Bucknell University Women's Rowing

Bucknell Athletics announced Katy Ruderman as its next head women’s rowing coach on July 31, 2025, welcoming aboard a rising leader in collegiate rowing circles following a successful three-year stint as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Ruderman joined the HWS coaching staff in August 2022, and in her three seasons in Geneva, she helped build record-setting recruiting classes, designed and implemented practice plans and race strategies, and established a comprehensive coxswain development program. In addition to her duties at HWS, Ruderman also serves as the Para PR3 National Team coach, and she will lead the PR3 crews representing the United States at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, China, this September. “I am excited to welcome Katy Ruderman to the Bison Athletics family as our new head rowing coach,” said Tim Pavlechko, interim vice president for Athletics & Recreation. “Katy is a dynamic leader with a proven history of building successful crews while fostering a culture of excellence both on and off the water. Her commitment to student-athlete development and her competitive drive align perfectly with our vision for the Bison rowing program.” “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the next era of Bucknell Women’s Rowing,” said Ruderman. “I would like to thank Tim Pavlechko and Natasha Wilson for the opportunity to join the Bison Athletics team and the search committee for their investment in t

Derek Updegraff, a 1993 Bucknell graduate, returned to the women's rowing coaching staff in October 2022. Updegraff, who has most recently served as head coa...

Katana Yu, a 2025 graduate of George Washington University and a member of the Revolutionaries’ women’s rowing team, joined first-year head coach Katy Ruderman’s staff at Bucknell as an assistant coach in November 2025. Yu graduated cum laude in May 2025 with a degree in psychological and brain sciences with a criminal justice minor. She served as a research assistant in the Department of Psychology and completed a Senior Capstone researching potential relationships between depression, gender, and empathy. As a member of the George Washington rowing team, Yu was a two-time CRCA Scholar-Athlete and was part of the 2023 team that won the Atlantic 10 championship and earned an NCAA Championship berth for the first time in program history. She stroked GW’s gold medal-winning Second Varsity 8+ at the A10 Championships and then led the 2V8+ to an 18th-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Yu has also served as an assistant coach with the Potomac Boat Club, where she worked with high school rowers in training, race preparation, and logistics. She coached two athletes who were selected to represent the United States at the 2025 Junior World Rowing Championships in Lithuania. “I am excited to welcome Katana to Bucknell,” said Ruderman. “She brings significant experience to the Bison, having coached high-performance juniors and been a part of a conference championship-winning team. Katana’s background and hands-on experience of what it takes to buy in and work toward achieving a