USRowing Announces 2025 Board-Selected Annual Award Winners

USRowing is pleased to announce the winners of its eight Board of Directors-selected annual awards for 2025. The following individuals are being honored for their outstanding contributions to the sport of rowing:

Anita DeFrantz Medal of Honor: Bill McNabb

Jack Kelly Award: Kris Thorsness

United We Row Award: Xavier University Rowing 

Isabel Bohn Award for Achievement in Adaptive Rowing: Head of the Charles Regatta

John J. Carlin Award: Chris Chase

Clayton W. Chapman Award: Sarah Kupiec Hartz

Man of the Year: Kemp Savage

Ernestine Bayer Award: Bebe Bryans

Learn more about past award winners here. 

Anita DeFrantz Medal of Honor: Bill McNabb

Criteria: Awarded to a member of the rowing community in the U.S. who has rendered conspicuous service to, or accomplished extraordinary feats in, rowing. It is the highest honor USRowing can bestow.

Bill McNabb has tirelessly supported USRowing and the greater rowing community through his work with the USRowing Foundation, the Gold Cup, Dartmouth College, and Conshohocken Rowing Center. He has leveraged his knowledge and network to advance and grow the sport of rowing and recently made a transformational surprise $1 million donation at the Golden Oars gala dinner to kickstart USRowing's LA28 campaign. 

Bill is the Chair of the USRowing Foundation (USRF). Under his leadership, the Foundation - the Official Fundraising Arm of USRowing and the U.S. National Team – has become an important financial supporter for USRowing and the U.S. High Performance program. Trustees of the USRowing Foundation have contributed over $13 million to USRowing and the High Performance program since the Foundation's inception in 2022. Funds from the Foundation also help close funding gaps and provide organizational stability. 

In addition to supporting USRowing, he has endowed the women’s head coach job at Dartmouth College. This donation makes a massive impact on college athletics and the ongoing support of women’s athletics.

“It’s a true honor to be mentioned alongside Anita, whose impact on rowing and on our broader community is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Bill McNabb. “She has set a standard for what this sport can represent at its very best. Rowing has given my family and me so much over the years, and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to give back and play a role in strengthening and growing the sport for future generations.”

Jack Kelly Award: Kris Thorsness

Criteria: Awarded to an outstanding individual who represents the ideals that Jack Kelly exemplified: superior achievements in rowing, service to amateur athletics, and success in their chosen profession, thereby serving as an inspiration to American rowers.

Kris Thosness is a 1984 Olympic champion in the women’s eight, as part of the crew that won the first-ever U.S. women’s gold in rowing. She is also a three-time silver medalist at the World Championships and was a member of seven national teams. Together with her 1984 teammates, Thorsness was inducted into the U.S. Rowing Hall of Fame in 1984 and won the Ernestine Bayer Award in 2008. She was a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

Kris is also a respected attorney whose practice focuses primarily on Title IX in athletics.  She is an arbitrator for the International Court of Arbitration for Sport and was an arbitrator at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She also serves as an arbitrator for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. She served on USRowing's Board of Directors, is a long-time USRowing referee, and a former member of the USRowing Referee Committee. 

Kris personifies this award as she has achieved the pinnacle in sports as an Olympic champion and has since served amateur sports - both USRowing directly as well as the Olympic Games and Olympians as a community - with unwavering commitment. 

“I gratefully accept this award, with heartfelt thanks to USRowing, my coaches Sue Ela and Bob Ernst, my amazing teammates at Wisco and on the U.S. Team, and my many mentors in the law,” said Kris Thorsness. “All of these people challenged me and guided my rowing and legal career, and I owe my successes to them.”

United We Row Award: Xavier University Rowing 

Criteria: Awarded to an individual or organization achieving measurable success in expanding diversity opportunities in rowing. 

Over the past two years, Xavier University of Louisiana has led one of the most significant advances in inclusion efforts across American rowing. In partnership with the New Orleans Rowing Club (NORC), Xavier built the first HBCU rowing program in over 50 years, growing from an idea on paper to a fully recognized varsity men’s and women’s program in the fall of 2025. Their accomplishments represent not only measurable success on their own campus but also the creation of a replicable model capable of expanding rowing across the entire HBCU landscape.

Xavier’s program shows what is possible when intentionality, community partnership, and student-centered coaching come together. Beginning with a small group of students and two volunteer coaches, the program invested deeply in water safety, skills development, transportation, and building a cohesive team culture. Within its first year, Xavier students participated in their first regattas, becoming the first HBCU athletes to race on water since the 1970s, and established a consistent training schedule that grew to four practices a week. The team also secured ergs for campus, created an indoor training space, built a communication and leadership structure, and developed the university relationships necessary to sustain long-term growth.

The program has introduced rowing to more than 100 Xavier students, taught over 50 students to row at a single community event, and built a core group of committed athletes who now serve as leaders and ambassadors for the sport. Xavier rowers have raced in multiple events, represented the university in mixed, men’s, and women’s lineups, and set new course records in regional competition. Their presence on the water - Black student-athletes representing an HBCU in a historically exclusionary sport - is a critical and long-overdue step forward for rowing in the United States.

