SAN DIEGO – Following the team's stellar performance at last weekend's championships, San Diego State rowing head coach Bill Zack has been named the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Coach of the Year, the association announced Thursday. Zack earns his first WIRA Coach of the Year award in his time at the helm of the Aztec program, tallying his third total honor during his coaching career.
"It is nice to have the success of the team recognized by the WIRA coaches," Zack said. "The honor is definitely a team award in my mind. Assistant coaches Dan Duxbury and Dave Cormier contribute so much to the team's accomplishments. The real stars are the 28 student-athletes who had a great two days of racing."
Zack currently serves as the WIRA president and is one of seven coaches on the board of stewards, serving as the steward for Division I women's varsity teams. He was selected as the women's coach of the year by his peers from the 34 women's collegiate teams represented at last weekend's WIRA Championships alongside the men's coach of the year recipient, Zach Johnson, the head coach of the UCSD men's team.
Zack previously earned the nod for WIRA Coach of the Year twice in his time as the head coach of the Sacramento State women's rowing program (1996-2002).
As an organization, the WIRA aims to advance collegiate rowing in the Western region of the country. All of its members are from the US Rowing Association Northwest or Southwest regions and encompass D1, DII, DII and club teams from all levels.
The Aztecs returned to the Mesa from last weekend's championship with gold medals in the varsity four, second varsity four and varsity eight events, and claimed bronze in the varsity eight final. The SDSU varsity four crew also earned a conference Boat of the Week honor from the American for their performance at the race weekend.
San Diego State will have one last scrimmage this Saturday, May 4, with crews from UC San Diego and University of San Diego, in preparation for the American Athletic Conference Championship, scheduled for Sunday, May 19, in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the US Rowing National High Performance Center.