MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wellesley College crew Head Coach Tessa Spillane, Associate Head/Novice Crew Coach Emilie Muller and Assistant Coach Liz Woodward have been named the 2026 NEWMAC Rowing Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Smith College also received Co-Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

2026 marks the 11th year Spillane has earned the honor while this is fifth time Muller has been with the Blue when the team earned Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year (In the 2022-23 Academic Year the NEWMAC moved from Coach of the Year to Coaching Staff of the Year.)

The award comes after the Blue captured the 2026 NEWMAC Rowing Championship last weekend at Lake Quinsigamond, the 13th time the team has won the title in program history. The team captured a first place finish in the Varsity Eight race, while taking silver in the Second, Third and Fourth Varsity Eight. 

At the event, Wellesley crew seniors Bronnie Bailey (Virginia Beach, Va.), Hannah Bates (Fair Haven, N.J.) and Lucy Weil (Washington, D.C.) and junior Mia Saracino (West Kingston, R.I.) all made the NEWMAC First Team All-Conference. Saracino was also named NEWMAC Coxswain of the Year at the awards ceremony.

With the win, the Blue earned an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Rowing Championships, which will take place on May 29-30, 2026 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Ga.

Prior to that, the Blue will return to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. to compete in the New England Rowing Championships, starting at 8:00 AM on Saturday, May 2.

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.