Crew
The Hill Athletics program creates opportunities for student-athletes to compete at the highest level of independent school sports. We are committed to providing an experience that develops character, emphasizes teamwork, and encourages healthy lifelong habits. Within that context, Hill crew seeks to kindle in each rower, at all levels from novice to varsity, a passion for the highest standards of balanced personal, boat, and team achievement.
We believe all growth and success comes from good operational skills: we teach rowers how to develop step-by-step goals and how to achieve them, integrating mental alertness, physical toughness, technical expertise, emotional steadiness, and a cheerful approach to life and especially to adverse weather and water conditions. We strive to win races as an expression of these attributes.
Hill crew’s highest values are athletic competitiveness, an irrepressible can-do spirit, and all-around sportsmanship—three areas that we believe define the sport of rowing. Our objective metric is thus boat speed and the winning of races. Race results—and regular, honest assessment of them—reflect directly the quality of both athlete and coach preparedness, consistency, and resolve. Hill crew’s subjective metric, to be developed over the four years of a student’s rowing career, is the development of good character. A specific area worthy of note is a healthy, mutually-supportive relationship between the boys' and girls' sides of the program.
Hill crew’s highest values are athletic competitiveness, an irrepressible can-do spirit, and all-around sportsmanship—three areas that we believe define the sport of rowing. Our objective metric is thus boat speed and the winning of races. Race results—and regular, honest assessment of them—reflect directly the quality of both athlete and coach preparedness, consistency, and resolve. Hill crew’s subjective metric, to be developed over the four years of a student’s rowing career, is the development of good character. A specific area worthy of note is a healthy, mutually-supportive relationship between the boys' and girls' sides of the program.
Hill crew strives to compete aggressively in the MAPL Championships and other May championship regattas in order to attend Scholastic Rowing Association of America Nationals, National Schools Championship Regatta, U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals, Women’s Henley Regatta (U.K.), and Henley Royal Regatta (U.K.). Similarly, in the course of striving to provide a premier athletic experience for all, Hill Crew expects to produce college-recruitable rowers and coxswains. That expectation rests in part on the coaches’ development of passion and skill in all our athletes and in part on making Hill competitive with peer rowing schools for recruitment and financial support of rowing talent at the time of admission to Hill.
With School support, Hill crew is engaged in ongoing study of water, land, facilities, and endowment development to support this vision over both medium- and long-term time horizons.
Schedule and Results
Opponent | Date | Time | Location | Details | Result | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
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|
All Day
|
Schuykill River | View Recap | Tie | ||
vs.
North Catholic, Doane, Villa Maria Academy High School, Harriton Lower Merion School, Radnor Township School, Holy Ghost Prep
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All Day
|
Core Creek Park | Details | |||
vs.
Blair Academy
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|
All Day
|
Blair Academy | Details | |||
vs.
Mercer Sprints
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|
|
Mercer Lake | View Recap | Other | ||
5th Manny Flick
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Schuykill River | View Recap | Other | ||
Cooper Cup
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All Day
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Cooper River | View Recap | Loss | ||
vs.
MAPL Championship
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|
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Mercer Lake | View Recap | Other | ||
US Rowing Mid-Atlantic Championships
|
|
All Day
|
Mercer Lake | Details | |||
US Rowing Mid-Atlantic Championships
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|
All Day
|
Mercer Lake | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Stotesbury Regatta Philadelphia
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|
All Day
|
Schuykill River | Details | |||
Coaching Staff
Program Director | Steve Ciraolo | sciraolo@thehill.org
Coach Ciraolo is an Athey Family Master and teaches in the Classics Department. Ciraolo attended St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia and holds a B.A. in economics and government from Cornell University, class of 1990, and an M.A. in Classics from Villanova University. Prior to his appointment at Hill, Ciraolo served on the faculty of The Baldwin School and of Tabor Academy, where he coached rowing for fourteen years, seven as program director. He took Tabor crews to Henley Women’s Regatta twice and Henley Royal Regatta four times. In the fall, he is an assistant boys’ cross country coach and he is an avid runner; in the winter he assists particularly in the running portion of the winter crew power-endurance program. In all areas of Hill Crew, he is particularly interested in fostering a culture that serves to the very highest developmental standards for all comers, from complete novices to top athletes. He currently serves on the USRowing Board of Directors as a member.
Head Boys' Coach: D. Will Scully | wscully@thehill.org
Coach Scully teaches physics and math. Scully holds a B.S. with honors in physics and German language and literature from Trinity College, class of 2014. He rowed for Simsbury High School in Simsbury, Conn. and then for Trinity, where he was captain his senior year. Since graduating, Scully has also rowed competitively in the U23 programs at Penn AC in Philadelphia and Mosman RC in Sydney. Scully has coached part-time at Simsbury, Trinity, and Middletown High School; in summer, 2018 he coached at Craftsbury Sculling Center in Craftsbury, Vermont. At Stotesbury 2018, Will’s 1V handily defeated 62 boats to win gold medals in the junior 4+ division. Will also heads up the winter crew power-endurance program, well-known on campus for its hard work and its attention to technical performance.
Head Girls' Coach | Tessie Salatas | tsalatas@thehill.org
Coach Salatas holds a B.A. in Mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross, where she was a dual-sport athlete in crew and ice hockey and served as a crew captain during her senior year. Prior to Holy Cross, she competed with the Kent School Boat Club and the Quebec Provincial team. Coach Salatas started her coaching career at the Laval Rowing Club, where she began working with the Learn to Row program and quickly transitioned into leading the competitive program. She returned to Kent School, assisted the girls’ crew team, and became the Head Coach for the 2020-2021 season. She spends her summers with Sparks Rowing Camps and has served as the Program Director for the UPenn and Columbia camps. Coach Salatas also holds other roles on campus such as being an Instructor of Mathematics, a dorm parent in Rolfe Dorm, and assisting the girls’ varsity soccer team.
