Tom Fries Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 2nd Year Alma Mater: Virginia, 2000

Assistant coach Tom Fries joined the Saint Mary's staff in July of 2005, and is in his second year with the Gaels' women's rowing team. In his first year, he helped to recruit and retain the largest class of novices in program history, and helped the whole team to achieve its best-ever WCC conference finish. At the WCC Championships 2006, his novice 4+ finished in third place, claiming three points for the Gaels. Also in his first year, he guided the novice women's 8+ to a first-place finish in the petite final of the W.I.R.A. Championship. The Gaels' novice 4+ entry took home gold medals from the same championship.

Before joining the Gaels' coaching staff, Fries spent three years as the novice men's coach of Purdue University's club crew team. From fall of 2002 through spring of 2005, Fries helped the Boilermakers to attain both regional and national success. His novice men's 8+ won gold at the Dad Vail National Championship in 2005, and bronze in 2004. At the I.R.A. National Championship in 2003, his novice 8+ attained the squad's best-ever national finish, beating out numerous boats from varsity programs to end the season ranked 12th in the country. Additionally, while at Purdue, the team achieved dynastic collective success, taking home the men's, women's and overall points trophies for both Southern Championships and the Dad Vail National Championship in 2003 and 2004.

In the 2001-2002 school year, Fries was an intern coach with the Brown University men's team. While in Providence, he worked with the third varsity athletes and with the varsity and JV athletes in pairs. He coached a four to the petite finals at the I.R.A. Championship and the third varsity eight to the finals of the Eastern Sprints.

Fries has also coached with the University of Virginia men's and women's teams, with the Rivanna Rowing Club in Charlottesville, VA, with Potomac Boat Club in Washington, DC, and with the Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport, CT. He has worked with masters and juniors as well as collegiate athletes, and has coached both sculling and sweep. In these positions, he helped his athletes to gain national recognition at the I.R.A. Championship, at the NCAA Championship and at the Head of the Charles in Boston, MA.

Fries graduated from the University of Virginia in 2000 with a degree in Neuroscience, having spent three and a half years rowing and one season coaching for the men's team. Prior to attending the University of Virginia, he graduated from Deerfield Academy, where he was a member of the rowing team. Fries began rowing in eighth grade at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. With T.C. Williams he achieved top-3 finishes in the U.S. and in Canada.

Fries and his younger sister, Gwyn, were born in Orono, ME, and grew up across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.