Women's Rowing
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- ci2206@columbia.edu
- Phone:
- 212-854-4335
- Alma Mater/Year:
- University of Texas, '10
Colleen Irby joined the Columbia coaching staff in August of 2014 after a two-year stint at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she earned her Master's Degree in Sport and Exercise Science.
Irby was a varsity assistant at Smith during the 2012-13 campaign before being named Novice Coach in 2013-14. Her prior experience also includes a stop at MIT as a volunteer assistant in 2011-12. Irby spent two summers as head coach of club programs: the Merrimack River Rowing Association of Lowell, Massachusetts and the Alaska Midnight Sun Rowing Association of Soldotna, Alaska. At both, she taught master rowers and juniors in a variety of sweep and sculling boats.
Irby was a four-year letter winner at the University of Texas, where she brought a diverse athletic background to the squad as a walk-on. By the end of her freshman season, she was a staple on the varsity team. Her crew led the Longhorns to back-to-back Big XII Championship victories in 2009 and 2010. She was also a three-time Provost award winner, a three-time CRCA National-Scholar Athlete, and the Academic MVP in 2010.
