Indiana University Athletics
Stephen Peterson Named IU Rowing Coach (8-11-03)
8/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Bloomington, Ind. - Stephen L. Peterson has been named Indiana University's Head Women's Rowing Coach, IU Athletics Director Terry Clapacs announced today. Peterson, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team, and the head women's rowing coach at George Washington University, replaces Mark Wilson who resigned in May to accept a sales position with Vespoli, a rowing equipment company.
In addition to his George Washington coaching duties, which he held since 1996, Peterson has also been a United States National Team Coach since 1999. His national team athletes have won a total of four silver medals and one bronze medal. He is the second IU Women's Rowing Head Coach as the sport received varsity status on the Bloomington campus in 1999.
According to Clapacs, Peterson's broad rowing and coaching experience is an ideal fit for IU's developing program.
"We are excited to add Stephen to our staff. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position," Clapacs said. "Stephen is the perfect fit as we continue to develop the sport of rowing here at Indiana University."
"I am excited to have the opportunity to come to Indiana. The program has a lot of potential being in the Big Ten Conference, which is one of the strongest conferences in the country," Peterson said. "The program has all the fundamentals and potential to succeed with the reputation of Indiana University and Indiana athletics. The program should take a couple of years to develop but I see us being competitive in the Big Ten right away."
Peterson takes a fundamental approach to the sport of rowing.
"There is no real secret to competition on that (world-class) level," he said. " I believe that hard work will take you are far as you want to go. When I began rowing as a freshman at Rhode Island, my coach instilled that hard work will take you where you want to go. Now, I teach my athletes that same fundamental of working hard."
A 1985 University of Rhode Island graduate with a bachelor's degree in marketing/advertising, Peterson has earned more than 50 rowing medals, from collegiate to elite competition. He competed for U.S. National Team from 1989-92 and 1995-96, finishing among the top four in the men's lightweight double and quadruple sculls on three separate occasions. In fact, the men's quadruple finished third at the 1989 championships in Duisburg, Germany, and the men's double won the 1990 title in Tasmania, Australia. Peterson also earned the 1990 Vesper Cup Award, presented annually to the U.S. National Team member for outstanding and inspirational achievement in international competition.
Peterson competed for the U.S. National Team while also serving as Rhode Island's men's and women's rowing coach from 1989-91. During his URI coaching tenure, Peterson directed the women's varsity lightweight four to a first place finish at the 1991 Eastern Sprints and the men's varsity heavyweight four and the men's varsity lightweight four to respective titles at the 1991 New England Championships.
Following the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team's ninth place finish in the men's lightweight double sculls in Atlanta, Peterson became the women's rowing coach at George Washington. The two-time Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year led the Colonials to four straight second place overall league finishes. George Washington's women's varsity eight never finished lower than second during this span and also advanced to the 1998 NCAA Championships.
Peterson served on the U.S. Lightweight Women's Sculling Development Camp staff in 1998 before moving on to the U.S. National Team in 1999. He and his national team athletes leave on Aug. 17 for the FISA World Rowing Championships in Milan, Italy Aug. 24-31.
