SEATTLE – Husky women’s crew coach Bob Ernst was fittingly inducted into the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Associations Hall of Fame in a ceremony held Monday at the Conibear Shellhouse.
From the same boathouse along the shores of Lake Washington where the ceremony was held, Ernst has spent the past 41 years guiding both the men’s and women’s programs to prominence. He has guided Washington to eight National Championships in his four decades at the school – plus a gold medal in 1984 for Team USA’s women’s eight-oared boat.
For the last eight years, Ernst has been at the helm of the Washington women’s program. Ernst led the Huskies to a fourth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships, their first NCAA trophy since a second-place finish in 2008.
Two of his rowers this year – Fiona Gammond and Sarah Dougherty – were also named All-America by the CRCA in tonight’s ceremony. The senior Gammond was First Team All-America, while the junior Dougherty was Second Team All-America. Gammond sat in the three-seat and Dougherty sat in the six-seat of this year’s Varsity 8 Boat that finished sixth in the NCAA Championship at Lake Natoma in Gold River, Calif.
The women made their 19th-consecuive NCAA Championship appearance in 2015. The Huskies are one of just three teams to participate in every national championship.
From 1987 to 2007, Ernst guided the UW men’s program. He won national titles in 1997 and in 2007 before handing over the men’s program to his protégé Michael Callahan. In 1997, Ernst led the Huskies to a sweep of the International Rowing Association championships, winning the V8, 2V8 and freshmen eight races. It was the first time since 1950 that the Huskies had garnered such a collection of medals.
In 20 years as the Husky men’s coach, Ernst won Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors 11 times.
Ernst arrived in Seattle in the fall of 1974 after a short coaching stint as his alma mater - UC Irvine. The UCI crew had nearly upset the heavily favored Huskies the year before, and current men's coach Dick Erickson wasted little time offering Ernst a job as the UW freshmen coach. It was a position Ernst maintained until the spring of 1980, when he took over as the women's head coach.
From this point Ernst cemented his legacy as one of the best coaches in the sport of rowing. His women's teams won six National Championships, the last in 1987 when the Huskies swept the varsity eight, junior varsity eight and varsity four races.
Ernst’s influence in the sport can be seen at every level. He has coached and mentored athletes that have gone on to become All-Americans, Olympians and National Team members. Many have also followed in his footsteps and are prominent coaches in the sport.
Ernst was inducted into the national rowing Hall of Fame in 1994 and is also a member of UC Irvine’s athletic hall of fame.
