The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association announced its All-America awards, presented by Pocock, and regional coaching honors on Thursday, with William Smith College rowing earning multiple national recognitions.
For the first time since 2002, the Herons produced two first-team All-Americans and swept the regional coaching awards.
Seniors Kate Abdalla and Linnea Darius were named First Team All-Americans after helping lead the William Smith varsity eight to a podium finish at the NCAA Championships. Abdalla is a graduate of Villa Joseph Marie High School in Yardley, Pennsylvania, while Darius attended Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland.
William Smith Head Coach Paul Bugenhagen was named Regional Coach of the Year, while Bugenhagen and Assistant Coach Callista Crisonino earned Regional Staff of the Year honors.
Abdalla and Darius played key roles in a successful season for the Herons. Entering the NCAA Championships ranked sixth nationally, William Smith’s varsity eight placed third in the grand final. Combined with a fourth-place finish by the second varsity eight, the Herons secured a third-place finish in the team standings, matching the highest national finish in program history, originally achieved in 2002.
The pair also helped William Smith capture the Liberty League Championship and earn a bronze medal at the New York State Championships, finishing behind only Division I programs Colgate and Marist.
During the fall season, Abdalla and Darius earned silver medals in the Women’s Varsity Four race at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.
In addition to their All-America honors, both rowers were named First Team All-Liberty League, while the Herons’ varsity eight was selected as the Liberty League Crew of the Year.
William Smith rowing has now earned 32 All-America awards, including 18 first-team selections, since Derith Hart ’01 became the program’s first All-American in 2000.
Under the leadership of Bugenhagen and Crisonino, the Herons captured their 10th Liberty League Championship and first conference title since 2016, earning the program’s 14th NCAA Championship appearance. William Smith crews won three gold medals and one silver medal at the Liberty League Championships, then added two silver medals and a bronze at the state championships.
The Herons opened the spring season ranked 10th in the CRCA poll, remained in the top 10 throughout the year, and climbed to a program-best No. 3 ranking in the final poll.
Bugenhagen and Crisonino were also selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Bugenhagen joined Hobart and William Smith as Hobart rowing head coach in 2011 and coached both programs from 2020 through 2023. Since the start of the 2023-24 academic year, he has coached William Smith exclusively while serving as the institution’s director of rowing. Crisonino joined the Herons at the start of the 2024-25 season.
