Coaches and Advisors

Program Coaches

Vice President and Coach

Wyatt Nordstrom

Wyatt has over thirty years of experience in rowing, having made the journey from 13-year-old coxswain to lightweight scholastic rower to heavyweight collegiate rower to competitive masters open water sculler.

His rowing career started in the Fall of 1990 as a founding member of the crew at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN, where he was the team’s original varsity coxswain (yup, that’s him being held up by the rowers after coxing the McCallie 4+ to victory at Midwest Scholastics in 1991). Midway through high school, a major growth spurt ejected him from the coxswain’s seat, so he turned around and grabbed an oar, eventually landing a seat in the heavyweight 8 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After college, Wyatt got involved with the open water rowing scene in San Francisco, becoming a masters sculler at the South End Rowing Club and the Dolphin Club, where he led the rowing program for two years (he’s the guy in the stroke seat of the coastal quad out on SF Bay).

An all-around rower, Wyatt has rowed every seat in almost every type of boat (including both modern shells and traditional craft) and in all types of conditions (including flat water, open water, and coastal). More importantly, he has taught and coached hundreds of rowers of all ages, and is happiest when he is helping new rowers discover the joy of our sport and experienced rowers develop new skills. He is a USRowing Certified Coach with up-to-date First Aid, CPR, Boating Safety, and SafeSport training.

Wyatt lives in Incline Village with his wife, Linda, 4-year-old son, Alex, and German Shepherd, Dixie.

President and Coach

Michael Janis

Michael began his rowing career at Northeastern University under head coach Walter Congram. After Northeastern, Michael began competing in the single scull, and served as an assistant coach to Tuft’s University men’s lightweight program under Gary Caldwell. Following his move to California, Michael rowed out of the Stanford Rowing Center (known now as an elite development club named Redwood Scullers), competing in various races along the west coast.

Michael remains passionate about the sport, rowing his single scull on the blue waters of Tahoe. He enjoys teaching aspiring athletes to develop a competitive mindset, is a USRowing certified level 2 coach, and has studied sports medicine and physiology.

A native of Vermont, Michael spent his first year in California as a ski patrolman at Kirkwood. He returned full-time to Tahoe in recent years, where he lives in Tahoe City with his wife and stays active, competing on the Palisades Tahoe Ski Team during the winter, coaching elite and developing rowers, and participating in sail races in the Tahoe area during the summer. Michael has a Ph.D. from UCLA, earned his MBA, and studied business strategy at Harvard Business School. He currently leads mergers & acquisitions at a Fortune 500 company.

Program Advisors

Technical Advisor

Tom Darling

I began rowing at the age of 14 at a small private school in Belmont MA (Belmont Hill School). My favorite sports up until then had been Football, Basketball and Baseball. The rowing coach that approached me used a small disciplinary infraction (rough housing in the classroom) to convince me to “try rowing”. That small infraction turned out to be the best decision of my life. 

I rowed in College at Syracuse University and on the 1980 (Moscow boycott), 1984 (LA)  and 1988 (Korea) Olympic Rowing Teams, winning a silver medal in the men’s eight in 1984. I took a small break from Rowing and joined the Stars and Stripes America’s Cup Team from 85-87, winning the America’s Cup back from Australia. Sailing professionally was a great experience, where I was the conditioning coach as well as grinder for the team. I incorporated many of the same body circuit training methods we used to prepare for rowing competitions - only geared more towards upper body endurance.

After that experience I was inspired to go back to graduate school at Boston University in 1991 to earn an Med in Phys-Ed while Coaching the BU Men’s Rowing Team. I went back to sailing and designing the training program for the Stars and Stripes Team from 1994 to 96. I was married in 1997, and my daughter Lia was born in 2001.

I began working in the Financial Service industry and continued coaching rowing. In 2013 I took a position with USRowing as Director of Para Rowing. My job was to Identify and develop athletes to compete for the US at the Paralympic Games. I took a team to Rio in 2016 and left that position in 2020. In between I earned several world records in my age category (55 and 60)  rowing 2000 meters on the Concept Two Ergometer. My motivation with Tahoe Row is to help establish a junior rowing program on Lake Tahoe. I hope I can be of some help. 

