(Photo Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics)
With the emerging echo of a megaphone from Rutgers Head Coach, Justin Price, the Scarlet Knights have been making a stride in the right direction, and after their historic feat in London during this past Summer winning the Island Challenge Cup at the prestigious, Henley Royal Regatta, there’s no question that the New Jersey staple, is a destination to make home for those committed to a team built on purpose and the effortless pursuit of glory.
It is safe to say that the rowing world knows that the athletes who carry the weight both figuratively and verbatim within the rowing shell tend to get overlooked by most observers solely due to their ratio of 8:1 or 4:1 depending on which boat class is in the topic of discussion.
When you look at the BIG THREE — Baseball, Basketball, and Football, the following terms remain an icebreaker hooking the conversationalists to immediate dialogue and an array of highly-passionate perspectives and utter takes on if teams across the nation are putting out their very best and elite gamechangers to seal the deal come gameday.
FSN’s recent installment, coined as “First String” is set in stone for what we as a Staff believe is one of the most critical positions in College Rowing combining an array of leadership impacts and value far beyond the waterway. We give this series to the “9th Seats” of the sport that drastically make or break the results on race day, to not only set the tone of the crew’s mentality and work-ethic stemmed in practice, but the forward-thinking, strategic, and highly-disciplined individual behind piecing the puzzle together for max-efficiency backed by a proficiency for accuracy, utmost teamwork, and support — the Coxswain.
In August of 2025, the FSN Staff circled the roundtable to spark the conversation amongst the College Rowing landscape and the tiers of elite drivers who in all reality earned a spotlight and their fair share of publicity backed by College Rowing’s leading analysts, For Stars Network’s Founder/CEO, Hudson Forster. Sharing his Top-10 Coxswains in both Men’s and Women’s Rowing, respectively, the crew received his highly-researched and data-driven list of Drivers who have big shoes to fill in 2026, and a team that will be corralled by their innate leadership stills and overall influence.
(Photo Courtesy of AllMarkOne Media)
With the next athlete “on deck” being a token for FSN’s “First String” Coxswain Series, we bring you the greater-Cleveland, Ohio’s very own, Rutgers University Senior, Meghan Mangan, who got her start as a Division 1 Level Coxswain for Duquesne University in uptown Pittsburgh before making her way over to New Brunswick to finish off her collegiate career within the Big Ten.
Ranked as the No. 10 Coxswain in Women’s Rowing during the Pre-Season by FSN, Mangan was listed as one of the only coxswains hailing from the Big Ten Conference, being the seventh-ranked in her position in the Class of 2026 as Senior nominees within the first-ever installment of Top-10 Coxswain Rankings at the collegiate level in history.
We had an opportunity to sit down with one of the core members of Rutgers Women’s Rowing, a two-time NCAA Rowing Championships Coxswain & Henley Royal Regatta role player in 2025, answering to inspire the next generation of elite facilitators in the United States and beyond. Ready to launch, and rallying the Knights of the Raritan, let’s get dialed with Meghan Mangan:
FSN: What is one token of advice for Coxswains embarking on their Freshmen Year in College?
Meghan Mangan: Be excited and open to change your voice and style of coxing! I learned so much going into the program I originally started at and was prepared and excited to do it all again when I transferred to Rutgers. Being able to soak up every bit of knowledge from coaches and older coxswains will help you develop your own style of coxing is super valuable heading into collegiate rowing or transferring into a new program.
(Photo Courtesy of AllMarkOne Media)
FSN: How do you work on your craft outside of the Coxswain Seat rather than just listening to Coxswain Recordings?
Meghan Mangan: I train as much as I can with the girls, and when I have free time outside of practice and class I run or erg. Not only does this help me understand the stroke more, but as rowers know, rowing is a mentally challenging sport with long steady state sessions. Being able to put myself in their shoes and do a steady state session or go for a long run helps me understand what that they would want to hear and wouldn’t want to hear during a practice and race.
FSN: What are your top three songs to listen to before Practice and then for Race Day? Are they the same or do they vary?
Meghan Mangan: I don’t have specific songs I listen to before practice or race days actually! If anything, you will catch Rutgers playing every type of music at the race course, so of course I’ll listen to that before racing. The night before a race I will always go through some sort of visualization to help me prepare.
(Photo Courtesy of AllMarkOne Media)
FSN: How important to you is 1:1 Coxswain Coaching during high school and what was the best tip you received from a Coach, Mentor or even Teammate?
Meghan Mangan: Working with coaches 1:1 to understand the clear narrative about mentality and data is a super important part of being a coxswain. From there, we as coxswains can then reciprocate the coaches narrative to create a clear picture of what the crew as a whole needs to look like.
FSN: Where does Motivation rank out of the most important characteristics about being an Elite Coxswain for you on a scale of 1-10, ten being the least important?
Meghan Mangan: I think a strong level of motivation always falls quite high on an athlete's scale, a special level of determination, grit, and motivation to push yourself through the good and tougher sessions, working towards a goal. As a coxswain I feel that motivating the athletes through my calls are valuable, but not as much as giving continuous data and input that the girls need to hear in order to elevate throughout the workout.
(Photo Courtesy of AllMarkOne Media)
FSN: How often are you coaching your rowers while on land? Did anyone teach you when to back off giving Critiques or Extrinsic Motivation and when to step in while the athletes are on the ergs or did it just come naturally?
Meghan Mangan: Coaching the rowers on land is something I truly do enjoy as a coxswain. Much of winter is spent on the ergs and I find it a great time to continually work on technical corrections with the athletes. No one in particular taught me when to back off when giving critiques, as I find that it comes quite naturally because I love to run and erg myself, and I pride myself in knowing when to give corrections and when to hold off till later. Though when I find coaches of mine correcting the athletes, sometimes I will follow up with the coaches on questions I have just so I can expand my knowledge.
FSN: What do you want to be remembered for during your time in the saddle as a Rutgers Scarlet Knight?
Meghan Mangan: I haven’t been at Rutgers for long, though the women who have come before me have built up a strong, resilient, and determined program. Being considered as a strong link with that chain of incredible women is something I’d love to be remembered for.