Michigan State University Women's Rowing

Stacey Rippetoe, just the fourth rowing coach in Spartan program history, returned to East Lansing in the summer of 2023. She is spearheading the most recent upward trend in the rowing program, as the recently expanded Big Ten Conference has become one of the fastest, most competitive leagues in the country in the sport. Seven Big Ten teams – including the Spartans – began the 2026 season in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) national poll. In 2025, Rippetoe guided Michigan State's varsity eight into the Grand Final of both the Women's Sprints and Big Ten Championship regattas, finishing fifth at Big Tens, its highest finish since 2014. The second eight missed the Grand Final by two-tenths of a second and earned redemption with a win in the Petite Final, and the third eight – comprised of all novice rowers – also advanced into the Grand Final, taking fifth place. Five of her athletes have earned All-Big Ten honors over the last two seasons. In 2025, Sabrina Gottschalk was a First Team selection, while Maddie Kieft and Ugne Rudaityte earned Second Team honors. The three All-Big Ten selections were the most for MSU in a single year since 2011. In addition, 34 athletes have earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors, which recognize athletes with a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or better during the academic year. Rippetoe previously spent eight seasons on the Michigan State rowing staff (2000-08). During her time at MSU, Rippetoe spent her first six years as an assistant

Primary Contact for Out of Sport Athletes MSU Rowing Head Coach Stacey Rippetoe appointed Annie Cantu to her staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2024, marking Cantu's return to her alma mater. Cantu joins the staff at Michigan State after a three-year tenure as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan. She worked primarily with the novices at EMU, while also deeply involved with talent transfer recruiting and alumni and parent outreach. She is one of two former Spartan rowers on the coaching staff - she and former teammate Nicole Marek both not only rowed for the Spartans but the duo also coached together at Eastern Michigan before returning to East Lansing. Cantu was a four-year letter-winner and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection at Michigan State, where she was a fixture in the varsity eight her final three seasons after splitting time in the novice boat and second eight in her freshman campaign. Cantu rowed in the 2017 Head of the Charles with the Spartans, finishing 25th in the Championship eights. She graduated from MSU in the spring of 2020 with a bachelor's degree in psychology with minors in human behavior and social sciences, with her senior season unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Post-graduation, Cantu returned home to her native Texas and served as a coach with the Dallas Rowing Club, where she had rowed as part of the juniors program throughout high school – she began her scholastic rowing career in eighth grade at DRC

Primary Contact for International Recruits Kayla (Brock) Romo joined the rowing program in the fall of 2021 and now serves on Stacey Rippetoe's first staff in East Lansing. Romo hails from Manhattan, Kansas and was a four-year letterwinner for the Kansas State rowing team. She graduated from Kansas State in 2017 with a degree in Life Sciences, and went on to earn master's degrees in 2020 in Public Health and Community Development. Prior to coming to East Lansing, Romo spent a year as a volunteer coach with the Kansas State program. She was involved in training, crew lineups, running workouts and practices, and assisted with recruiting. Prior to the volunteer assistant job, she served as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats from 2017-2020. While a GA, she was responsible for the development and growth of the first-year athletes. She familiarized these student-athletes with the mechanics of the sport of rowing and created specific training programs for novices. As a member of the Wildcat rowing staff, she trained nine true freshmen up to the racing squad in 2018-19 and five more in 2019-20. She helped coach two freshmen to a silver medal at the Big 12 Championships in 2020 as part of the 2v8 crew. In 2019, her novice four won bronze at the Championships.

Primary Contact for Out of Sport Athletes McKenzie Vaughn joined the Spartan rowing staff in the summer of 2023. Vaughn’s most recent experience came as a graduate assistant at West Virginia. She assisted in all land and water workout planning and coached the Mountaineer third varsity eight in the spring of 2023. Vaughn was heavily involved with on-campus recruiting, planning all team meals and team travel, aiding in equipment upkeep and maintenance, and also played a large role in developing the team’s social media presence. A graduate of the University of Louisville, Vaughn earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability with an economics minor. She had a five-year career for the Cardinals, and was a mainstay in the Cardinals’ varsity eight and second varsity eight her final four seasons. She is currently pursuing her masters degree in sports coaching.

Primary Contact for Domestic Recruits Nicole Marek, a Michigan State alumna, returned to her alma mater to serve on the Spartan rowing staff in the summer of 2023. Marek comes back to East Lansing after four years on the coaching staff at Eastern Michigan, where she was the head novice coach in addition to assisting with the varsity crews. She was heavily involved in recruiting of rowers and talent transfers, planning aspects of team travel, creating social media content, coordinating team gear and summer camps. She coached the varsity four and aided the team to a third-place finish at the 2022 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championships, and also coached novices that made their way into NCAA boats after just one semester of training. During recent summers, Marek was the junior women’s assistant rowing camp coach at the Wyandotte Boat Club (2021) and was a junior men’s assistant coach for Canadian Henley camp at the Washtenaw Rowing Center (2022, 2023). A standout for the Spartans in her undergraduate days, Marek was a two-time MVP at Michigan State and also earned both First Team All-Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-American honors by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) in 2018. She was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick, a CRCA Student-Athlete and Academic All-American, and earned spots on the 2k and 6k Spartan record boards. Marek earned her degree in Music Education from MSU in 2019, and was a member of the Honors College. She was the USRowing

Zachary Stichnoth was hired full time as an assistant director of athletic performance in November 2023 after previously serving as a professional intern with Michigan State athletic performance. He works primarily with rowing and wrestling. Stichnoth began his career at Michigan State in 2021 as a graduate assistant. He assisted with 18 Olympic sports and was in charge of women's cheer and dance. Prior to MSU, Stichnoth volunteered as an assistant sports performance coach in 2020 with five Olympic sports at Loyola University (Chicago), while also serving as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School from 2018-2021. A Silver Spring, Maryland native, Stichnoth earned his master's degree in Kinesiology from Michigan State and a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science from DePaul University. He is certified through the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (SCCC), National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS), and USA Weightlifting (Level 1).