High Point Rowing Club has hired Allie Davis as its new varsity girls rowing coach, the team has announced.
In addition to her role with the youth program, Davis’ coaching responsibilities will also include the adult Masters Summer program.
“I am so pleased Allie Davis has joined our program,” chief coach Gene Kininmonth said. “There is real artistry to being a rowing coach and Allie brings to our team a skill set built over a lifetime of experience in the sport.”
Communication skills are natural to Davis, who was the NCAA Division I coxswain for the women’s rowing program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last season after having previously coached competitive Masters programs in her home state of Ohio.
Allie Davis, the former chief coxswain at Carolina, is now the varsity girls rowing coach at High Point Rowing Club.
Davis takes over the reigns of the varsity girls from Kininmonth, who previously directed both the boys and girls teams. Kininmonth will now continue his focus on the boys program.
According to Davis, High Point Rowing Club has the potential to grow exponentially in the coming years. “There is a really positive energy on this team,” says Davis who sees a big future for the club in both adult and youth rowing. “We have an incredibly enthusiastic new group of adults who have just discovered the sport and that is exciting. With Title IX regulations, women’s rowing is growing in the NCAA making it much more common to find college scholarship money and admissions slots for talented female high school athletes. So, I am looking forward to helping all of our rowers reach their potential in a way that can truly make a significant difference in their lives.”
High Point, making its debut in the high school women’s Division 1 varsity ranks, shocked Triangle Rowing Club of Raleigh to win the prestigious women’s varsity eights title at the 2014 High Point Regatta on Saturday.
The crew of coxswain Cara Mills, stroke Catherine Thompson, Katie Ognovich, Olivia Mangus, Sarah Catto, Aisinn Antrim, Morgan Sheehan, Emma Lloyd, and bow Bethany Brake led from the outset on the Oak Hollow Lake rowing course to clock a new record time of 5 minutes 1 second for the 1,500m race.
High Point demonstrated its strength in the sport by picking up five of the seven titles in the sudden death duel boat series with Triangle. High Point also won the women’s first and second division novice eights, and the men’s novice eights and fours events.
Entering the regatta as the underdog, High Point quickly saw the momentum shift to its favor once racing started in the Women’s Varsity Eights event and the hometown crew powered to more than a boat length lead over its Raleigh rival. What started out as a Cinderella story soon became a dominant triumph in the closing stages as High Point pushed out to a comfortable win.
“This was High Point’s first attempt in the Division I ranks and to earn a victory against this Raleigh program was a big time win for our program,” said High Point head coach Gene Kininmonth. “The crew found great rhythm out on the water today and truly stepped up.”
Regatta Secretary Mary Horan said the team is very grateful to Triangle for coming to High Point to race this weekend. “We are also very thankful to all of the volunteer supporters including parents and coaches, who brought such enthusiasm to making this event such a special one for all the rowers from both teams.”
Next week the High Point Crew heads to South Carolina for the Clemson Sprints, a regional regatta featuring top high school and collegiate crews from five different states.
High Point opened the 2014 spring season by winning the women’s varsity eight event at the 2014 High Point Regatta. The varsity crew was comprised of coxswain Cara Mills, stroke Catherine Thompson, Katie Ognovich, Olivia Mangus, Sarah Catto, Aislinn Antrim, Morgan Sheehan, Ema Lloyd and bow Bethany Brake.High Point’s novice crew of coxswain Kiana Davis, stroke Bethany Brake, Maddie Mullins, Abbey Lowdermilk, Anna Kareis, Cheyenne DeLaney, Kim Pollard, Hayden Davis, and bow Katherine Komsa led from wire to wire at the 2014 High Point Regatta.Gorgeous silver punch cups were presented to the rowers of each winning crew.High Point oarsmen Andrew Wright, Colin Howard, Josh Dasnoit, Adam Alt, and coxswain Will Wright won the Novice Fours event at the 2014 High Point Regatta and then teamed up with James Bennett, Henderson Beck, Austin Young, and Ryan Kurtiak to win the Novice Eights title.Triangle just nips High Point at the finish post in the Middle School/3rd Novice Crew Exhibition event. High Point was represented by coxswain Kaylie Mills, stroke Lewis Crotts, Gabby Reenstra, Crosby Howard, Kyle Koval, Allie Augustin, Nick Heflin, Paige Shields and bow Lindsay York.High Point’s crew of coxswain Aine Mills, stroke Alice Nafekh, Addy Millsap, Victoria Goldin, Rebecka Lassiter, Junior Ognovich, Hadley Copeland, Kate Wenger, and Margaux Blanchard won the Second Division Novice Eights title in a photo finish with Triangle Rowing Club.
The High Point Enterprise published a wonderful article on the efforts to bring rowing to High Point.
We are very grateful to the Enterprise and journalist Jimmy Tomlin and photographer Sonny Hedgecock for their contributions to this story called Use Your Scull.
