50 Years: Throwing Caution To The Wind

by Sarah Sessoms

Erin Neppel never thought she would be the head coach for North Carolina's rowing program. In fact, when she first came to Chapel Hill as an undergrad, she never thought she would be a rower at all.

Now, more than 20 years after her incredible performance as a rower in Chapel Hill, earning All-ACC, All-Region and second team All-America honors, Neppel is charged with and ready to usher in an era of success for Carolina Rowing as its leader.

In her first year, she has already taken great strides and made progress for the team where she got her start—heading to the team's ACC Tournament in Clemson, S.C. in May after only ten months at the helm.

"This team has surpassed all expectations, and they have accomplished more than I would have ever expected over the last ten months," she said. "They trusted me and everything we have asked them to do, they have done it. I'm so very glad I decided to come back."

The third head coach in the program's history, Neppel returned to her alma mater in 2021 to lead the program after stints as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Canisius College and the University of Virginia.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to go back and be the head coach at your alma mater," she said. "I really care about this place, and really care about the experience of the student-athletes who are here. I had such a fantastic, transformative four years here that so if I have the opportunity to come and make a difference and allow more people to go down that path, I am all in for it."

Her four years as a rower were unexpected, but paid dividends. A brand-new sport for her when she arrived on campus as a freshman, Neppel found a new passion by joining the team.

An athletic young woman, she played soccer among other sports at her high school in Raleigh, N.C., never expecting to become a Division I athlete.

"Actually, I came to all of Anson [Dorrance]'s soccer camps, by babysitting and saving money to be able to come to his camps in Chapel Hill every year," she said.

When she was accepted to Carolina, she immediately decided it was the college for her. Then a letter from former rowing head coach Joel Furtek arrived in her mailbox—recruiting athletes to try out for the newly-named varsity program.

"There was no rowing in North Carolina at that time, I knew nobody who had done it, didn't know anything about it," Neppel said. "But I did know that I really, really wanted to try out for this team."

So she went to the informational meeting, then to tryouts, to see if rowing was her path.

"On the first day of tryouts, I was totally hooked," she said. "I just loved everything about it."

Dedicated from that first day on, Neppel never looked back. She found it natural to be in the erg and on the water, a way to get away from the grind of college life and to find strength in every day.

"It was a way to go out and rage every single day, and it was everything I needed," Neppel said. "I loved being here and being a Division I athlete here was an incredible experience."

What worked the best for her, however, was the opportunity to be the best every day and push past her own limits.

"You get to a limit and you push right past that limit—because there's no ceiling to how high you can go if you train," she said.

That's what she hopes for her teams as she continues to learn and grow as a head coach. She also hopes that her story—and the idea that you can start over by being brave—inspires her athletes.

"Something that rowing taught me: being very comfortable being uncomfortable all the time and learning from that has been my mantra all the time," she said.

After going to physical therapy school and raising a family, Neppel found herself at crossroads on her next steps. An old mentor, and her old coach, offered her guidance—and recommended that she return to rowing.

So, in 2016, Neppel found herself packing up, moving to upstate New York and working on a graduate degree while coaching under her old mentor, Joel Furtek. Working camps and coaching clubs to make ends meet, Neppel found her place in coaching.

"Every step I have made in coaching has been the scariest thing and throwing caution to the wind in those ways has been my path, and it has been so rewarding," she said.

Four years later, Neppel was hired at the University of Virginia and worked there for three years before being brought back to her alma mater.

"It's surreal to be back. It's very full-circle for me – being here feels very right," she said. "It felt right the second I got back to campus and felt very natural for me because I do genuinely have a personal investment in this project and I care so deeply about this place."

Neppel feels a personal connection to the success of her program—because the program gave so much to her in her college years. But it's beyond just a personal investment to Carolina – it's a personal investment in the sport of rowing as well – a sport where she found her path.

"If I hadn't found rowing at UNC, I can't even imagine what my life would have been like," she said. "I am so very grateful for rowing."

But her gratitude is not the only thing that drives her in her quest for success. It is her competitive nature, and her big plans for the program. But her goals are bigger.

"I want to win. I want to win ACCs soon. We've started to change the momentum here and swing in the right direction," she said. "There is so much support right now. We have all the parts, we just need a few years of development and excitement and we will get there."

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Related News

Related Videos