Penn hires former Trinity boss as women's rowing coach

One vacancy filled, one to go.

Five weeks after women's rowing coach Mike Lane's contract was not renewed, Penn Athletics announced Monday that it has hired former Trinity coach Wesley Ng to take the program's helm. Ng arrives at Penn following nine seasons with the Bantams, a period in which he received numerous accolades for his work with the Division III squad.

In addition to helping it qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships in each year of his tenure, the former Yale rower led Trinity to its first team national championship in 2014. For his work with that Bantams crew, Ng was named Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Coach of the Year and ECAC Coach of the Year.

He also guided Trinity's varsity-eight boat to national titles in 2008 and 2015.

"It is a privilege and an honor to become a part of the tradition of the Penn women's rowing program," Ng said in a press release. "The passion of the alumnae, the past leadership of this program, and the focus of Penn Athletics has created a foundation that we can successfully build upon.

"I am deeply committed to creating an environment where we will gain speed and success. Great challenges create opportunities for personal and programmatic growth, and I am looking forward to working with our student-athletes to help them earn that growth and experience."

Lane, whose contract expired at the conclusion of the 2015 season, had been in charge of the Red and Blue for six years — following three campaigns as an assistant — prior to his dismissal. In May, Lane guided Penn's crew to its best performance at the Ivy League Championships ever, as the squad finished in sixth place, well ahead of Dartmouth and Columbia and only five points behind fifth-place Cornell.

When it was announced that Lane and men's heavyweight coach Greg Myhr would not return in 2015-16, Athletic Director Grace Calhoun explained that "it is in the best interest of these programs to go in new directions as we look to advance at the Ivy League and national levels."

In the administration's release on Monday, Calhoun claimed that the she had found the exact candidate she was seeking.

"Wesley set the bar for what Penn needs in its next head coach," she said. "He has a winning coaching record, a proven ability to develop student-athletes, positive character traits and experience both as an Ivy League student-athlete and coach.

"During the interview process, I also was impressed with how Wes thinks outside the box with his training methods and the use of technology. Wes is a rising star and a very sought-after coach, and we are lucky to have him lead our program."

Ng began his involvement with collegiate rowing as a member of the Bulldogs' heavyweight crew in the late 1990s. Before graduating in 2002, Ng won three EARC Sprints championships at Yale, and was part of the program's IRA National Championship squad as a senior.

Before moving on to Trinity, Ng served as an assistant for one season each with the Elis' women's and men's lightweight programs. The Yale graduate eventually spent two years as an assistant and recruiting coordinator for the Bantams' men's rowing crews before taking over as head coach in 2006.

Beyond his work in collegiate rowing, Ng has also been involved with boats on an international level. After coaching the squad at the assistant level last year, Ng will spend this summer leading the United States' women's crew at the 2015 World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Bulgaria later this month before beginning preparations for the Quakers' upcoming campaign.

"I believe that our current and future student-athletes should be inspired … as they strive for excellence within the always-competitive Ivy League and nationally," Ng said. "When you combine the draw of the Ivy League student-athlete experience, the iconic boathouse row in the great rowing city of Philadelphia and the value of a Penn education, I believe that package will resonate with past, current and future members of the Penn women's rowing family."

With Ng now in the fold, Calhoun's next move will likely focus on filling the currently empty men's heavyweight rowing coaching position. In addition to Ng and Myhr's eventual successor, football coach Ray Priore, women's soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke and men's basketball coach Steve Donahue will all begin their first season with the Quakers in the coming semester.

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