New Goals, Challenges, and Aspirations with UConn Crew’s New Head Coach
After over a decade of generously training and stewarding the University of Connecticut’s Men’s Crew, Marysa Semprebon has decided to step down from her post as Head Coach of the program. Although an emotional transition for the entire team, Semprebon has the utmost trust in the team to persevere and passes the reins to a new coach to usher in a brand new generation of UCMC.
With that, we welcome to the UConn Crew, new Head Coach, Logan McClennen!
A 2024 Graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, MA, and Williams Crew (a Division III Program), McClennen is a bright, young addition to the team, ready to bring, “success with speed and results.”
McClennen’s history with rowing dates back to before he was even born. “Funnily enough, I had always been around rowing. My grandfather and his brothers rowed at Harvard in the '60s, and I grew up rowing dinghies throughout my childhood summers. Covid lockdown was the perfect storm for me to try something new, so I walked onto the rowing team and I loved it. After that, it was a done deal. I absolutely launched myself into the sport 150%.”
McClennen has always been athletic, participating in “baseball, basketball, tennis, and sailing.” He's also no stranger to the thrill of competition. He says, “I’ve coached other sports… One highlight is from 2019 when I coached a team of middle schoolers, and won the League Championship in Basketball after falling in the Semifinals the year prior.”
“It's just super fulfilling for me as the coach to see the athletes having a great time and forming relationships”
Logan doesn’t expect this position to be a walk in the park either. “There's always a task to do, a doc to write, or an email to send and I'm learning quickly.” He recognizes that UCMC is a team of athletes that must also carry the weight of any other student. “It gives me a massive appreciation for the Exec Board and the rowers. It's amazing how they balance all of this with academics and still show up every day smiling and ready to rumble.”
Coach Logan McClennen and the rest of the Crew has quite the adventure ahead of themselves, for the upcoming season, and the foreseeable future, but none of them would sign up for their roles if they didn’t think that this sport was worth it.
“Collegiate crew is a short four years, and I hope that UCMC will continue to impact rowers long past the years they spend on the team. Maybe it's the friends they make, the sport itself, or some kind of lifestyle change that gives rowing and UCMC a special place in their hearts. I want to help facilitate these impacts wherever I can.”
