Laura Foster Named New Head Rowing Coach At GPS

  • Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Laura Foster
Laura Foster

Former Division I standout Laura Foster has been named the new head rowing coach at Girls Preparatory School. Foster currently serves as the assistant varsity head coach for the Princeton National Rowing Association in New Jersey. She will officially start her position at GPS on August 1. 


Foster rowed for four years at the University of Michigan and ended her career as a senior as part of a boat that finished third at the 2017 NCAA Championships.

She was recognized as Academic All-Big Ten in 2016 and 2017 and was a Collegiate Rowing Coaches’ Association Academic All-American in 2016. She was also a University of Michigan Scholar-Athlete in 2014, 2015, and 2016.


After graduating from Michigan, she attended the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where she earned her Master of Philosophy degree in archaeology. During her time overseas, she was the head men’s rowing coach at the Queens’ College Boat Club and the vice-president of the Cambridge Women’s Program. She led boats from Cambridge to victories over Oxford in both 2018 and 2019. She has held her current position in West Windsor, New Jersey, since September 2020.


“We are incredibly excited to have Laura lead our program next year,” said GPS Director of Athletics Jay Watts. “Her résumé has a combination of exceptional academic and athletic achievements that is hard to find. We are excited about where our rowing program will go, given the great resources at its disposal.” 


Foster’s office will be in the recently completed GPS-McCallie Rowing Center that is used by both the GPS and McCallie rowing teams. This spring, the GPS rowing program had 34 student-athletes on its roster and finished second overall at the Mid-South Classic held earlier this month at Baylor. The Bruisers have multiple alumnae competing at the college level and one senior on this year’s team, Mary “Addie” Youmans, who has committed to row at the University of Indiana next fall. Youmans is the fifth GPS student-athlete to commit to a Division I rowing program in the last three years.

 

In the meantime, GPS and McCallie have jointly announced that Maegan Gossett, a former GPS rower who graduated in 2008, will become Rowing Center Coordinator, ensuring that the facility is used at its maximum capacity to serve both rowing programs. She also will serve as an assistant coach to Foster.


“Maegan has a good sense of how both GPS and McCallie operate during the rowing seasons and will be extremely helpful to both programs,” Watts said.


McCallie Dean of Athletics Jeff Romero said, “The GPS-McCallie Rowing Center is one of the best facilities in the nation, and Maegan will play a pivotal role in maximizing its use to the benefit of the young men and young women from our schools. We are excited about the potential of this facility.”  A formal dedication of the $5.1 million facility will be held in fall 2021.

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