Drexel University Women's Crew

Savell is in his 10th season as Director of Rowing and Head Mens and Womens Coach after joining the Drexel Crew coaching staff in 2007. At Drexel, Savell has led the Dragons to unprecedented national and international success at some of the most prestigious regattas in collegiate rowing, including the Henley Regatta and the Dad Vail Regatta.   Savell has been honored on multiple occasions for his teams successes on the water and his contributions to the rowing community. In May 2015, Savell became Drexels first-ever recipient of the Dad Vail Coach of the Year Award, also known as the Matt Ledwidth Award. At the 21st Annual Joy of Sculling Coaches Conference, Savell was named the 2013 Mens Collegiate Coach of the Year. In the fall of 2012, Savell was named the Schuylkill Navy Coach of the Year selected by collegiate, high school and club coaches throughout the Philadelphia region.   The Dragons have had unprecedented success at the Dad Vail Regatta, winning four consecutive overall team titles, including Drexels first ever in 2013. The Dragons have also won the mens title in twice in the last four seasons (2013 and 2015). Since Savell took over in 2007, Drexel has taken home 23 medals (11 gold, seven silver and five bronze) on the mens side and 10 medals (three gold, five silver and two bronze) on the womens side at the Dad Vail. In 2012, Drexels women won their first gold medals in program history, and in 2013, the Dragons won the coveted mens varsity eight gold medal. Savell has guided the Dragons to 33 of the programs 55 total Dad Vail medals. In 2016, Savell helped to lead the Dragons to a program-best seven Dad Vail medals and the team advanced all 14 boats to Day 2 of competition.   Under Savells guidance, Drexel has competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2012 and 2016 as well as the Henley Womens Regatta in 2010 and 2014. In 2016, the mens varsity eight beat University College, Dublin for the programs first Henley win by a mens boat before the varsity four followed it up the next day with a win of its own over University of Surrey. The Dragons women achieved success at the prestigious regatta in 2010 when the varsity eight shocked the rowing world by winning the Sports Council Cup.   In postseason action, the Dragons men earned their first ever team bid to the IRA National Championships in 2012 as one of 18 rowing programs. Drexel has earned a team bid to IRAs in each year since, finishing a program-best 15th overall in 2015. In 2013, the mens freshmen eight finished 12th in the nation following an undefeated spring season. In 2016, the Dragons varsity eight finished 20th overall in the nation, while the freshmen eight had the teams best finish, taking sixth. Drexels women have also climbed the ladder in the Colonial Athletic Association under Savells watch, finishing second overall in 2015 and 2016, their best finishes at the conference championships since it officially came together in 2009.   The Dragons also took a step forward in 2015-16 in the national rankings. While the mens varsity eight had consistently cracked the top 20 in the USRowing weekly polls since the latter half of the 2012 spring season, the Dragons reached a program-best ranking of No. 14, where they stayed for three consecutive weeks. While ranked at No. 14, the boat beat No. 15 George Washington and Georgetown (receiving votes) at the George Washington Invitational.   At the Drexel-hosted Kerr Cup Regatta, the Dragons have reached new heights in recent seasons. The men have won the Dr. Thomas Kerr Cup in each of the last six seasons, while the women won the Lela H. Kerr Cup in five of the last seven years. The Bergen Cup and Kelly Cup also known as the City Championships have yielded a great deal of success for Savells Dragons. Drexels men have won the Bergen Cup six years running and seven of the last eight. The women have taken home the Kelly Cup in each of the last five years and seven of the last eight as well.   Multiple trips to the west coast during Savells time have allowed the Dragons to test themselves against some of the top crews in the country. The Dragons mens varsity eight earned second place in 2011, third overall in 2016 and sixth overall in 2015 at the San Diego Crew Classic, one of the largest regattas in the United States, while the women placed third in 2009. In 2014, he travelled the mens team out to Seattle, Wash. for the Husky Open where the second varsity eight upset highly-ranked Oregon State.   Savells teams have traditionally come out of the gates strong in the fall seasons. Drexel won the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta five straight years from 2010-2014. In 2013, Drexels mens varsity eight finished first overall at the historic Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass.   In addition to the Dragons strong success on the water under Savell, they have also earned numerous honors individual academic honors off of it. In 2014 and 2015, Drexel had a program-best seven womens rowers named College Rowing Association Coaches Association Scholar Athletes. Drexel also had the Philadelphia Inquirer Mens Academic All-Area Performer of the Year three of the last four years Lorenzo Abala in 2013 and Joseph Masgai in 2014 and 2016 as well as the 2014 Womens Academic All-Area Performer of the Year Colleen Delaney. The Dragons have also had womens rowers named to the CAA All-Academic team and named CAA Scholar Athlete Award winner (2011 Elizabeth Bratton, 2014 Tori King), and the men have had 27 IRA All-Academic team selections in the last four years.   In July of 2007, Savell was named the Drexel Director of Rowing after serving as the head crew coach at Lehigh for nine seasons. Savell was instrumental in the development of the Mountain Hawks program from a team of 30 to more than 100 members. Over his final five seasons with the Mountain Hawks, Savell had three boats in grand finals of the IRAs.   In five of his final six seasons, the Lehigh mens varsity eight finished in the top 12 at the Dad Vail Regatta. In the 2005-06 season, the Lehigh mens varsity four took third at the Head of the Charles Regatta and fourth at the IRAs. In 2002, the womens varsity eight earned a first-place finish at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Under Savells guidance, the Lehigh rowing team captured the Patriot League Challenge title in 2001 and 2006. Prior to Lehigh, Savell coached at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, N.J. for four seasons. Savell coached the novice and lightweight boats, capturing numerous state championships. Prior to his stint at Holy Spirit, he worked as the mens novice coach at Georgia Tech.   Savell is also an accomplished rower. He starred at Holy Spirit in High School before attending the University of Wisconsin, where he rowed stroke in the varsity eight for two seasons. He also captured a National Championship at the IRAs in the straight four and earned a bronze medal in varsity four at the IRAs. Savell graduated from Wisconsin with a degree in engineering and earned his masters degree in business administration from Lehigh in 2001.   Savell resides in Haddon Township, N.J. with his wife, Janet, and their three sons, Jack, Joe and Brendan.

