St. Mary's College of Maryland Men's Rowing

EDUCATION B.S. in mechanical engineering with a minor in business - University of Maryland (2021) Updated: November 8, 2021 Nikolaus "Nik" Meyer was selected as an assistant coach for St. Mary's College crew prior to the 2021-22 academic year. Meyer began rowing in high school at Washington Rowing School where he learned to both sweep and scull. He continued on to row sweep with the University of Maryland men's crew where he spent one year as the team's president and one year as treasurer. After college, Meyer spent some time sculling at Potomac Boat Club and now rows with Southern Maryland Rowing Association. The Potomac, Md., native began his coaching career during his sophomore year of college at Elizabeth Seton H.S. (Bladensburg, Md.), primarily working with novice women. After discovering his passion for coaching, Meyer picked up a second coaching position with Montgomery Blair H.S., gaining experience working with varsity men and women. Meyer is US Rowing Level II coaching certified.

Updated: November 8, 2021 Ruth O’Connell joined the Seahawks men's and women's rowing staff for the 2017-18 season. O'Connell started rowing after college as part of an adult learn-to-row program in Washington, D.C., and then continued to train and compete first with Capital Rowing Club and then with Potomac Boat Club. She raced in all of the major East Coast club regattas, including club nationals, Canadian Henley, and U.S. Master’s Nationals, medaling in all classes of team boats. As a competitive club rower, she had unique access to coaching from several legendary rowing coaches in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, and also rowed with several national team and Olympic athletes. The Bowie, Md., native moved to St. Mary’s County in the fall of 1998 and then took time off from rowing to raise a family. Ten years later, she returned to rowing as one of the founding members of the Southern Maryland Rowing Association (SMRA). In 2021, O'Connell completed the requirements to earn a U.S. Rowing Level II coaches certification.   She graduated from Hood College (Frederick, Md.) in 1984 and has 35 years of government service, working for the Naval Air Systems Command HQ in government contracting.

EDUCATION B.S. in Aerospace Engineering – U.S. Naval Academy (1986) M.S. in Engineering Management – The Catholic University of America (1998) Updated: November 16, 2021 Nancy Fechtig joined the Seahawks men's and women's rowing coaching staff for the 2021-2022 season.   Fechtig is a lifetime rower, who started competing in high school in Parkersburg, W.Va., and continued rowing competitively through her four years at the U. S. Naval Academy until graduating in 1986. After a long break from rowing during her career as a Naval Flight Officer and Aviation Engineering Duty Officer, she was excited to rediscover sweep rowing and honed her sculling skills during the past several years while supporting Naval Air Systems Command as a Program Chief Engineer. Fechtig has been sculling on the St. Mary’s River for almost 20 years now and competing in Masters sculling and sweep events since the establishment of the Southern Maryland Rowing Association in 2015. Fechtig and her husband, Scott, recently retired from civil service and are residents of Great Mills, Md. She completed the requirements to earn a U.S. Rowing Level I coach’s certification and is enjoying sharing her love of the sport with a new generation of young rowers.