MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Wesleyan men's crew head coach Phil Carney has been named the Division III National Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA).
 
The prestigious honor comes on the heels of Carney, who just finished his 36^th season at the helm of the Cardinals, leading Wesleyan to one of its best seasons in program history.
 
The Cardinals finished as the national runner-up in both the varsity 8 and 2^nd varsity 8, tied for the best finish at a national regatta in team history and the highest finish since 1987. Carney's varsity 8 boat finished the regular season with an 11-1 record and the No. 2 national ranking for a majority of the season.
 
"Coach truly believes in our team, and we really fed off his inspiration and excitement this season," said Eli Smirin '26, novice turned V8 rower. "Coach's patience and trust that I would be able to handle the pressure of joining the team fully new to rowing is what really allowed me to succeed."
 
"After winning New England's in 2019, the COVID years appeared to hit Wesleyan pretty hard," said Williams head men's crew coach Marc Mandel. "They are definitely back, and I've been impressed with how significantly Wesleyan improved from 2022 to 2023 in top-end speed and program depth, earning silver at IRAs in both the first and second eights, after not qualifying in 2022. Additionally, Phil has always been gracious in offering congratulations to competing crews, and he is a tremendous steward of Division 3 men's rowing."