2018 Taylan moved to New York City and started rowing with Row New York's masters team. Through RNY, Taylan got to compete (and win a few medals) internationally in the 2018 Gay Games in Paris, as well in regattas throughout the east coast. Taylan's main love is endurance rowing, and they have circumnavigated Manhattan, a 53 km row, and participated in the Vogalonga - a 32 km row through the canals of Venice. In addition to rowing with MRC's masters team, Taylan is also training to compete in the 2025 World's Toughest Row as part of team Oar the Rainbow, rowing 2,800 miles from California to Hawaii. Outside of rowing, Taylan is a PhD student in UW Madison's School of Social Work. 

Taylan can be reached at tstulting@MendotaRowingClub.com.

Saylor started rowing her first year of high school at a small team in Boulder, Colorado. From her first season she was hooked! She continued her rowing career at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine where she became a team captain and two time Division III NCAA national champion. After graduating, Saylor lived in Denver, CO where she was an assistant coach at Mile High Rowing Club for two years before moving to Madison to start her biochemistry PhD at UW. She is so excited to have found Mendota Rowing and can’t wait to help rowers get the most out of this incredible sport. 

She can be reached at: sstrugar@mendotarowingclub.com

Ariana began her rowing journey in her first year of college as a walk-on coxswain for the Williams Women's Crew Team. She spent the previous summer conducting research at Williams College and rowing/coaching at Berkshire Community Rowing. She is a rising junior, studying biology and chemistry, and is racing at the 2024 Division III NCAA Championships. Ariana is spending the summer researching microplastics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is very excited to be joining the Mendota Rowing Club coaching team for the summer. 

Leigh discovered rowing in 2014, when she was the only middle schooler in a master’s learn to row class. She quickly became a coxswain for her high school team, as well as Prince William Rowing Club. Leigh went on to win Virginia state championships in a men’s 4+, in addition to finishing 9th at youth nationals. She holds the course record time for the Head of the Occoquan, and has numerous medals from Master’s Nationals and the Head of the Schuylkill regattas. 

After graduating from high school, Leigh became the head coach of the University of Mary Washington Rowing Club. She built the team from 6 members to 25+, and was able to get athletes back on the water after several years without access to equipment. Leigh graduated with a degree in English and was recruited for the University of Louisville’s NCAA D1 rowing team in 2022. At Louisville, she coxed multiple boats and managed data and graphing for the team. She graduated with a Masters degree in epidemiology and began coaching for Louisville Rowing Club in 2024. Leigh moved to Madison in 2025 and fell in love with Mendota Rowing Club. She is passionate about sharing the sport with athletes of all levels and experiences.

Helena discovered rowing in 8th grade after trying a bunch of other sports and not finding one she really enjoyed. Falling in love with the sport, Helena rowed throughout high school and served as captain during her senior year, which thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic mostly consisted of leading workouts on zoom. From there, she walked on to the UW–Madison lightweight rowing team, where she competed for three years and raced at nationals twice, once in a 4+ and once in a 2x. One of her most unforgettable experiences was flipping a double on Lake Mendota in the middle of winter, an icy introduction to the realities of rowing in Wisconsin. Currently taking a gap year while applying to medical school, she is thrilled to bring her passion for rowing and a positive team culture to Mendota Rowing Club!