University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Women's Rowing

Erin Neppel, one of the most decorated rowers in University of North Carolina history and an assistant coach for the three-time Atlantic Coast Conference cha...

Harjo comes to Chapel Hill following four seasons as an assistant coach and external coordinator at Oklahoma. She helped Oklahoma to three top 5 finishes in the Big 12 Conference from 2021-2024. At Oklahoma, she coached the Varsity Fours and helped develop Oklahoma’s first two rowers to be named to the Under-23 United States National Team. As external coordinator, Harjo played a pivotal role in coordinating team social media. While at Oklahoma, Harjo was selected to be a Lead Coach for USRowing’s Olympic Development Camp during the summer of 2023. Additionally, she has previously served on USRowing’s Junior National Team High Performance Committee from 2020-2022. Prior to Oklahoma, Harjo was the Head Coach and Program Manager from 2019-2021 for OKC Riversport, a competitive U19 and Masters rowing club. In 2021, she coached the Varsity Women to three top-20 finishes at the USRowing Youth National Championships and coached one athlete to win the U17 CRASH-B’s Indoor Championship. In 2020, Harjo had one athlete win the 2020 Virtual Youth National Women’s Lightweight Single National Championship. In 2019, Harjo coached the OKC Women’s team to sweep the USRowing Central Region Team Championship, claiming the overall team points trophy, and qualifying all women’s events to the USRowing Youth National Championships. Two of Harjo’s athletes eventually made the Under-23 United States National Team. One athlete won Gold in the Women’s Eight at the 2023 Under-23 World Rowing Championshi

John Leonard joined the North Carolina rowing staff as the director of rowing operations and rigger prior to the 2022-23 season. Leonard joined the Tar Heels after serving as the boathouse manager at the University of Kansas. He also owned his own club program, Great River Rowing. A 1989 graduate of the University of Connecticut, Leonard has had stints at UConn and Fairfield University as a coach and program coordinator.

Miranda Cyr joined the UNC rowing staff as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. Cyr coaches the coxswains, focusing on the development of UNC's current coxswains, while identifying and recruiting future ones. She is also heavily involved in the novice program. Cyr came to Chapel Hill after four years as a member of the Minnesota rowing program and a total of 13 years of competition as a coxswain. As a coxswain for the Golden Gophers, she raced in both fours and eights, coxing her boat to first in the women’s collegiate 8+ at the Head of the Mississippi Regatta. A native of Glastonbury, Conn., she has coxed at the Head of the Charles and the Canadian Henley. She is a 2023 graduate of Minnesota with a degree in sports management.

Two-time NCAA Champion Payten Kooyers joined the North Carolina rowing staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2024-25 season. Kooyers (pronounced KOI-yers)...

Shayla Lamb joined the North Carolina rowing staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator prior to the 2022-23 season and was promoted to associate head coach in 2025. Lamb came to Chapel Hill from Jacksonville University, where she served as an assistant coach for the men's team. She helped Jacksonville finish in the Top 25 after the 2022 season. Lamb also has experience with U.S. Rowing's Olympic Development Camp as the head coach of the Southeast Boys. An accomplished rower, Lamb helped Michigan finish third at the NCAA Championships as both a sophomore and senior, and captained the Wolverines to the 2019 Big Ten Rowing Championship. She also competed at the Junior World Championships in 2014 (Hamburg, Germany) and 2015 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and stroked the U.S. 8+ to a bronze medal in 2015. Lamb graduated from Michigan in 2019 with a degree in sports management and earned her MBA from Jacksonville.