Dawson Shyne-Appignani was hired as head coach of Drake Rowing in July of 2026.
Shyne-Appignani comes to Des Moines after over four years as Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the rowing program at Sacred Heart University where he coached against the Bulldogs in Metro Conference action.
In his first season at SHU, Dawson coached the Varsity Fours through the spring season, which ended in a silver medal at the Metro Conference Championships.
Over the next two seasons, he coached both Fours to a silver and bronze medal in 2024 and won both Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four Metro Conference championships in 2025, the latter setting a league record.
Dawson's last year at Sacred Heart was spent coaching the SHU Lightweight 8 and Lightweight 4 in their inaugural season within the program. The Pioneers' Lightweight 4 group won the Petite Finals over Georgetown at the IRA National Championships, finishing the season ranked sixth in the country. That lofty ranking tied with national power Stanford.
Shyne-Appignani was a walk-on rower at Ithaca College where he was named a captain as a senior. At Ithaca, he earned his B.S. in Television and Radio Broadcasting with minors in Spanish and Coaching.
Following graduation from Ithaca, he began coaching at The Derryfield School as the boys' head coach while also holding a teaching position. Dawson eventually shifted into a full-time coaching role at Bucknell University where he coached the Varsity Fours for the women's program. While with the Bison, Shyne-Appignani helped guide Bucknell's V4+ to a bronze medal at the Patriot League Championships.
Shyne-Appignani also previously coached the boys' rowing program at Fairfield Preparatory High School from 2023-24 and the Canal Dock Boathouse as the Master's Indoor Coach from 2024-25.
