Pasha Spencer Position: Head Coach Experience: 4th Year Alma Mater: Washington, 1995

Pasha Spencer was announced as the first full time head women's rowing coach at Saint Mary's College on October 6, 2003, and enters her fourth year with the Gaels.

The 2006 season marked another successful year for Spencer and the women's rowing program. The season was highlighted by a third place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships, the highest finish in the programs history. This achievement marks the second straight year in which Spencer has led the Gaels to that honor. Spencer also led the varsity-4 to their second straight gold medal at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, led the varsity-8 to a victory in the petite final of the Women's Cal Cup at the San Diego crew Classic, led the second varsity-8 and novice-8 to silver and bronze medals at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships, led the novice-8 and novice-4 boats to gold medals at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships. Johanna Timmer, one of Spencer's top recruits from the prior year, was one of 21 freshman rowers in the country to be invited to attend the 2005 Women's Nation Team Freshman Camp.

The 2005 season's success was highlighted with wins over Santa Clara in the varsity eight and four at the West Coast Conference Championships, breaking an eight-year losing streak and tying the Gaels for fourth in the WCC, the best finish since the WCC Championship began in 1997. The varsity eight also earned a first-ever medal in the eight, earning a silver medal at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships.

In 2004, SMC earned their first Division I victory in the varsity eight over Arizona State University at the Windermere Cup in Redwood Shores, CA. In medal contention races, the varsity four earned the gold medal at the WCC Championships and the novice four powered to a silver medal finish at the Women's Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta.

Spencer came to Saint Mary's from Yale University where she was the assistant coach and head recruiter for the Bulldogs from 2001-03. In her first year Yale's novice team swept the Ivy League with an undefeated season. At the NCAA championships, Spencer guided the varsity four to the school's first ever NCAA medalist finish, by earning a bronze medal. In 2003, the novice team rallied to a bronze medal finish at the Eastern Sprint Championships, which broke a 5-year non-medaling streak. Spencer helped lead the novice team to a 17-3 regular season record in her two years with the Bulldogs.

Before working at Yale, Spencer spent just over one year with the Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport, CT as a Master's Rowing Program Coordinator and the Head Junior Women's Coach. She joined Saugatuck Rowing Club after serving a two-year graduate school fellowship at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. While at Trinity College, Spencer was the novice women's crew coach. In her second year with the program, she guided the novice team to an undefeated season and a gold medal championship at the New England Championships and the Champion International Regatta.

Following a four-year collegiate rowing career at the University of Washington, Spencer joined the Huskies rowing staff as an assistant in 1995. In her only year as the assistant novice women's crew coach, she helped the second and third novice boats earn gold medals at the Northwest Regional Championships on Vancouver Lake, WA. During her collegiate career, Spencer worked for the US Forest Service as a wild land firefighter during the summers. In 1998, she ended her seven summers in fire after three seasons on Hot-shot Initial Attack Crews in Oregon and Arizona and a season of rappelling from helicopters on Lake Chelan's Helitack crew in Washington state. She graduated from Washington with a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1995 and is currently enrolled in the master's degree program in Leadership at Saint Mary's College.