Carissa Adams is the head coach of women's rowing at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and enters her 12th season leading the program in 2026-27. She was hired before the 2015-16 season after spending nine years as the women's rowing head coach at UC Davis and five previous seasons there as an assistant coach.
Under Adams, Villanova has reached several notable conference and program milestones. The Wildcats posted third-place finishes at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships in 2017 and 2021, then recorded a program-best 29 points while finishing fourth at the 2025 conference regatta. Since 2016, Villanova has produced 19 All-CAA selections, with at least two honorees at eight of the nine league championships held in that span. Her Varsity Eight crews also earned CAA Boat of the Week recognition in consecutive weeks during the 2021-22 season, the first such awards in program history, and repeated that feat twice again in 2025-26.
