Coaches
Gregg Hartsuff
Head Coach
Since 1994
Gregg Hartsuff begins his 31st season with the University of Michigan Men’s Rowing Team, and his 30th as the Head Coach. Under Hartsuff, the Wolverines have been the most successful collegiate club rowing team since 1994, making him the all-time winning club coach in the history of U.S. college rowing. During that time the Michigan Varsity 8 has had the highest finish at the IRA of any club team each year except two and has been in the petite final in 5 of the 10 years the Wolverines were allowed to compete in the IRA.
Michigan Crews coached by Hartsuff have won over 140 Dad Vail, ECAC, and ACRA medals, with 60 of them being gold. He is only one of two coaches to ever win the Dad Vail and ECAC Varsity 8 titles in the same year (2005), and has won the second most varsity eight titles in the history of the Dad Vail (5). Additionally, Michigan has won two IRA medals, and has the highest finish of a club team in an eights event at the IRA. The 2002 Freshmen 8 won the silver medal. His Michigan teams have won numerous medals at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship every year and has always won the men's team point trophy. In all the Michigan men have won 69 medals at the national championship the past 11 years.
Hartsuff was instrumental in the formation of ACRA in 2007. Facing the exclusion of clubs from the IRA due to the political environment at the time, Hartsuff lead an effort to unite club coaches of the day to form the American Collegiate Rowing Association. As the first President of ACRA he saw ACRA through the forming of bylaws, rules, and a philosophy that saw ACRA grow from a fledgling organization to a national championship that had over 1500 competitors and 60 organization attend after his presidency ended in 2013. He currently serves ACRA as the Secretary/Registrar.
Internationally, while at Michigan Hartsuff has coached three future Olympians, and through camps and other teams coached a few dozen others. He was on the Senior Worlds team as a coach (men's single sculls) in Milan, Italy in 2003. In 2015 he was the head coach of the World University Games team for the USA and the men’s eight that won the gold medal, the first time the USA has won that event. He was also the Head Coach of the 2018 World University Championships team. Hartsuff has coached at numerous national team camps and development camps.
Hartsuff is a lifelong resident of Michigan and the Ann Arbor area, having grown up in Gregory, attended Stockbridge High School ('86), Grand Valley State ('90) and currently resides in Chelsea with his wife Tricia Miranda-Hartsuff, and has three sons Liam, Zander, and Bram.
Year | Total Opponents | Overall | Club | Varsity | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | Loss | Percentage | Win | Loss | Percentage | Win | Loss | Percentage | ||
2023 | 70 | 52 | 18 | 74.29 | 37 | 7 | 84.09 | 15 | 11 | 57.69 |
2022 | 69 | 54 | 15 | 78.26 | 42 | 4 | 91.30 | 12 | 11 | 52.17 |
2021 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 87.50 | 7 | 1 | 87.50 | 0 | 0 | NaN |
2019 | 106 | 93 | 13 | 87.74 | 69 | 5 | 93.24 | 24 | 8 | 75.00 |
2018 | 90 | 75 | 15 | 83.33 | 63 | 5 | 92.65 | 12 | 10 | 54.55 |
2017 | 109 | 92 | 17 | 84.40 | 84 | 8 | 91.30 | 8 | 9 | 47.06 |
2016 | 104 | 96 | 8 | 92.31 | 68 | 0 | 100.00 | 28 | 8 | 77.78 |
2015 | 112 | 108 | 4 | 96.43 | 80 | 2 | 97.56 | 28 | 2 | 93.33 |
2014 | 121 | 114 | 7 | 94.21 | 82 | 0 | 100.00 | 32 | 7 | 82.05 |
2013 | 90 | 83 | 7 | 92.22 | 57 | 4 | 93.44 | 26 | 3 | 89.66 |
