Sept. 30, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -– University of Wisconsin men’s rowing head coach Chris Clark has named Simon Carcagno, currently the men’s novice coach, the program’s associate head coach.
The 2014-15 season marks Carcagno’s seventh season with the Badgers. Carcagno came to the team during the 2008-09 season as a volunteer assistant coach, spent two years as the varsity assistant and has been the men’s novice coach and recruiting coordinator ever since. Carcagno has proven to be a vital part of this team.
“Simon has already essentially been functioning in this role anyway for quite some time,” Clark says. “He has really upped our game in recruiting, the use of technology, and cross-training to name just a few areas where his impact has been felt.”
When Carcagno came to Wisconsin he brought a plethora of experience, as both a rower and a coach. In 2002 while training on the U.S. national team, Carcagno accepted a position as the first boys coach at the Mercer Junior Rowing Club in West Windsor, New Jersey. Over five years, he grew the program from a small group of novices to national prominence, and sent athletes on to collegiate and national teams.
In 2009, Carcagno came to Wisconsin as a volunteer coach. He worked closely with the Eastern Sprints-winning third varsity eight and the IRA runner-up open four squads. As the assistant varsity coach, he led the third varsity eight to two Eastern Sprints titles, picked up two silver medals from the IRA in the open four and a bronze medal in the varsity four. After moving into the novice coaching role, the freshman boat has seen steadily improving results while the second freshman eight has won the Eastern Sprints each year. Last season, Carcagno led the freshman eight to competition in the 2014 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships, where the boat of four experienced rowers and four novices took fifth place in the grand final. This was the best finish for the Badgers in that event since 2009.
Before Carcagno got into the coaching realm, he was a student-athlete himself at Princeton University. Carcagno accelerated from walking on to the men’s rowing team his freshman year to co-captaining the undefeated national champion varsity eight as a senior. In 1998 he was awarded the Bayard W. Read Class of 1926 Award for most improved athlete over four years.
Carcagno graduated with an A.B. (Artium Baccalaureatus) in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1998. After graduating, Carcagno took on a volunteer coach position at his alma mater for the next year.
Before coming to Wisconsin, Carcagno was a member of the U.S. national team (2002-08). In 2002 he was part of the duo that was the first-ever U.S. finalist in the lightweight pair at the world championships. Carcagno was an alternate on two Olympic teams, and rowed on one Pan-Am team and seven senior national teams. While on the national team, Carcagno won the world championships in the lightweight eight in 2008, took silver at the Pan American Games in the lightweight four in 2007, placed third in the lightweight pair in 2003, and placed ninth in the lightweight four at the 2005 and 2006 World Championships.
Carcagno’s wife, Megan Cooke Carcagno, was also recently named associate head coach for the women’s team at Wisconsin.
