Oakland Catholic grad takes over rowing power
When Kate Sweeney arrived at Oakland Catholic High School as a freshman in 2004, she had never picked up an oar or used an erg machine in her life — nor did she plan to.
“I was a basketball player and a senior on our team kind of convinced me to try rowing, and here I am — gosh, how many years later?” Sweeney said. “Still involved in the sport.”
Sweeney, 31, first joined the crew team at Oakland Catholic with one goal in mind — to help her stay in shape for basketball season. Now, 16 years later, she’s more than just involved in the sport — she’s taking over one of the most prestigious programs in the country.
The Ohio State Buckeyes, winners of three of the past seven NCAA Division I women’s rowing championships, announced the hiring of Sweeney as full-time women’s rowing coach on June 8. Sweeney had previously taken over as interim head coach in March 2020 after serving as an assistant with the Buckeyes since August 2016.
Sweeney rowed at Ohio State from 2009-12 and earned several accolades along the way. Her crew finished in the top five at the NCAA championships in 2011 and 2012 and captured a Big Ten championship in 2011, while also helping the Buckeyes secure the 2011 Big Ten team title.
“That was a goal we had set as a team at the beginning of the year,”
Sweeney said about the Big Ten championship. “There were just tremendous women on that team, many of whom are still my best friends. We actually just spent a couple hours on Zoom together last night. I’ll always remember that.”
The year after Sweeney graduated, Ohio State finally broke through and won its first NCAA championship in program history in 2013. The Buckeyes then went on to claim two more in 2014 and 2015 and finished as runners-up in 2016.
Although Sweeney didn’t get to experience any of those championship seasons at her alma mater, she is no stranger to winning national championships.
Shortly after wrapping up her collegiate career at Ohio State, Sweeney accepted her first coaching position as a full-time assistant at Indiana University, where she oversaw all aspects of the walk-on program.
In her first season in 2014, Sweeney helped the Hoosiers reach the NCAA championships for the first time in school history on their way to an 11th-place finish. Indiana then made a return appearance at nationals in 2015, again finishing in 11th place.
“The talent was definitely there, and clearly the dedication was there, so we just had to figure out how to funnel it to the right place,” Sweeney said.
Sweeney then spent the 2016 season as a volunteer assistant at the University of California-Berkeley, helping guide the Golden Bears to the 2016 NCAA championship in her only year with the team.
“I was in a volunteer role, but I feel really honored to have been part of that and to learn from an incredible staff and be surrounded by some pretty amazing student-athletes there,” Sweeney said. “That was an awesome year.”
After her one season in California, an assistant coaching position opened up at her alma mater, and Sweeney couldn’t pass it up. She returned to Columbus and spent three seasons coaching under her former head coach Andy Teitelbaum, who was let go prior to the 2020 season.
Following Teitelbaum’s dismissal, Sweeney was elevated to the role of interim head coach in March, just before the season was set to begin. But the COVID-19 pandemic wiped away the entire 2020 spring sports season, and Sweeney will now get the chance to start from scratch with a full offseason before beginning her first year at the helm in 2021.
“I’m just really excited to be back home,” Sweeney said. “I’ve been here for the last four years. I’m excited to be in Columbus. It’s an amazing city.
“The other advantage is being so close to home. I love Pittsburgh. I really missed it being out in California.”