Jennifer
Sanford-Wendry is in her 11th season as the head coach of the University of
Connecticut rowing program in 2007-08. She was named rowing coach in the fall
of 1997 when women’s rowing became a varsity sport at UConn.
Sanford
led the team to its most successful season yet in 2005. The team won the points
trophy at the Dad Vail Championship as the varsity eight won, the junior varsity
eight finished second, and the novice eight finished third.
In 2005
the team also finished fourth at the BIG EAST Championship – its highest finish
ever at that event. The second varsity eight, novice eight, and novice four all
finished third, while the varsity eight placed fifth, and the varsity four was
sixth.
In 2004,
Sanford saw the UConn junior varsity eight win the Dad Vail Championship.
Prior to
coming to UConn, Sanford was the novice women’s coach at the University of
Pennsylvania, where she led the Quaker novice eight to the finals of the Eastern
Sprints. In 1996 and 1997, she was the United States Junior National Development
Team coach.
Sanford, a
1993 graduate of Syracuse University, has been associated with rowing her entire
life. She began rowing when she was seven years old and had her first race in a
single when she was 10. Her coaching career began at age 16, when she began
coaching youth programs for the Syracuse Chargers Rowing Club. After graduating
from college, Sanford taught elementary school for three years while coaching
the Liverpool High School women’s crew. In 1995, her Liverpool High School
senior eight won the Scholastic Rowing Association National Championship.
In
addition to her coaching responsibilities at UConn, she is a member of the
Female Athlete Performance Committee. Sanford is also involved with the
Riverfront Recapture rowing program in Hartford, Conn. as a summer camp coach.
Sanford
comes from a large coaching family. Her father, Bill Sanford, retired in 2002
after coaching the men’s crew at Syracuse University for 37 years. Sister Kris
is the head women’s rowing coach at Syracuse. At Marist College, her cousin Tom
Sanford is the Director of Rowing.
Sanford
resides in Coventry, Conn. with her husband Brian, sons Will and Wyatt and dog
Libby.
“Being
the head coach of the University of Connecticut women’s rowing team has been
tremendously rewarding. I have had the opportunity to see the team grow each
year. We ask our student-athletes for three characteristics when they become a
member of our program…positive attitude, positive effort and coachability. When
those characteristics are present great things happen. Part of our programs
success can be attributed to our support staff. Amanda Kimball, our strength
and conditioning coach, plays a major part in developing creative yet
challenging workouts for our winter training program. Our academic advisor
Becky Taylor offers the support needed to accomplish our academic goals, as
shown buy our continued success in the classroom. Of most importance, being a
member of the UConn rowing team means being a part of a second family, a family
that helps you through thick and thin during your college experience and creates
friendships that last a lifetime.” -- Jennifer Sanford-Wendry