Mahmud is in her second season with the Dragons after joining the Drexel Crew staff in the summer of 2015. She is tasked with coaching the womens fours and freshmen boats as well as coordinating recruiting.   Mahmud is a USRowing Level II certified coach. In the summer of 2016, she was one of 14 assistant coaches selected out of a nationwide pool of applicants to attend the Pocock Coach-Con for coaching leadership.   In her first season as an assistant at Drexel, Mahmud oversaw the improvement of the varsity four into one of the Dragons most consistent boats. The boat earned a silver medal at the Dad Vail Regatta, helping Drexel to its fourth consecutive overall team title. At the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, the varsity four took home a second-place finish. The boat would also win the gold medal at the Kelly Cup and Kerr Cup as well as finish as the only Drexel womens boat to reach the grand finals at the Knecht Cup and the Eastern Sprints.   She also coached the Vesper Boat Club U23 lightweight and open womens boats. At Club Nationals, Mahmud helped guide Vesper to the overall team points trophy along with top-three finishes in the elite/senior eight (first), intermediate eight (second), elite/senior four (second), lightweight pair (second), intermediate lightweight single (second) and intermediate four (third). At Canadian Henley, she helped Vesper earn a gold medal in the U23 eight as well as top-three finishes for the senior four (second), senior eight (third) and U23 lightweight double (third).   Prior to Drexel, Mahmud served as the varsity assistant at Bucknell University and spent time coaching her high school alma mater to its most successful seasons since she attended. Hired at Bucknell in the fall of 2014, Mahmud served in a recruiting role and coached the womens second varsity eight, which finished second place finish at the Dad Vail Regatta. Following Dad Vails, she coached the second varsity eight to a second place in the Patriot League Championship, where the team also finished as the runner-up overall.   Prior to Bucknell, Mahmud began her coaching career at her alma mater, Oakcrest High School. In her first year, she served as the varsity assistant coaching the varsity lightweight four and varsity four. During that time, her boats had notable showings including the varsity four placing third in the county and the lightweight four winning the county championship. The following year she was promoted to head coach and oversaw the success of the varsity eight, second varsity eight, freshman eight, junior varsity four and novice four. That year, the varsity eight placed second at both the Garden State Scholastic and Atlantic County Championships. Additionally, the varsity eight was a semifinalist at the SRAA Nationals and a competitor at the National Schools Championship Regatta. In her first year as a head coach she earned both the Atlantic County Coach of the Year and Press of Atlantic City Coach of the Year awards.   A 2012 graduate of Drexel University with a degree in criminal justice, Mahmud rowed to a successful career that included a Dad Vail gold medal, Colonial Athletic Association silver medal and a Henley Womens Regatta quarterfinal appearance. She also medaled at the Head of the Schuylkill, Knecht Cup, Kelly Cup and Kerr Cup.   Mahmud was a four-year rower at Oakcrest High School and was named the team MVP as a senior.

Ferrero is in her seventh season as an assistant coach since joining the Drexel Crew staff in the fall of 2010. She is the assistant womens varsity coach and works administratively for both the mens and womens teams.   Ferrero has helped the Dragons women reach consistent success at the Dad Vail Regatta, winning four straight overall titles from 2013-2016 for the first time in school history. The Dragons varsity eight matched its best Dad Vail performance in program history, winning the silver medal in 2016. The second varsity eight always came away with the silver, giving the boat a medal in four of the last five years. In 2015, the womens varsity eight won the bronze medal, and in 2014, the womens varsity eight and second varsity eight each won silver medals, which were crucial to helping the team win the overall title. Ferrero guided the womens second varsity eight to a gold medal finish at the 2012 Dad Vails. Drexels freshmen eight and second varsity eight earned the first gold medals at Dad Vail for the womens program in 2012, with the second varsity repeating in 2013.   She has helped to grow the Drexel-hosted Kerr Cup Regatta over the past few years, all while helping the women win the Lela H. Kerr Cup five of the last seven seasons. Ferrero has also helped them to victory at the Kelly Cup in each of the last five years. The Dragons have had success at the Knecht Cup under Ferreros watch as well, highlighted by the freshmen eights 2014 gold medal.   At the CAA Championships, Ferrero assisted the womens second varsity eight to the silver medal in 2012. In 2015 and 2016, the Dragons finished second at CAAs for the best finishes in program history. In the fall seasons with Ferrero, Drexel won the Head of the Schuylkill in each of her five first seasons, including the womens title in 2011 and 2013.   Ferrero came to Drexel after spending two seasons with the Mountain Hawks at her alma mater, Lehigh University. At Lehigh, Ferrero worked with the varsity womens rowing team along with coaching the varsity four and second varsity eight. Prior to Lehigh, Ferrero spent a season at Rutgers University developing a team of three freshmen eights.   Ferrero graduated from Lehigh University in May of 2007 with a degree in psychology. As an athlete, Ferrero was a captain of her collegiate team. She also spent two summers rowing for a pre-elite racing team in Philadelphia, Vesper Boat Club, competing at U.S. Nationals and Canadian Henley Regatta. Ferrero is also an avid runner, who currently trains and competes in marathons and triathlons. She completed her first Ironman competition in August 2014.