One of Wisconsin's most accomplished rowers, Middleton, Wisconsin, native Vicky Opitz took the helm of the storied Badger women's rowing program before the start of the 2023-24 season.
The world champion, Big Ten champion and All-American rower took over as the seventh head coach of the Big Ten's oldest rowing program that dates back to 1974 as a varsity sport.
Opitz brings a history of excellence on the water and a humble and caring attitude to the role.
At Wisconsin, Opitz was a 2010 CRCA Pocock First-Team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten pick when she helped the Badgers to their first Big Ten rowing championship and a program-best seventh-place finish at the NCAA rowing championships. She was also UW's female winner of the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award that senior year.
After her time as a UW rower and beginning in 2013, she won four world championships during the United States' remarkable 11-year run as world and Olympic champions in the women's eight. She also served as an alternate for Team USA at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Summer Games held in Rio, Brazil, and Tokyo, Japan, respectively.
Opitz was part of the world fastest crew in 2013 with the U.S. women's eight at the 2013 World Rowing Cup III, a mark that stood until the 2020 Olympics. Most recently, she rowed for the 2022 U.S. National Team in the women's four and has been a part of eight U.S. national teams.
In 2018, Opitz earned USRowing Female Athlete of the Year after winning with the women's eight and competing in the women's pair at the world championships. That award was renamed the Carie Graves Female Athlete of the Year Award in the summer of 2022 after the late, great Badger and Spring Green native.
Granddaughter of former Wisconsin men's rowing coach Randy Jablonic and the daughter of former UW rowers Kay (Jablonic) and KC Opitz, the Madison-area native played tennis, soccer and basketball before embarking on her rowing career at UW.
Badger women's rowing owns a pair of women's eight national championships (1975, 1986) to go along with 17 NCAA championships appearances since 1999. UW also owns five Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championships in the lightweight eight.
All-time, 20 Wisconsin women's rowers have gone on to compete at the Olympics, while 45 have raced on the international stage at either the senior or under-23 level. In addition, 38 Badgers have earned 45 total All-America honors.
Prior to her current head coaching position, Opitz spent the previous two seasons in Porter Boathouse as an assistant coach working with women's lightweight rowing and was chosen after a national search.
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