2012 | 69 | 59 | 10 | 85.51 | 42 | 3 | 93.33 | 17 | 7 | 70.83 |
2011 | 80 | 76 | 4 | 95.00 | 42 | 1 | 97.67 | 34 | 3 | 91.89 |
2010 | 58 | 45 | 13 | 77.59 | 32 | 1 | 96.97 | 13 | 12 | 52.00 |
2009 | 68 | 58 | 10 | 85.29 | 44 | 0 | 100.00 | 14 | 10 | 58.33 |
2008 | 93 | 73 | 20 | 78.49 | 52 | 1 | 98.11 | 21 | 19 | 52.50 |
2007 | 67 | 55 | 12 | 82.09 | 24 | 0 | 100.00 | 31 | 12 | 72.09 |
2006 | 66 | 48 | 18 | 72.73 | 27 | 0 | 100.00 | 21 | 18 | 53.85 |
2005 | 69 | 57 | 12 | 82.61 | 30 | 0 | 100.00 | 27 | 12 | 69.23 |
2004 | 50 | 33 | 17 | 66.00 | 19 | 9 | 67.86 | 14 | 8 | 63.64 |
2003 | 66 | 51 | 15 | 77.27 | 28 | 1 | 96.55 | 23 | 14 | 62.16 |
2002 | 65 | 47 | 18 | 72.31 | 16 | 1 | 94.12 | 31 | 17 | 64.58 |
2001 | 51 | 26 | 25 | 50.98 | 12 | 2 | 85.71 | 14 | 23 | 37.84 |
2000 | 73 | 50 | 23 | 68.49 | 27 | 2 | 93.10 | 23 | 21 | 52.27 |
1999 | 70 | 54 | 16 | 77.14 | 29 | 0 | 100.00 | 25 | 16 | 60.98 |
1998 | 48 | 27 | 21 | 56.25 | 16 | 2 | 88.89 | 11 | 19 | 36.67 |
1997 | 51 | 14 | 37 | 27.45 | 11 | 7 | 61.11 | 3 | 30 | 9.09 |
1996 | 34 | 22 | 12 | 64.71 | 16 | 4 | 80.00 | 6 | 8 | 42.86 |
1995 | 45 | 34 | 11 | 75.56 | 26 | 3 | 89.66 | 8 | 8 | 50.00 |
1994 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 77.78 | 22 | 0 | 100.00 | 6 | 8 | 42.86 |
All Time | 1631 | 407 | 80.03 | 1104 | 73 | 93.80 | 527 | 334 | 61.21 | |
Since 1999 | 1506 | 318 | 82.57 | 1013 | 57 | 94.67 | 493 | 261 | 65.38 |
Todd Gocken
Associate Head Coach & Freshman/Novice Coach
Since 2018
Todd Gocken is returning for his third year at Michigan Men’s Rowing. Todd was the Assistant Varsity Coach under Coach Hartsuff in 2018 and 2019. His new position expands his role in assisting with the overall management of the team as well as overseeing the freshman squad.
Todd Gocken was a founding member of his collegiate rowing club at Wabash College in 1991. He continued his competitive rowing career after college at Lincoln Park Boat Club in Chicago, Illinois, where he eventually began coaching and served on the club’s board of directors in 2008-2010. While in Chicago, Todd also served as Assistant Coach for the University of Chicago Crew and Men’s Head Rowing Coach at Northwestern University Rowing. In 2017-2018 Todd was the Head Novice Coach at Michigan State University Crew Club where his rowers finished in the top 7 novice teams at ACRA.
Coach Todd has served as the Program Director for the Chicago Training Center Juniors Program, Northampton Community Rowing, and the University of Illinois Rowing Teams, where he has developed a track record of conducting successful recruiting and producing competitive novice and varsity rowers.
Todd is originally from Champaign, Illinois and now lives in the Ann Arbor area. He also teaches Middle School for Ann Arbor Public Schools.
Maggie Zimmer-Parsons
Assistant Varsity Coach and High School Recruiting Coordinator
Since 2023
Maggie came to the University of Michigan Men's Rowing Team in the spring of 2023 as the Assistant Varsity Coach, and primarily coaches the 3rd and 4th varsity crews. The 3rd Varsity 8 won gold and silver medals at the 2023 and 2024 ACRA National Championships.
Prior to working with the Michigan Men's Team Maggie spent 6 years coaching for Huron High School, first as the Assistant Varsity Women's Coach and then as the Head Coach for the Varsity Women. In that time the Huron Varsity Women's program consistently medaled at the Midwest Championship, had several boats finish in the grand finals at SRAA Nationals, and competed at The Head of the Charles regatta.
