You can’t talk about the University of Rhode Island women’s rowing team without talking about head coach Shelagh Donohoe.
Donohoe is a decorated former rower, winning the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. During her 18-year coaching career, she has led the URI program to six National Collegiate Athletic Association championship appearances. Under her leadership, the women’s rowing team has become one of the most decorated teams in URI history with nine Atlantic 10 championships.
For Donohoe, her biggest accomplishment has been shaping a team that is deeply respected in the Atlantic 10.
“We’re a force to be reckoned with there and on the national level,” Donohoe said.
Donohoe started her journey with rowing when she walked onto the team at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. After graduating from UMass Lowell in 1988, she went on to row with the U.S. National Rowing Team where she competed in three World Championships, winning silver medals in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Donohoe ended her career as an athlete after competing at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“To be able to leave the sport as a rower with that under my belt is pretty cool,” Donohoe said.
Donohoe switched gears from competing to coaching at Boston University, Harvard University and Northeastern University respectively before being named the head coach at URI. For her work in the A-10, she has been named Coach of the Year seven times.
Donohoe might be decked out in trophies, but to her athletes, her biggest accomplishment is not the wins but the impact that she has had on them.
“A lot of people can coach but not a lot of people have the innate ability to inspire,” fourth-year captain Samantha Gumprecht said.
Donohoe has fostered a lifelong love for rowing in her former athletes. She estimated that about 15 of her past athletes have gone on to become coaches themselves. One of the new additions to the coaching staff this season is Katie Shattuck, a former URI rower and captain. When she was presented with the opportunity to come back to URI, Shattuck jumped at the chance to join the coaching team.
“She has a wealth of knowledge and she just wants to share that with women in rowing,” Shattuck said.
When asking Donohoe’s former and current athletes the impact that she has had on them, they all sing her praises. Former Rhode Island coxswain Karen Petrik and rower Allie Reilly got the chance to be coached again by Donohoe when they were selected for the U.S. National Paralympic team. Under Donohoe’s coaching, Petrik and Reilly won their own silver medals at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
“She is probably one of the most impactful people in my life,” Petrik said. “She’s not only coaching the sport but she’s teaching you lessons that you can apply to your life.”
A key part of the rowing program at URI is their encouragement for walk-ons. Reilly herself was a member of the walk-on class her first year. Donohoe’s encouragement motivated her to become an elite athlete and was the starting point for her interest in the Paralympics. Donohoe was the first call that Reilly made when she was selected for the 2018 Paralympic team.
“Shelagh is the reason why I stayed rowing,” Reilly said. “She knows very well how to push you to what you’re capable of.”
Donohoe’s biggest wish for her athletes is that more than anything she set them up for their futures.
“Ultimately I want to have an impact on these student athletes, these young women to be strong, powerful and confident and able to accomplish whatever they want in life,” Donohoe said. “I just do it through the sport of rowing.”