SUNY University at Albany Women's Rowing

Kim Chavers was announced as the head coach of the UAlbany women's rowing program in September of 2024.  Chavers came to UAlbany with 16+ years of coaching experience. Before UAlbany, she most recently served as the head women’s rowing coach for Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, rejuvenating the program which had previously been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chavers was responsible for resuming program competition in 2023-24.   Before her time in Fort Lauderdale, Chavers spent four seasons as the head women’s rowing coach at Michigan State University. She supervised a coaching staff and roster comprised of over 70 people while overseeing the program’s strategic plan. She also oversaw the acquisition and development of a brand-new team indoor facility while annually fundraising over $100k for the program.    Chavers held three assistant coaching positions before joining the Spartans in 2019. She spent the 2018-19 season at Old Dominion University where she helped the program transition to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Before that, she spent three seasons with Indiana University where she helped the program become a three-time NCAA DI at-large selection. From 2014-2015, Chavers spent time at Stetson University where she helped recruit for both the university’s men’s and women’s programs.   In total, Chavers has been responsible for more than 200 Academic All-Big Ten Honorees, 58 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, 69 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Scholar Athletes, and four CRCA All-Americans.   Chavers received her BS in Health Sciences from Marietta College, her DPT in Physical Therapy from Northeastern University, and her MS in Sports Coaching Leadership from Drexel University.  

Czupil joined the UAlbany rowing program in the fall of 2024 as the team's assistant coach.  Czupil has coached at both the high school and club levels in the Capital Region. Before UAlbany, she served as the varsity boys head rowing coach at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School and the Erie Canal Athletic Club. Erie Canal was established with the help of Czupil in 2022 and is comprised of athletes from multiple local high schools. Under her leadership, the Burnt Hills varsity quad earned two state championships and the program’s first National Scholastic Championship.  Previously, Czupil was a varsity assistant coach at Niskayuna High School, where she helped in leading the program to multiple state, Stotesbury, and national titles. During the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, she demonstrated innovation by implementing remote training programs that kept the athletes engaged and active during the shutdown.  Czupil joined the UAlbany staff with Division I athletic experience at the University of Iowa. She was a four-year letter winner and was recognized as the Most Valuable Rower in 2013. During her time at Iowa, she contributed to the success of the program both on and off the water. She also served as a representative on Iowa’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving as a link between the team, administration and surrounding community. Czupil graduated in 2015 with a degree in Health and Human Physiology and minors in Human Relations and Psychology.

Siegel joined the UAlbany rowing program in the fall of 2024 as a coaching assistant. Siegel joined the staff after coming across the country from California. She was an asset to the Pacific Rowing Club in San Francisco for years, originally serving as the first-assistant rowing coach for middle school crew (2019-2023) before taking on an additional role as the first-assistant rowing coach for men’s varsity crew (2021-2024). There, she oversaw the training of over 30 athletes and was also responsible for managing equipment sharing and regatta organization and attendance. Before joining the Pacific Rowing Club, Siegel served as the freshman rowing coach for women’s crew at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco. Siegel’s own rowing background started at the Division I level as a walk-on athlete for Stanford University’s Lightweight Women’s Rowing team. She served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and helped facilitate the annual GameFACES event to promote mental health and well-being in the student-athlete population on campus. Siegel received her B.A. in psychology and English literature from Stanford University in 2019 and earned her M.F.A. in writing from San Francisco in 2022. She is currently a student in the Clinical Psychology program at UAlbany working on identifying social and cognitive risk and resilience factors for eating disorders in athletes.