In addition to coaching for Huron High School, and now Michigan, Maggie also has coached with the Ann Arbor Rowing Club, in both sweep and sculling, for several years.
Maggie first started rowing her freshman year of high school and has continued to row, now mostly sculling, in her free time since. In addition to rowing and coaching Maggie is a certified yoga instructor.
Jerry Hoffman
Volunteer Assistant Freshman/Novice Coach
Since 2009
Jerry Hoffman started coaching both sweep and sculling programs for Ann Arbor Rowing Club (AARC) in 2007. During the 2009 - 2010 season, he was a volunteer freshman coach for the University of Michigan Men's Crew.
In 2010, Jerry joined the Huron High School Crew coaching team as the boy's novice coach. In 2011 - 2014, he was head coach of the boy's varsity program. During that time, the team qualified boats to the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championships and the Head of the Charles Regatta every year.
Jerry is a University of Michigan engineering graduate who recently retired from a career in both the aerospace and automotive industries. During his career, he developed manufacturing processes and managed multi-plant manufacturing systems and teams. He continues to be an avid sculler and can be seen on Argo pond most days during the rowing season.
Mark Kneisel
Assistant Coach
Since 2021
Mark Kneisel, Assistant Coach, is returning to the Michigan Men’s Rowing Team, where he got his start as a student-athlete in 1987. After graduation, he coached rowing and basketball while a teacher at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep in Michigan. During that tenure, his crews won several Midwest Championships medals, including two golds, along with medals at the Canadian Secondary Schools Championships.
While in law school, Kneisel assisted Coach Hartsuff with the Varsity team, and also assisted with the Ann Arbor Rowing Club. From 1997 to 2020, Kneisel served as an Assistant Prosecutor for Washtenaw County, in Ann Arbor. That service included four years as a trial attorney specializing in special victims cases, and nineteen years as an appellate attorney.
Kneisel re-joined Hartsuff’s staff in the spring of 2021, in anticipation of assuming the role of Freshman/Novice Coach in September 2021. Michigan Rowing revealed, illuminated, and solidified numerous values and habits that went on to serve him and his community well throughout his professional legal career, and he is eager to share those perspectives while developing championship-caliber rowers and coxswains. Kneisel lives in Ann Arbor with his spouse Lisa, a midwife at the University Hospital. After serving as Freshman/Novice coach for a year, Kneisel moved to an assistant coach position.
Russell Giacobbe
Assistant Coach
Since 2010
Russell Giacobbe is entering his eleventh season as a coach for the University of Michigan Men's Rowing Team. Over his first five seasons in charge of the Wolverines Frosh squad, Giacobbe has recruited the two largest classes in program history and boosted the recruiting of experienced high school rowers with an average of 10 athletes in each of the last 5 classes.
During the month of May, Giacobbe's crews have won a combined 24 medals at the Dad Vails, ECAC's and ACRA's and helped Michigan extend their ACRA Championship streak to 9 consecutive years.
In addition to having coached the Freshman at Michigan, Giacobbe also serves as the boatman for Ann Arbor Community rowing as well as the Head Open Masters Coach.
During the summer of 2015 he served as a assistant coach on the World University Games Team for the US and was responsible for coaching the heavy single, light weight single and double.
Prior to coaching at Michigan, Giacobbe was the Freshman Coach and team boatman at Fordham University. During his two years in the Bronx, Giacobbe helped build up the Men's team with one of the largest freshman groups in recent years and also rebuilt the team's boat fleet, purchasing new boats as well as repairing older shells.
While in the Bronx, he also served as the Head Coach of the rowing program at Fordham Preparatory where he built the team from 65 athletes up to 115 in two years. This culminated in 3 medals at the New York State Championships including a championship in the Novice eight. Two boats qualified for nationals from this event as well and went on to win the programs first medal at Scholastic Nationals with a 2nd place finish and later went on to finish 5th at US Nationals.
Giacobbe began rowing as a walk on at Clark University in Worcester, Mass from 2005-2009 where he was captain his Junior and Senior year.
Russell is originally from the New York Metro area and currently lives with his wife Bethany in Dexter, MI.