Kendall Schmidt - Assistant Coach - Rowing Coaches

Kendall Schmidt

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
kendall.schmidt@duke.edu
Phone:
(919) 681-9453

Kendall Schmidt wrapped up her sixth season as an assistant coach with the Duke rowing program in 2022. She joined the staff in 2016 after coaching at Mercer Rowing Club in Windsor Township, N.J.

In her current role, Schmidt oversees Duke’s Varsity Four boat, which has emerged as one of the fastest in the ACC as well as the NCAA. The crew’s crowning achievement came at the 2019 ACC Championship, where the V4 won the program’s first gold medal by besting second-place Syracuse by nearly five seconds.

Weeks later, Schmidt guided the V4 crew to a B Final at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., which marked the first B Final at NCAAs in program history.

This past spring of 2022, Schmidt helped guide the V4 to a first-place result in nine races, including a three-race sweep at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite and a pair of victories at the Big Ten Invite. The boat went on to claim silver at the ACC Championship, marking the fourth straight season that the Duke V4 finished in the top-two at the conference regatta.

In 2021, the V4 earned silver at the ACC regatta before finishing third in the Petite Final at the 2021 NCAA Championships.

Schmidt also works directly with Duke’s coxswains. Over the past five years, she has helped develop Tara Fagan, who twice earned All-ACC honors while directing the Blue Devils’ Varsity 8 crew.

The V4 crew enjoyed much success during the 2019 regular season, starting at the Carolina Cup, where Duke swept the competition in every race and won its third-straight trophy. At the Cooper Sprints, the Blue Devils placed second in a field of 15 schools, outracing UNC, Navy, Clemson and SMU.

At the Big Ten/ACC Dual in Charlottesville, Va., Duke defeated No. 7 Ohio State and No. 17 Syracuse with a time of 7:25.2. The V4 boat placed second behind Michigan in the afternoon race, and earned ACC Crew of the Week on April 11 for its Big Ten/ACC Dual performance.

Duke took home the Pocock trophy at the Lake Wheeler Invitational, earning a victory in the V4 race over UCF and UNC.

In 2018, Duke placed third at the ACC Championship with 72 total points. The V4 boat notched the best finish for Duke, taking second with a time of 7:12.866. Schmidt helped guide Duke to its second consecutive Carolina Cup as the Blue Devils swept all races.

During her debut season in 2017, Duke peaked at a national ranking of No. 17 and placed fourth at the ACC Championship with 65 points.

With Mercer, Schmidt coached the second, third and fourth varsity girls’ boats, helping improve the team depth. Schmidt contributed to Mercer’s highest number of USRowing Youth National Championship-qualifying boats. She also collaborated with the rest of the coaching staff to improve the cohesion, team culture and competitiveness of group.

Prior to, and while, coaching, Schmidt was heavily involved in USRowing, serving as the National Team Training Center coxswain from 2014-17. Schmidt participated in six to eight hours of training per day as a coxswain for US Senior National Rowing Team and presented a trio of USRowing coxswain clinics across the country. She traveled with the US team to the 2015 World Championships and 2016 Summer Olympics as a team manager, and also managed pre-selection for the Olympic women’s quad.

At the 2012 and 2013 World Rowing Under-23 Championships, Schmidt helped the women’s 8+ to a pair of first place finishes. She later coxed the US women’s national team to titles in the championship four in 2013, 2014 and 2015 at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Schmidt then guided the US national team to the Remenham Cup, the premier women’s 8+ event, at the Royal Henley Regatta in 2016. In 2014, she led the New York Athletic Club’s women’s 8+ to first at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.

Schmidt rowed for current head coach Megan Cooke Carcagno at Wisconsin, where she competed as the V8 coxswain her final three years. Her three trips with the V8 to the Big Ten Rowing Championships resulted in two bronze medals and one silver. During her freshman campaign, she steered the novice eight to a Big Ten title. Schmidt, who was presented the Big Ten Female Medal of Honor as a senior, was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Team selection, a three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a First Team All-Big Ten pick as a senior.

A native of Greenfield, Wis., Schmidt graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a civil engineering degree in 2013.