From art major to a career in rowing, Del Campo product lands UCLA post
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- UCLA named Vanessa Tavalero head coach of its women's rowing program in 2025.
- Tavalero, of Del Campo High, brings NCAA titles as an athlete and coach.
- She transitioned from art major to elite rowing figure, mentoring athletes statewide.
When Vanessa Tavalero attended the University of Washington in the late 1990s to row and study, she expected to leave Seattle with several things in tow: a degree in art, some ripped abs from years of rowing, and memories to last a lifetime.
She aced all of it. Tavalero graduated, is still fit but not nearly as maniacal about it, and she is still all about rowing because of what it can do for people.
The Del Campo High School graduate and a longtime top Cal assistant coach, Tavalero was on July 3 named head coach of the UCLA women’s rowing program. Tavalero has become a lifer on the water, and she admits to being “shocked” and moved by UCLA reaching out to her and hiring her.
“I thought I’d be an artist when I entered college and coming out — art and rowing were my two things,” Tavalero said in a phone interview. “I was very shocked to get the UCLA job. My life is really nice right now in the Bay Area, where I worked at Cal, a beautiful spot and great team, and I didn’t see myself leaving. My daughter (Frances) and husband (James Sharum) are happy there, but then the energy started to click when talking to UCLA.”
Tavalero was a 5-foot-9 bundle of power during her teenage years, including with the U.S. Junior National Team. She was a prep star at Del Campo, graduating in 1997. In her first two seasons with the Washington Huskies, Tavalero helped lead the program to back-to-back NCAA team championships. As a senior in 2000, she was paramount in Washington placing second in the NCAA championships.
Tavalero then dove into coaching, head first. She was the novice coach for the locally based Capital Crew from 2004-07, of which she starred with years earlier. She was the novice coach at Sacramento State from 2007-09. She was an assistant coach at UC Davis in 2009 and 2010, and she was on the Cal staff from 2011-19, rejoining the Bears last summer after three seasons at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga.
Said UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond in a university news release, “Vanessa brings championship-level experience to our program, both as an assistant under some of the top coaches in the nation, and as a two-time national champion rower. Her strong leadership qualities stood out immediately, and we are excited to bring her aboard to begin a new era of UCLA Rowing.”
Added Cal coach Al Acosta in the same release: “UCLA is extremely fortunate to have Coach Tavalero lead the next generation of Bruins. Vanessa was a huge part of our NCAA Championship and podium finishing teams here at Cal. Vanessa is also one of the few who have won NCAA championships as an athlete and a coach. More importantly, she’s a great person, mother, and role model. The Bruins are in very good hands!”
Tavalero said she is impressed by the rise of rowing. The athletes are better, she said. The training is more sophisticated. The times are quicker, and she described rowers as “phenomenal endurance athletes. It’s so impressive.”
Do coaches stay fit?
“Rowing coaches do stay in shape, but it’s a little more gentle now,” she said with a laugh.
Tavalero said she learned valuable lessons from her father, Joe Tavalero, about being an athlete and a coach. Her father was a high school star in multiple sports in Vallejo in Solano County. He played football at Sacramento State and was a championship boxer at Chico State, where he is in the school’s Hall of Fame. He was a longtime Sacramento-area high school football coach.
“One of the biggest points I learned from my father was always being prepared,” Tavalero said. “Be prepared for the day, for the week, for the month. Make sure you have thought about what you are doing. I’ve done that.”