University of North Carolina Athletics
NCAA Champ Kooyers Joins Rowing Staff
July 24, 2024 | Women's Rowing
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Two-time NCAA Champion Payten Kooyers has joined the North Carolina rowing staff as an assistant coach, head coach Erin Neppel announced Wednesday.
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"We are thrilled to welcome Payten to Carolina," Neppel said. "She fits right in with what our program emphasizes culturally and brings a great energy that will mesh well with our team and our athletic department as a whole. She has experienced great success at the University of Texas as an athlete and has been doing a fantastic job coaching junior athletes since then. We are excited for her to bring her experiences and enthusiasm to Chapel Hill and know she'll contribute in a big way."
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Kooyers (pronounced KOI-yers) joins the Tar Heel staff after an extremely successful run in Austin, Texas. As a student-athlete, she was part of NCAA title teams in 2021 and 2022, and the Longhorns won Big 12 Championships all four years she competed.
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In addition, she has coached junior athletes in both rowing skills and strength & condition as part of the Austin Rowing Club. She completed an internship with the Texas Athletic Performance team, focusing on the training of softball, soccer, tennis and swimming.
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She earned a B.S. in kinesiology with specialization in strength & conditioning coaching from Texas in May of 2022 and completed her master's in sport management in May of 2024.
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"I'm super excited to be here at Carolina, and to be working with Erin and the rest of the staff," Kooyers said. "I think what Erin has done here in the last three years has been awesome and moving the program in the right direction. I'm looking forward to what we can accomplish here."
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"We are thrilled to welcome Payten to Carolina," Neppel said. "She fits right in with what our program emphasizes culturally and brings a great energy that will mesh well with our team and our athletic department as a whole. She has experienced great success at the University of Texas as an athlete and has been doing a fantastic job coaching junior athletes since then. We are excited for her to bring her experiences and enthusiasm to Chapel Hill and know she'll contribute in a big way."
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Kooyers (pronounced KOI-yers) joins the Tar Heel staff after an extremely successful run in Austin, Texas. As a student-athlete, she was part of NCAA title teams in 2021 and 2022, and the Longhorns won Big 12 Championships all four years she competed.
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In addition, she has coached junior athletes in both rowing skills and strength & condition as part of the Austin Rowing Club. She completed an internship with the Texas Athletic Performance team, focusing on the training of softball, soccer, tennis and swimming.
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She earned a B.S. in kinesiology with specialization in strength & conditioning coaching from Texas in May of 2022 and completed her master's in sport management in May of 2024.
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"I'm super excited to be here at Carolina, and to be working with Erin and the rest of the staff," Kooyers said. "I think what Erin has done here in the last three years has been awesome and moving the program in the right direction. I'm looking forward to what we can accomplish here."
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