"Carissa is truly passionate about rowing and coaching and works to empower young women to reach their full potential, on and off the water. She has an in-depth understanding of the sport of rowing and creates a structured environment that enables athletes to succeed. She believes in every one of her athletes, and generates the desire for her athletes to excel. Carissa is goal-oriented, whether it is on the individual level or program level, and helps her athletes envision their goals and achieve them. She is an inspiring coach with a high standard of excellence. Her authenticity and intentionality is apparent when she interacts with team-members and coaching staff. Carissa deeply cares about her rowers as both people and athletes and is the best coach I have ever had! "

"Carissa is one of the most unique human beings I have ever met, in the best way possible. She completely changed my view of rowing and of live in general. She focuses a lot on positive attitude and being present. She truly cares about her athletes and is willing to talk about anything you're going through."

"Carissa is the best rowing coach I've had in my 9 years of competitive rowing. She understands what motivates athletes extremely well and can implement that. When Carissa came to Villanova she turned the program around within a year and made difficult decisions with the overall goal to improve the team and bring success back to Villanova Rowing. In her first year as head coach at Villanova she lead the team to the medal podium at conference championships for the first time in over ten years."