Coaches' Bios

Varsity Coach, Marc Mandel
Marc enters his first year as Gonzaga's head rowing coach.  From 2005 to 2008, Marc was the Men's Freshman Heavyweight Coach at Georgetown University.  From 2001 to 2005, he was Head Coach at Florida Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in Melbourne, FL.  Marc graduated from Northwestern University in 1998, where he was a four-year rower and captain.  Marc and his wife Jessie live in Alexandria, VA.  They have a nine-year-old golden retriever, Hudson.

Assistant Varsity Coach, Aliyah Snyder
A native of Niceville, Florida, Aliyah graduated from Florida Institute of Technology, where she coxed for the men's varsity rowing team.  Highlights of her career at Florida Tech include a bronze medal at the 2007 Dad Vail Regatta and a fourth place finish at the 2006 Dad Vail Regatta in the Varsity 8.  Additionally, Aliyah contributed to two first-place finishes at the Head of the Hooch in 2006 in the Lightweight 4 and Open 8, and a bronze medal at the 2006 SIRA Regatta in the Lightweight 4.  She also has won the coxswain event at the Southern Erg Sprints in 2006 and 2007.  After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Florida Tech, Snyder coached the Men's Novice team at Connecticut College for the 2007-2008 season.  She also has conducted erg classes and coxswain seminars since graduating from Florida Tech.  

Freshman Coach, Eric Gehrke
Eric, Gonzaga '03, rowed for the final three years of his tenure at Gonzaga. During that time he won three National Championships and two Canadian Henley Gold Medals for Thompson's Boat Center club program, as well as a 6th place finish at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta his senior year with Gonzaga. He was named to the Washington Post All-Met team his senior year and also garnered an invitation to try out for the United States Junior National Team in 2003. He went on to row for Boston College, where he was named captain for the 2006 season. He is now rowing at Potomac Boat Club in Georgetown and looks forward to rejoining the Gonzaga community.

Assistant Freshman Coach, Bobby Brown
Bobby, Gonzaga '04, competed four years for Gonzaga Crew while spending his summer and fall seasons coxing for Thompson Boat Center's competitive junior boys' program. As a high school athlete, he won the 2002 US Rowing Club National Championship, made the final of Stotesbury in Gonzaga's V8, and was named "All-Met" by the Washington Post.  Bobby attended Boston College ('08), where he competed four years for the BC Men's Crew.  His noteworthy collegiate achievements include placing third in the Collegiate Four in the Head of the Charles, winning the New England Fours Championship, and earning a semifinal berth in the Dad Vail Regatta.

 

 

Assistant  Freshman Coach, Andrew Killion
Andrew, Gonzaga ’04, was a four year rower at Gonzaga.  His junior year, he won a silver medal at the Stotesbury Regatta in the JV 8.  In his senior year, he led his boat to a bronze medal finish at Stotesbury and stroked the Varsity boat for the Metro area championships and the National Scholastic Championships.  Andrew went on to row for Cornell University.  In addition to rowing, Andrew won the New York State Golden Gloves Boxing Championship for Upstate New York his senior year at Cornell.