Elizabeth Murphy

HEAD COACH

Elizabeth Corbin Murphy was honored in Fall of 2022 as one of the Pioneering Women Athletes for the University of Notre Dame in celebration of the 50-year anniversary of Title IX (promoting equal treatment for women in education). Rowing is her sport. After competing at the collegiate level, Beth and her husband Charlie raised four sons and she continued to row for Notre Dame alumna group and Portage Lakes Rowing Association. Beth rowed in the Head of the Charles in 1974 and in 2014. She and her team placed in four of the last eight years at the Head of the Schuylkill. In 2018, Beth competed in the Women’s Masters Nationals in Oakland.

A certified Level 2 Rowing Coach, Beth is now coaching our crews at Portage Lakes. She will coach the Novice, Masters, and Performance levels of sweep rowing and intends to join the crew as a rower whenever possible.  

Coach Murphy is also a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and has practiced, specializing in “used” and historic structures and taught Design and Preservation courses at Kent State University for over 20 years.​

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Meryl Engler

CONSULTING COACH

Meryl grew up in Huntington Beach, California, playing lots of sports.  While attending Syracuse University, she discovered rowing, joined the team, and fell in love with the feeling of flying across the surface of the water.  She competed for Syracuse University for four years, helping her team finish in the top 20 NCAA rankings for three years and medaling at the Big East championships.  She also rowed for SoCal scullers out of Huntington Beach over the summers.  

Meryl studied sculpture, printmaking, religious studies and history at Syracuse.  She then attended University of Nebraska-Lincoln for an MFA in studio art with an emphasis in printmaking.  While in graduate school, she coached the university crew club for three years.  After graduating, Meryl coached the junior novice women and masters team for three years at Lake Oswego Community Rowing outside of Portland, Oregon.

Meryl was Head Coach of Portage Lakes Rowing Association from 2019-2022.  She is a certified Level 2 Rowing Coach, loves working with the teams, and exploring all of the beautiful Portage Lakes.