Pac-12 announces 2021 rowing postseason honors

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced today the Pac-12 men’s and women’s rowing postseason honors and All-Conference teams for the 2021 season, as voted upon by the Conference coaches. WASHINGTON’s Ella Cossill was named Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Athlete of the Year, while STANFORD’s Mathilda Kitzmann took home Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Newcomer of the Year honors. UCLA head coach Amy Fuller Kearney and WASHINGTON head coach Yasmin Farooq earned co-Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Coach of the Year accolades. On the men’s side, STANFORD’s Peter Chatain secured Pac-12 Men’s Rowing Athlete of the Year accolades and CALIFORNIA’S Frederik Breuer was the Pac-12 Men’s Newcomer of the Year. WASHINGTON head coach Michael Callahan was named Pac-12 Men’s Rowing Coach of the Year for the tenth time in the last 11 seasons. 

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Ella Cossill, Jr., WASHINGTON (Gold Coast, Australia)
After returning from her native Australia in March, Washington junior Ella Cossill served as the Huskies’ varsity eight stroke rower and led the defending NCAA Division I champions to an undefeated season this spring. Washington’s varsity eight boat secured several key victories in 2021, including a head-to-head win over California at the Windermere Cup Regatta, along with the program’s fourth consecutive Pac-12 Championship. Cossill also stroked the varsity eight to wins against competition at the Lake Las Vegas Pac-12 Invitational, the Dexter Lake Invitational and the Seattle Times Women’s Eight at Class Day. Named to the All-Pac-12 team for the first time in her collegiate career, Cossill becomes just the second Washington women’s rower to be named Pac-12 Rowing Athlete of the Year, joining Brooke Mooney (2018). 

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Mathilda Kitzmann, Fr., STANFORD (Rostock, Germany)
A freshman from Rostock, Germany, Mathilda Kitzmann becomes the second straight Pac-12 Rowing Newcomer of the Year from Stanford, after teammate Kelsey McGinley earned the award in 2019. A member of the varsity eight in each regatta, Kitzmann helped lead the Cardinal to a sweep over California at the Big Row, a sweep on the road over UCLA and USC and a second place finish at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships. She rowed in the 3-seat against the Bears, Bruins and Trojans, while rowing in the 4-seat at Conference Championships. Internationally, Kitzmann participated in the 2019 European Junior Championship, along with the 2019 World Junior Championship before joining the Stanford women’s rowing program. The Cardinal enter the 2021 NCAA Championships as the No. 3 seed in the varsity eight race, No. 4 in the second varsity eight and No. 1 in the varsity fours. 

PAC-12 WOMEN’S ROWING COACHES OF THE YEAR: Amy Fuller Kearney, UCLA and Yasmin Farooq, WASHINGTON
UCLA’s Amy Fuller Kearney completed her 20th season as head coach of the Bruins in 2021, sharing Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Coach of the Year honors with Washington’s Yasmin Farooq. Prior to the 2021 Pac-12 Rowing Championships, UCLA recorded dual-meet victories over Loyola Marymount (March 13), USC (March 27) and the University of San Diego (April 24). The Bruins’ second Varsity Eight crew secured a fourth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, while the team finished sixth with 17.5 points. 

Farooq, in her fifth season leading the Huskies, is now a six-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, having won the award four times with Washington and twice at the helm of Stanford. Entering the 2021 NCAA Championships, Washington holds top-five seeds in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and fours boats, seeking to defend its 2019 title. The Huskies, who won each of their varsity eight, second varsity eight and third varsity eight races this season, won their fourth straight Pac-12 title on May 16. Washington held the nation’s No. 1 ranking in all but one poll this spring. Farooq’s honor marks the 14th time a Washington coach has earned Pac-12 Women’s Rowing Coach of the Year accolades. 

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Peter Chatain, Jr., STANFORD (Winnetka, Ill.)
After stroking the varsity eight race for the Cardinal in their season-opening regatta against Washington, Peter Chatain has held down the 6-seat since. He played a key role in leading Stanford to wins over Oregon State and Santa Clara, while also securing a fourth place finish at the 2021 Conference Championships. Stanford’s varsity eight, ranked No. 11 entering the Pac-12 Championships, finished third at the event, just behind the top two ranked teams in the country. For the second straight season, Chatain was invited to the US Under 23 National Team Selection Camp and was a 2020 All-Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll recipient. This is Chatain’s first career All-Pac-12 selection. 

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Frederik Breuer, Fr., CALIFORNIA (Bonn, Germany)
One of the most accomplished first-years in program history, Frederik Breuer has been in the stroke seat for every one of California’s varsity eight races in 2021. After leading the Bears’ varsity eight to a season-opening victory over UC San Diego, Breuer played a significant role in races against Santa Clara, Oregon State and Stanford, highlighted by a seven-second win over the Cardinal in the annual Big Row. California finished second in all four of its races at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, just behind Washington. Internationally, Breuer won the 2019 U19 World Championship in the coxed four, and was a member of the German National Team each of the past two seasons. Last year, Breuer won the U19 German trials in the men’s pair, earning the distinction as part of the top junior pair in the country. He is the first California men’s rower to earn a Pac-12 Rowing yearly award since Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk earned Men’s Rowing Athlete of the Year honors from 2016-2018. 

PAC-12 MEN’S ROWING COACH OF THE YEAR: Michael Callahan, WASHINGTON
Washington’s Michael Callahan continues to cement himself as one of the top leaders in the country, claiming his 11th Pac-12 Coach of the Year award in his 14th season as the Huskies’ head coach. The Washington men sat atop the Intercollegiate Rowing Association rankings the entire season, winning a fourth straight Pac-12 Championship (40th overall) while sweeping all five races at the event. In total, Washington has lost just one race all season (a third varsity eight against California) and enter the IRA Championships seeded No. 1 in all four boat categories. Under Callahan, the Huskies have won the IRA National Championship six times, and are the only team to win more than four consecutive titles dating back to the first IRA Regatta in 1895. Entering the year, Washington had claimed the James Ten Eyck Memorial Trophy — awarded to the top overall team at IRAs — in 11 of 12 seasons under Callahan. 

By claiming the Varsity 8 competitions at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, the Washington men and women headline the 2021 Pac-12 Rowing All-Conference teams, which were also announced by the Conference office on Thursday. 

Members of the All-Conference rowing teams are based upon each institution’s finish in the Varsity 8 race at the Pac-12 Championships, which were held on Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif. The Conference champion provides four members of the All-Conference team, the second-place crew provides three members, and the third-place finisher provides two. All other participating crews receive one selection each.

2021 WOMEN’S ROWING ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

2021 MEN’S ROWING ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM