Rutgers University has announced the addition of William Rafferty and Margaret Dail as assistant coaches to its rowing staff for the 2025-26 academic year. Head coach Justin Price said, “We’re incredibly excited to welcome both Will and Margaret to our staff for the 2025-26 school year. They bring a great mix of experience, energy, and enthusiasm that will help make our team better. I am thrilled they are both here and excited to get to work with them and our entire team.”
William Rafferty joins Rutgers after four seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon State. During his time there, the Beavers achieved several notable results, including a No. 21 finish at the IRA National Championship in 2025 and a 10th-place result by the Men’s Championship Fours at the 2024 Head of the Charles Regatta. The program also secured a No. 22 finish at the 2023 IRA Championships and placed 19th overall in Varsity 8 at the 2022 IRA Championship.
In August of this year, Rafferty coached Penn AC men’s U23 program to third place in the U23 4x event at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. He has previous coaching experience in New Jersey with Moorestown Rowing Club and South Jersey Rowing Club, where he guided multiple boats to grand finals appearances.
Rafferty was a varsity rower at Marietta College and participated in events such as the IRA Championships and Dad Vail Regatta. He earned two All-Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference honors and received Marietta’s J. Ellis McDonald Award before graduating with a degree in economics in 2021.
Margaret Dail comes to Rutgers after two years on George Washington University’s rowing staff. In her most recent season, she led George Washington’s Varsity 4 and Second Varsity 4 boats to a program-best second-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships.
Dail previously volunteered as a coach for her alma mater, Texas, which finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2023 while earning CRCA Regional and Big 12 Staff of the Year honors that same year. Her earlier coaching experience includes working with Austin Rowing Club juniors and masters programs, where five boats qualified for Youth Nationals in 2022—a record for that club—and assisting Penn AC Gold’s junior men’s team during summer competitions.
As an athlete, Dail was part of Texas’ three-time NCAA medal-winning squads from 2015-19 and served as team captain during their national runner-up performance with the Second Varsity Eight+ boat in her senior year. She graduated from Texas with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2019 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in sport management at George Washington University.
The Rutgers women’s rowing program marked its fiftieth varsity season this year by finishing eighth at NCAA Championships—its highest placement—and earning six medals as runner-up at Big Ten Championships along with winning the Island Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Four athletes were named CRCA All-Americans; five received All-Big Ten recognition; two made Big Ten All-Freshman; one was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year; and four represented their countries at U23 World Championships.