Assistant Coaches:
Amanda Molitor
Hans Doerr
Catriona Miller
Nevia Selmon
Jared Courtney
Inquiry Form
News
Thirty-six members of The Hill School Class of 2023 will be continuing their athletic careers in college for the upcoming fall season.
Michael Rapp '24, Colin McLenaghan '24, Max Labaczewski '25, and Nate Whittemore '23, competed in the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association (PSRA) City Championships event on Sunday, May 7, 2023.
The Hill School Head Boys’ Crew Coach Will Scully has been named the head boys’ coach for the Pennsylvania Athletic Club Rowing Association (Penn AC) Gold Program for the summer of 2023.
View the names of the Hill School student-athletes who were chosen by their coaches and teammates as the special award winners for the 2022 spring athletics season.
The United States Rowing Association (USRowing) recently announced the results of the Regional Representative Election for their 2021-2022 Board of Directors., The Hill School’s Director of Crew Steve Ciraolo was elected to serve as the Atlantic Regional Representative.
Rowing Beyond The Hill
Below are recent Hill graduates who have pursued rowing in college:
Jace White '22 - Columbia University
Emily Fairfield '22 - Connecticut College
Avery Reigner '22 - Purdue University
Raina Shah '21 - Tufts University
Lal Yatagan '21 - Northeastern University
Paul Stone '21 - Cornell University
Michael Soland '21 - Purdue University
Ethan Hempel '19 - Lehigh University
Liz Buck '18 - Lehigh University
Haley Weller '17 - Syracuse University
Past Seasons
2019 Season
Team | Opponent | Date | Time | Location | Details | Result | Score | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
V Crew |
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
|
|
|
Philadelphia, PA" | Details | CANCELLED | ||
V Crew |
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
|
|
|
Camden, NJ | View Recap | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Blair Academy
|
|
|
Paulinskill Lake | View Recap | Other | Boys W 3-0, Girls L 0-3 | |
V Crew |
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
|
|
TBD
|
Philadelphia, PA" | View Recap | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
|
|
TBD
|
Philadelphia, PA" | View Recap | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Mercer Sprints
|
|
TBD
|
NJ, Mercer Lake 2 | Details | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Mercer Sprints
|
|
TBD
|
NJ, Mercer Lake 2 | Details | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Mercer Sprints
|
|
TBD
|
NJ, Mercer Lake 2 | View Recap | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Cooper Cup
|
|
|
Camden, NJ | Details | CANCELLED | ||
V Crew |
vs.
MAPL Championship at Mercer Lake
|
|
|
NJ, Mercer Lake 2 | View Recap | |||
V Crew |
vs.
US Rowing Mid-Atlantics Mercer Lake NJ
|
|
TBD
|
NJ, Mercer Lake 2 | Details | |||
V Crew |
vs.
US Rowing Mid-Atlantics Mercer Lake NJ
|
|
TBD
|
NJ, Mercer Lake 2 | Details | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Stotesbury Regatta Philadelphia
|
|
TBD
|
Philadelphia, PA" | Details | |||
V Crew |
vs.
Stotesbury Regatta Philadelphia
|
|
TBD
|
Philadelphia, PA" | Details |
2020 Season
2021 Season
Opponent | Date | Time | Location | Details | Result | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs.
Blair Academy
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|
|
Paulinskill Lake | View Recap | results in the recap | ||
PSRA Manny Flick-Horvat Series
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|
|
Philadelphia | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Mercer Sprints
|
|
|
Mercer Lake | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Mercer Sprints
|
|
|
Mercer Lake | Details | |||
Holy Ghost Prep / Academy of Notre Dame
|
|
|
Core Creek Park | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
MAPL Championship at Mercer Lake
|
|
|
Casperson Rowing Center at Mercer Lake | Details | |||
US Rowing Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship Regatta
|
|
TBD
|
Mercer Lake | Details | |||
US Rowing Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship Regatta
|
|
TBD
|
Mercer Lake | Details | |||
vs.
Stotesbury Regatta Philadelphia
|
|
TBD
|
Philadelphia | Details | |||
vs.
Stotesbury Regatta Philadelphia
|
|
TBD
|
Philadelphia | Details | |||
2022 Season
Opponent | Date | Time | Location | Details | Result | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
|
|
All Day
|
Manny Flick | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Blair Academy
|
|
|
Paulinskill Lake | View Recap | Other | CHANGED: This event has changed. | |
vs.
Mercer Sprints
|
|
All Day
|
Mercer Lake | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Manny Flick Philadelphia
|
|
All Day
|
Manny Flick | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Episcopal Academy, Haverford School
|
|
|
tba | Details | |||
City Championships
|
|
TBD
|
Details | CANCELLED | |||
vs.
MAPL Championship at Mercer Lake
|
|
|
Mercer Lake | Details | POSTPONED: TBD | ||
Mid-Atlantics
|
|
All Day
|
Mercer Lake | Details | |||
Mid-Atlantics
|
|
All Day
|
Mercer Lake | View Recap | Other | ||
vs.
Stotesbury Regatta Philadelphia
|
|
|
Philadelphia | Details | |||