The Xavier team has also developed a strategic, documented model that can be replicated. Their seven-step framework: assessing mission, cultivating student interest, building fundamentals, increasing training intensity, providing representation, leveraging competition, and expanding resources, offers a nationally relevant roadmap for expanding HBCU rowing in a sustainable and culturally responsive way.

At its core, Xavier’s work embodies the purpose of the United We Row Award: creating measurable, meaningful success in expanding opportunities for underrepresented athletes in rowing. By building a thriving HBCU rowing program, nurturing young Black rowers, and establishing a roadmap for national replication, Xavier is reshaping our sport. Their work strengthens communities, expands the collegiate pipeline, and demonstrates that rowing’s future can, and must, reflect the full diversity of our country.

“This award belongs to every student who took a chance on something new, every coach who gave their time, and every partner who stood behind us when this was just an idea," said Tamara Clayton, head coach of XULA Rowing. "It may sound cliché, but it’s true. This wasn’t built by one person; it was built by a community that kept showing up - especially when it wasn’t easy.

"Our goal is for everyone to know that we are more than a feel-good story. We are competitors. We prove that with discipline, hard work, and showing up when it’s not convenient. We want our name on a heat sheet to mean something, and for other teams to know it won’t be an easy race. This takes time, but we're building that, piece by piece, together."

"We’re not here to replace what rowing has traditionally been; we’re here to expand it. We bring HBCU culture into our practices and onto the racecourse, and we like to think it brings smiles to the people we come across. It brings energy and joy to a sport that can sometimes feel rigid or distant."

"This is what happens when a community commits to something bigger than itself. A legacy is being built, and we’re excited for what the future holds.”

Isabel Bohn Award: Head Of The Charles Regatta

Criteria: Awarded to an individual or organization achieving measurable success in expanding rowing opportunities for those with physical and intellectual disabilities.

The Head of the Charles has been expanding its Inclusion events over the past several years, with the largest field to date (22) in the Inclusion Double Sculls. They have elevated the PR3 four with coxswain to champion status, moving the event to day two of the regatta among the Champ men’s and Champ women's fours. They have a proactive, adaptive committee that addresses concerns and accommodation requests from competitors, and this year, it offered several handicap parking spots in a prime location. They still have room to grow in many areas, but this regatta has made significant strides in providing more opportunities and an enhanced experience for people with disabilities.

The Head of the Charles promotion of Para and inclusion events has added legitimacy and importance to the promotion of Para rowing in the U.S. It has inspired and will continue to inspire regattas to be more inclusive and stand as an example of how to accommodate Para athletes. 

John J. Carlin Service Award: Chris Chase

Criteria: Awarded to honor an individual who has made significant and outstanding commitments in support of rowing. 

Chris Chase’s commitment to rowing as a regatta organizer, coach, program director, and eventually staff member of USRowing changed the trajectory of youth rowing in America and the regattas in Saratoga, NY. His efforts in coaching education, the birth of Youth Nationals, the Junior National Team, and as a widely beloved community builder are second to none. As a coach, Chris spent decades working with the junior national team and laying the groundwork for the team's success. Chris recently left rowing to return as a teacher and coach in other sports (who are so lucky to have him), and we would be remiss not to honor Chris for all he has done for our sport.

Chris Chase has organized and led many USRowing and coaching conferences, helping advance coaches' education and skills across the country. 

Clayton Chapman Award: Sarah Kupiec Hartz

Criteria: Awarded to an outstanding individual who emulates Clayton Chapman's 30-year stewardship of the Eastern Sprints and IRA Championships. This person will have consistently served behind the scenes in unrecognized but important roles in staging a regatta. The individual may be an athlete, coach, referee, administrator, volunteer or regatta organizer.

Sarah (Kupiec) Hartz has been the driving force behind the logistics and success of events held at Nathan Benderson Park. For more than a decade, Sarah and her team have worked closely with regatta organizers of youth, scholastic, collegiate, national, and international championships. She is a key reason NBP has become the success story it is, and we want to honor her commitment to exceptional event execution and real-time problem-solving. From regional championships to World Championships and Olympic Trials, NBP is the premier rowing venue in the United States, with Sarah being the face of their Event team.

During Hartz’s tenure, Nathan Benderson Park hosted the 2017 World Rowing Championships and is scheduled to welcome the championships back to the United States in 2028. The venue has also hosted the USRowing Youth National Championships for six consecutive events, each continuing to grow in size and quality due in large part to the collaborative experience Sarah and her team coordinate alongside the staff of USRowing.

That excellence was nationally recognized in 2023 when the USRowing Youth National Championships were named Best Amateur Sporting Event by the Sports Travel Awards. The honor reflects the dedication and coordination of Sarah and the extensive team of employees and volunteers she leads at Nathan Benderson Park.