Head Coach

Jennifer Greenough

Jennifer began her rowing career in Seattle at Green Lake Crew. She started sweep rowing as a freshman, and decided two oars were better than one. While continuing to scull in the single, double, and quad, in her sophomore year she began coxing the boys heavyweight boats. She and the boys won the national championship her junior year in the 8+ and her senior year she won the gold in the boys 8+ and 4+ along with a silver in bow seat in the girl’s 4X-.

Jennifer continued her coxing career at Brown her freshman and sophomore years, winning a bronze at Head of the Charles in the men’s freshman 4+. She shifted from competitive rowing to coaching youth at Narragansett Boat Club in Providence, RI during the remainder of her time at Brown.

Having relocated to Incline Village from Seattle, Jennifer was excited to see a social media post about the youth crew team. She obtained her Level 2 Coaching certificate from USRowing and coaches adults and youth. She has an “any seat, any boat, any time” mentality, so you are as likely to see her coaching from the launch, the beach, or a single, or rowing or coxing when there is a seat to fill.

Jennifer is a PSIA certified ski instructor and teaches private and group lessons at Northstar California Resort in the winter. She also enjoys alpine and Nordic skiing, road and trail running, hiking, and mountain biking.

Jennifer holds an AB in History and Latin American Studies from Brown and an MBA from the University of Washington. She spent 25 years in the biotech sector, mainly as a project manager, at Immunex, Amgen, and PATH.

Technical Advisor

Xeno Muller

Hello, I am Xeno Muller, husband, father of four, an Olympic gold and silver medalist in the men's singles scull, and online elite rowing coach.

I am thrilled to be an advisor to this exciting rowing club. I bring to the table years of expertise and a proven track record, not just as an elite rower but also as a coach and mentor. I look forward to contributing to the growth and success of this promising community of rowers.

My ties to Lake Tahoe are deeply personal. My parents-in-law have a second residence in Northstar, and we enjoy visiting every year. My wife Erin and I were married in Truckee during the 1996 December 31 rainstorm. The lake adds a stunning backdrop to a sport that has given me and my family so much. In 2001, I rowed on Donner Lake to prepare for the World Championship.

My journey began at the age of 13 in France, rowing on the River Seine. Rowing gave me more than physical strength; it bestowed upon me a mental fortitude and a community of like-minded individuals committed to discipline, character growth, and an appreciation for the sport's natural beauty.

As a teenager, I clinched the junior bronze medal in the men's singles scull and set a world record on the Concept2 rowing machine at the Indoor Rowing World Championships. That year, I became the number-one rowing recruit in the United States and was subsequently recruited to Brown University. There, our men's eight remained undefeated, under the watchful eye of our coach Steve Gladstone.

Over the years, I've won 14 national championship titles in Switzerland. My proudest moments came when I qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, winning the Olympic gold medal in men’s single scull in 1996 and the silver in 2000. I am also one of five single scullers to row 2000 meters faster than 6 minutes - 40 seconds in the single scull. Without the help of a great support system, spearheaded by national team coaches Harry Mahon (NZ) and Marty Aiken (AUS) this would not have been possible.

Since 2003, I’ve transitioned to elite coaching, focusing on high school rowers aiming to improve their 2K erg scores for college recruitment. I've successfully coached countless rowers who've been recruited to top-tier rowing colleges in the U.S., making me the most successful elite high school rowing coach. Thank you for welcoming me into your community. Here's to a prosperous and fulfilling journey in the sport we all love so dearly.

Technical Advisor

Torrey (Folk) Palmer

Torrey is an Olympian (Sydney) and twice Silver Medalist at the World Championships (1998 & 1999).  She currently lives on Donner Summit, CA, with her husband and two daughters, one of whom swims for UC Davis, and the other is an avid Nordic skier.

Torrey began rowing at Rice University in Houston, Texas before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to row Division 1. Torrey took part in the National Team training camp and testing circuit and made her way to Chula Vista, CA in 1997 to pursue her dreams of representing the United States.

Following the Sydney Olympics, she and her husband moved to Reno, NV, where she was a teacher.  She is currently in educational consulting with TNTP, a national non-profit committed to ending inequities in education.  She helped start the Nevada Chapter of the Olympians & Paralympians Association.  She is thrilled to support RowTahoe in bringing rowing-- and especially youth rowing-- to the Truckee/Tahoe/Reno area.