CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sarah Baker, The David K. Richards '61 Family Head Coach for Radcliffe Lightweight Crew, has stepped down from her post after nine seasons at the helm of the program.
 
Harvard-Radcliffe performed the best when the stakes were the highest under Baker, who was named head coach in July 2015. The Black and White competed in eight Head of the Charles Regattas, never finishing lower than fifth place in the varsity eight race all while collecting three gold medals (2016, 2022, 2023), two silvers (2015, 2019) and two of the bronze variety (2017, 2021).
 
When winter turned to spring in Cambridge, Harvard-Radcliffe prepared and competed with a purpose and an eye toward a pair of regattas – Eastern Sprints and the IRA National Championships. Baker led the Black and White to seven top-5 performances at Eastern Sprints (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, 1 fourth, 1 fifth) and seven top-6 efforts at IRAs, bringing home bronze medals in 2016 and 2024.
 
Under the leadership of Baker, who kept the program's rowers engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out the 2020 spring campaign and the entire 2020-21 season, eight Harvard-Radcliffe athletes collected Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) All-America accolades. This past season, Elsa Andrews and Calliste Skouras garnered All-America honors, with Andrews earning recognition for the second season in a row. The 2024 campaign also marked the first time two Harvard-Radcliffe athletes secured All-America honors since 2016 – Baker's first on campus.
 
As prolific as Harvard-Radcliffe was on the water under Baker's guidance, it was exceptional in the classroom. The Black and White earned 60 CRCA Scholar-Athlete accolades and reached the double-digit plateau in three of the last four seasons in which it competed (2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23).
 
Prior to building Harvard-Radcliffe into one of the top programs nationally, Baker, who was a decorated rower herself, graduated from Georgia Tech in 2005, and served as a Harvard Business School faculty assistant from 2008-15, before ultimately taking control of the program shortly thereafter.