"I am honored to receive the Clayton Chapman Award and deeply grateful for our incredible team and partners who made it possible, said Sarah Hartz. "This recognition reflects the shared commitment to excellence and the dedication of an extraordinary group of staff, volunteers, partners, and organizers who bring that vision to life every day. It represents years of teamwork, perseverance, and a collective belief in the mission of Nathan Benderson Park."

Man of the Year: Kemp Savage

Criteria: Awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to men's rowing and/or to an outstanding man in rowing. 

Kemp Savage is the Head Coach of Women’s Rowing at Eastern Michigan University and has played a central role in advancing collegiate rowing at the conference, national, and international levels.

In 2025, Savage worked closely with Eastern Michigan University and Mid-American Conference (MAC) leadership to finalize the addition of rowing as a conference sport. This expansion increased the number of NCAA automatic qualifying bids to ten and established Eastern Michigan as the host site for the first three MAC Rowing Championships beginning in 2026. He also collaborated with athletic administration to add women’s lightweight rowing as the university’s 18th varsity sport, expanding opportunities for female collegiate rowers during a time when many programs are facing reductions due to the evolving NIL landscape.

In April 2025, Savage was elected President of the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA). In this role, he has chaired the Executive Director Search Committee and successfully led the hiring of a new Executive Director in August 2025. He has also served as Chair of the CRCA Sustainability Committee and as a member of the legislative committee, contributing to governance efforts, including bylaw restructuring to reflect ongoing NCAA conference realignment and ensure balanced representation across divisions.

Savage has also been instrumental in the development and operation of the Ford Lake rowing course in Ypsilanti, serving as a key logistical leader and liaison among stakeholders. He has helped establish the venue as a site for collegiate, national, and international competition while fostering strong partnerships between the university and the local community.

In summer 2025, the Ford Lake course hosted its first national and international events, including RowFest and the International Rowing Challenge. Savage served as the local organizing committee (LOC) liaison, coordinating closely with USRowing and international officials to ensure the successful execution of racing across multiple days of competition.

That same summer, Eastern Michigan hosted two USRowing National Team camps. Savage served as Head Coach of the U.S. World University Women’s Team, leading the eight and four at the World University Games in Duisburg, Germany, where the eight earned a bronze medal—his third international coaching medal. He also served as LOC Chair for the U19 Selection Development Camp, overseeing site logistics, equipment, and athlete support.

Savage handled these responsibilities simultaneously—international coaching, national team hosting, major event execution, and national organizational leadership—demonstrating strong organizational skills, leadership, and a commitment to the growth of rowing.

"I want to thank the USRowing Board for this incredible honor," said Kemp Savage. "My goal has always been to give back to rowing everything it has given me, and this recognition reassures me that I’m on the right path."

"I would not have been able to accomplish all that we did this past year without the team around me. I’m especially grateful to the Eastern Michigan University administration, the Ann Arbor Sports Commission, the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest, and Ypsilanti Township for believing in the vision for the course and supporting the hosting of these major events."

"I’d also like to thank Sarah, Tom, and Brett from USRowing for being outstanding partners throughout the process. To my coaching staff, my EMU team, and the World University Games team—thank you for your commitment and trust. I’m especially grateful to Gregg Hartsuff for introducing me to international coaching, and to my right hand, Delaney McGuire." 

"Most importantly, thank you to my family—especially my wife Kellie and my son KJ. They’ve supported me every step of the way, encouraged me to think big, and stood behind every one of those ideas."

Ernestine Bayer (formerly Woman of the Year) Award: BeBe Bryans

Criteria: Awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to women's rowing and/or to an outstanding woman in rowing. 

Bebe Bryans retired in 2023 from Wisconsin women’s rowing as their long-time head coach. She pioneered the program at Michigan State and led the Spartans to six consecutive NCAA appearances. She moved to the University of Wisconsin, where she led the team to its only Big Ten title, its best-ever NCAA championship finishes, and 15 NCAA appearances (including 13 straight NCAA invitations until the pandemic interrupted the 2020 spring season). Her program and leadership produced a steady stream of National Team rowers and Olympians. At the time of her retirement, the school reported that 15 Badger open-weight women made the National Team during her tenure (three Olympians) and eight lightweights (one Olympian). Several of her athletes made the Paris 2024 team shortly after her retirement, adding at least three additional Olympians to the roster from Bebe's time as Wisconsin's head coach. She has since become a beloved rowing announcer, including at the 2025 USRowing Youth National Championships. 

In 1992 and 1993, Bryans was the head coach of the U.S. Junior Women's National Rowing Team. Her 1992 women's eight crew earned a bronze medal - the first medal won for the United States team at a World Rowing Junior Championships. Her work with the team helped lay the foundation of the U19 national team we know today. Bryan was also a member of the United States Women's Olympic Rowing Committee (1992–94), acting as chairperson from 1993 to 1994. In 2000, she coached the U.S. women's four and the lightweight single rowing crews at the World Rowing Championships. 

Her legacy as a coach and leader has fundamentally changed the sport of rowing. Her athletes have gone on to tremendous success, both on and off the water. Her legacy as a coach has made Wisconsin one of the premier programs in the country.